About Hug Point Waterfall
The Hug Point Waterfall was a diminutive 10-15ft seasonal waterfall on Fall Creek that probably wouldn’t be enough of a reason to visit on its own.
However, it was really more of a waterfalling excuse to explore the Hug Point Recreation Site, which featured a long beach, some intriguing sea stacks, a few caves, and a curious shelf that once supported stagecoach traffic!
That said, in order to get the most out of visiting the beach here, I had to consult the tide tables and time the visit for low tide.
At other times, the waves will inundate much of the beach, and I’ve even seen it crest above the Hug Point Waterfall on some video clips found on the interwebs taken during a storm.
Given how easily Nature can reclaim this area with a changing of the tides, I found it hard to believe that the shelf providing passage from one beach to another was used as a passage for pioneers in the area.
In fact, that shelf literally “hugged” a sea cliff to help people avoid getting swept into the ocean (obviously futile at high tides), and that’s apparently how this reserve got its name!
Just to give you an idea of how frequently the shelf at Hug Point gets inundated, I witnessed mussels and barnacles clinging onto it, and walking on them to proceed was pretty much unavoidable.
In any case, the Hug Point Waterfall excursion was really less of a hike and more of a kind of beach exploration where you can stay for as little time as you want or as long as you want (as there’s plenty to explore).
The “hike” from the parking area (see directions below) to the base of the waterfall was about a quarter-mile in each direction (or a half-mile round-trip).
However, I was able to continue another quarter-mile (or 1-mile round-trip in total) to the namesake Hug Point itself.
Finally, I have to warn that this seemed to be a very popular spot as it was roughly 5 miles south of Cannon Beach.
As a result, the biggest difficulty in doing this excursion could very well be finding parking.
Authorities
The Hug Point Waterfall resides in the Hug Point Recreation Site near Cannon Beach in Clatsop County, Oregon. It is administered by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.
The Hug Point Waterfall resides in Hug Point Recreation Site roughly 5 miles south of Cannon Beach.
The parking spot closest to the waterfall was right off the US101 about 2 miles south of the Silver Point Interpretive Outlook (which itself was about 3 miles south of Cannon Beach).
The turnoff was on the right side (heading south), but parking was quite limited during our early April 2021 visit.
Therefore, I can foresee people trying to figure out ways to park along the US101 or even go as far as Arcadia Beach or Arch Cape for a longer beach walk.
It was about 7 miles north of Arch Cape along the US101.
For some geographical context, Cannon Beach was about 6 miles (less than 15 minutes drive) north of Arch Cape, 9 miles (15 minutes drive) south of Seaside, 16 miles (less than 30 minutes drive) north of Nehalem, 40 miles (an hour drive) north of Tillamook, and 85 miles (over 90 minutes drive) west of Portland.
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Quick walkaround to see the Hug Point Waterfall from different angles close up
360 degree sweep from a distance of the Hug Point Waterfall showing the beach context
360 degree sweep from the sandy part of Hug Point Beach before focusing on the waterfall and scrambling towards both sides from different profile looks
Starting from the front of the waterfall then walking right across its base before ending up at the adjacent cave
Back and forth sweep from the brink of the Hug Point Falls
360 degree sweep from the very tip of Hug Point revealing the hidden beach on the other side
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