Salmon Street, Yachats

Salmon Street is a narrow gravel residential street in Yachats, Oregon, near milepost 162 on US 101.  It runs west from US 101 to the Pacific Ocean shore, and beach access point number  74  in Oregon's system of numbered beach access points.  It marks the division between the rocky terrace underlying Yachats and the long sandy Lincoln County beaches to the north.  This access point is not well suited to visits from travelers, because there is no parking on the street, and the streets nearby are narrow.

If you want to visit, park at Smelt Sands State Natural Site and walk a half-mile north on the Yachats 804 Trail along the rocky shoreline to the south end of the beach just north of Salmon Street.  Alternatively, and tides permitting, one could park at Tillicum Beach and walk about three miles south on the long, sandy beach.

For hikers on the Oregon Coast Trail, the Salmon Street beach access doesn't offer much.  Follow the Yachats 804 Trail south from the end of the beach at least as far as Smelt Sands and check your smartphone map app for supplies and lodgings nearby.

I've seen the beach here entirely covered by surf at higher tides, waves lapping the riprap that residents have placed to try to slow the ocean's conquest of their real estate.  Watch out for sneaker waves.


Written 2019.