Cape Arago State Park & Sunset Bay State Park

Located just off Coos Bay is Cape Arago, one of the most dramatic and easily accessible viewpoints along the coast. Highway 101 at Coos Bay takes visitors inland through the town missing this scenic area entirely. This scenic headland jets out into the Pacific Ocean, first sighted by Europeans during one of Sir Francis Drake's expeditions in the late 1500s. There are two trails that get visitors down to the beach for hiking and tide pool exploration. The South Cove Trail is most popular for its tide pool sea life, while the north trail lets visitors view offshore colonies of seals and sea lions. This north trail is closed from March to June to protect the seal pups during birthing season. Scattered though out the park are picnic tables, restrooms and a gazebo shelter. The upper viewpoints are high enough to offer whale watching. In 1866 a lighthouse was built on a tiny island along the cape, which has been replaced three times. The remnants of the last one are still standing if you can get a shot of it.

The park was given to the state in 1932 by L. J. and Lela Simpson, Coos County and the Cape Arago Park Commission. The original developments were carried out by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, few of which remain. Originally named Cape Gregory by the English navigator James Cook and honoring the saint on the day of sighting, March 12, 1778. Since the US Coast Survey of 1850, it has been called Cape Arago for Dominique F. J. Arago, French physicist and geographer. In the 1970s, a theory was posed that English privateer and explorer Sir Francis Drake anchored in the south cove of Cape Arago in June 1579. Followers of this theory believe Drake mistook the dune area between the Coos and Siuslaw Rivers for low, snow-covered hills and sailed down the coast to California, having abandoned hope of discovering a northwest passage back to England. A monument to Drake was placed in the park in 1977.

Cape Arago & Sunset Bay State Park

Oregon Coast Sights