Mill Beach

Mill Beach sits in Brookings on Macklyn Cove, at the west end of Old County Road in Curry County. The cove is anchored between Zwagg Island and Diver Rock to the north and Chetco Point to the south, with Table Rock in the middle. Divers work inside the cove in 15 to 30 feet of water on scattered kelp beds and rocky mounts. Outer washrocks and reef break the surface 300 to 400 yards offshore, where boat-accessible structure runs to about 60 feet on calm days.

Mill Beach is the shore-dive anchor for the Brookings community. A surf-launched kayak platform is the recommended way to reach the outer kelp; the outer washrocks are frequently wave-battered and often too rough to allow comfortable exploration. On foot from the sand, the accepted approach is to stay between Diver Rock and Chetco Point rather than push outside the cove, since the inside reef holds plenty of structure and the outside swim is long. Chetco Point immediately south is a Brookings city park with a bluff trail, the paired shoreline to Mill Beach.

The rocky cliffs, submerged mounts, and reef fingers together define a rocky reef biome. A kelp forest biome fills the inside of the cove, where bull kelp grows on scattered beds, and thickens on the outer washrocks beyond. Surf running against the shorebreak makes up a surf zone biome across the sand. Scuba, snorkeling, and spearfishing all take place at the site under standard Oregon rules, with rockfish and the surrounding kelp cover documented.

Parking is small city-street access at the west end of Old County Road, with a short walk down to the sand and no developed lot on the beach itself. Restrooms are up the hill at Azalea Park or a short drive south at Chetco Point Park. The intertidal at Mill Beach likely falls within the Harris Beach Marine Garden's practical three-mile stretch running from Harris Beach south to Chetco Point; take of invertebrates and marine plants in the Marine Garden intertidal is prohibited except for a single mussel for recreational bait, though the statutory boundary text under Oregon Administrative Rule 141-142-0175 describes a narrower area at Harris Beach itself. Standard Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife marine fish rules are enforced subtidal, and the offshore rocks fall under Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge standoff rules.