Haystack Rock is located on Cannon Beach, one of Oregon’s most recognizable landmarks, this 235-foot (72-meter) sea stack was formed by Lava flows and erosion over 15 million years ago. Its natural beauty attracts over 350,000 visitors a year.
TIDEPOOLS:
The tidepools and rocks near Haystack Rock are designated as a Marine Garden, a place for visitors to enjoy and learn about intertidal life.
Spotting tiny tidepool creatures takes time and patience. If you’re very still, you’ll see crabs, star fish, slugs, small fish, and other animals moving inside the small pools. Many animals like to hide from predators or the sun, look under rocks, inside cracks and behind seaweed.
Touching the animals on the beach is allowed but please do not pick them up, just feel the textures of them and be very gentle.
A PLACE FOR PUFFINS:
Cannon Beach is the best place on the Oregon Coast to see Tufted Puffins, also known as the Crested Puffins. They use Haystack Rock as a nesting ground, in April they return to their burrow to lay eggs, it will take them about 100 days to raise a single fluffy chick. After they are done they will head back out to sea and only return when it’s time to raise more young.
Interesting Facts:
1. Haystack Rock was part of the Pirate Coin in the 1985 movie The Goonies during the Fratellis Hideout scene.
