After leaving Neskowin, Oregon, we headed south towards Newport, where we had hotel reservations waiting for us. One of the rock formations that we wanted to see on the way to Newport was the Devil's Punchbowl!
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| Top view of Devil's Punchbowl |
The punchbowl was probably created by the collapse of the roof over two sea caves, then shaped by wave action. The park is a popular whale watching site and displays an intriguing geology. This is a scenic picnic spot atop the undulating rocky shoreline.
Parking to this natural area is limited as private property surrounds the viewpoint. Almost from the parking area you can see the top of the Devil's Punchbowl. We hoped to arrive at this location during a negative tide as you can hike down to and inside the punchbowl. The interior of Devils Punchbowl is only safe at low tide and anyone caught there in high water will surely be killed. Unfortunately, the tide was coming in and we didn't want to risk getting trapped inside. We planned to return the next day to take another shot at entering the bowl.
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| Complete view of the top of Devil's Punchbowl looking north up the coast |
During winter storms, water from the restless ocean slams with a thundering roar into a hollow rock formation shaped like a huge punch bowl. The surf churns, foams, and swirls as it mixes a violent brew.
Surfers and surf watchers energize this area and we were able to view a few surfers braving the cold Pacific ocean in search of the perfect wave, from the top of the lookout area.
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| Surfers making their way down to the surf at Devil's Punchbowl Recreational Area |
The next day we made a second attempt to hike down inside Devil's Punchbowl. We found a walking trail north of the Punchbowl which we believed was Otter Crest Beach. After a short walk from a limited parking area we found ourselves, almost alone, on a beautiful beach made up of many unusual rocks (maybe agate).
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| Short hike down to Otter Crest Beach |
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| Poor wind swept trees along the hiking trail |
We followed this beach towards Devil's Punchbowl rock formation. Although we got a closer look at the punchbowl openings from the beach, we decided there was just too much water to completely enter the bowl and explore the tide pools. So, we snapped a few photos of what we could see and then just explored this unusual beach.
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| Opening to Devil's Punchbowl from the beach |
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| Gull Rock sits beyond the beach |
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| I was fascinated by these two Canada Geese slurping up goodies in the tide pools on Otter Crest Beach |
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| We love the Oregon Coast! |
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| Beautifully colored and unusual rocks on Otter Crest Beach |
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| Small fresh water waterfall on the north end of Otter Crest Beach |
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| I can just imagine the fun someone had creating this driftwood lean-to |
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| The view from side! |
Our next stop......Newport, Oregon, home base for two days as we explored more of the Oregon Coast!
