Otter Rock

Otter Rock sits south of Cape Foulweather along the central Oregon coast, entered from the beach at Devils Punchbowl State Natural Area in the small community of Otter Rock. Shore divers descend a large staircase down the bluff to Otter Rock Beach and swim out from there; boats out of Depoe Bay reach the deeper reef more easily. The reserve covers 1.2 square miles and runs from the intertidal to about 59 feet of depth, and its habitats include shallow rocky reef, kelp beds, a soft-bottom section, and sand-dollar beds. Three offshore islands, including Gull Rock and Whale Back Rock, mark the boundary anchors.

The park itself dates to 1929, when F.W. Leadbetter and Caroline Pittock donated the land to the state, and the Civilian Conservation Corps built the staircase and other day-use improvements in the 1930s. That collapsed sea cave, which gives the park its name, is a scenic landmark and an access reference point, not a dive site; currents inside are lethal at high tide. Oregon designated the Otter Rock Marine Reserve through the state's Marine Reserves program, beginning monitoring in 2010 and putting the harvest restrictions into force on January 1, 2012.

The stretch from Cape Foulweather down to Otter Rock holds one of the largest kelp forests in Oregon's nearshore. This gives the site a kelp forest biome grown over a rocky reef biome, with a surf zone biome running the length of Otter Crest Beach. Kelp anchors on the shallow reef and grows through the water column to the surface, and about 200 resident gray whales feed in this kelp near Cape Foulweather and Depoe Bay through late summer. Scuba is the only diving activity here because the reserve is closed to take.

Devils Punchbowl State Natural Area charges $10 per day for Oregon residents and $12 for non-residents starting March 30, 2026, or $60 and $75 for an annual Oregon State Parks pass, and walkers and cyclists pass free. The staircase down is tiring to walk back up even for the fit. All take of animals or seaweeds is prohibited within the Otter Rock Marine Reserve and enforced by ODFW, and ocean development is barred inside the reserve boundary.