Cape Arago State Park

Cape Arago is a dramatic wedge of coastal rain forest atop sheer cliffs, extending westward into the Pacific Ocean.  It's about 15 miles southwest of Coos Bay, Oregon, at the end of OR 540.  Cape Arago State Park occupies the rugged cape, and offers access to some of the Oregon Coast's most dramatic views.  A loop road offers easy access, just beyond the Simpson's Reef viewpoint.

Cape Arago North 138 offers a trail following a ridge to the north, extending between the open ocean and a sheltered cove.  Seals and sea lions lounge on the rugged sea stacks of Simpson's Reef.  Waves crash on basalt bedrock riven by linear gashes resembling Devil's Churn far to the north.

Cape Arago South offers the westernmost extent of the cape, with views of fantastically-carved sea stacks and the panorama of sheer cliffs stretching away to the south.  A steep, scenic South Cove Trail 139 leads down to the south-facing beach of a cove formed by the curving cliffs.


Begun 2017, updated 2022.