Island Rock

Island Rock stands off Port Orford Heads in Curry County, about a 30-minute boat run from Port Orford's Dolly Dock. The site is a pair of jagged basalt sea stacks; the larger looks like a sperm whale from Highway 101, and locals sometimes call it Whale Island. The dive is a wall descent through sub-tidal cover along the base of the stack. Bull kelp is the foundation species along the shallower ledges.

The rock is part of the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge and the Oregon Islands Wilderness, a system that covers all 1,853 emergent rocks and islands along the Oregon coast. Congressional additions under the Wilderness Act in 1970 expanded the refuge across every offshore stack. A tufted puffin colony nests above the water on Island Rock, and the site is a regular target for the Port Orford advanced dive community.

The basalt boulders, ledges, and reef structure at the base of the stack make up a rocky reef biome, and the bull kelp anchored on the shallower rock rounds out a kelp forest biome above. Divers observe 6 species of rockfish, including China rockfish, across the reef structure. Plumose anemones and purple sea urchins hold the shallower rock. Scuba and spearfishing are the documented uses, both under advanced offshore conditions.

Access is boat-only. Landing on the rock is prohibited year-round under National Wildlife Refuge rules, and a 500-foot vessel standoff is enforced from May 1 through September 15 to protect nesting seabirds and pinnipeds. Water temperature runs 45 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit through the year, and drysuits are the standard. Standard Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife marine fish rules are enforced in the surrounding state waters, with a daily bag of 4 marine fish and 3 lingcod as of 2026.