Fogarty Creek Kelp Forest

Fogarty Creek Kelp Forest sits about 2 miles north of Depoe Bay, entered from the day-use beach at Fogarty Creek State Recreation Area on the west side of US-101. This is one of the few shore-accessible kelp forests on the Oregon coast. The bull kelp bed runs off the beach into shallow, structured water, with a maximum depth of about 30 feet on the far west side of the kelp. Because the bottom stays shallow, surge is more pronounced here than at Oregon's deeper kelp sites.

In 2024, the state designated the surrounding water as the Fogarty Creek Marine Conservation Area under Oregon's updated Rocky Habitat Management Strategy. The area covers roughly 88 acres of intertidal and shallow subtidal reef, with a seaward boundary that sits just outside the kelp bed. The park itself has been a coastal fixture much longer, with paved parking, picnic tables, and restrooms on the bluff above the beach.

The site combines a kelp forest biome layered over a rocky reef biome, with a surf zone biome between the beach and the outer kelp. Bull kelp anchors on submerged basalt and grows through the water column to the surface, and the holdfasts and blades support a nursery community that includes juvenile rockfish, salmon, and crab. Scuba divers work the kelp bed, snorkelers stay on the shoreward edge, and spearfishermen target rockfish along the reef margins. Surf entry and exit are tricky, conditions change fast, and advanced comfort in the surf is required.

Parking is at the Fogarty Creek State Recreation Area day-use lot, with a $3 day-use fee, restrooms, and picnic facilities. Take of shellfish and other invertebrates within the intertidal and subtidal zones and take of fish from a boat are prohibited within the Fogarty Creek Marine Conservation Area and enforced by ODFW, though shore fishing and shore spearfishing remain legal under standard state marine sport-fishing rules. The Oregon Ocean Endorsement is required for ocean angling and spearfishing beginning January 1, 2026.