Learn more about the people, places, and wildlife that make Otter Rock Marine Reserve unique.
A variety of marine mammals inhabit or visit the Otter Rock Marine Reserve. Here are a few of the most common marine mammals you may see while visiting. Whales While looking offshore at the Otter Rock Marine Reserve, you may see whale spouts between April and late September. Gray whales …
Did you know that half of the nesting seabirds on the US West Coast nest along the Oregon Coast? In fact, the Otter Rock Marine Reserve provides nesting habitat to over 500 seabirds and foraging grounds for many more. These birds are drawn by the abundance of small schooling fish …
When you look offshore from the Devil’s Punchbowl you may see forests of bull kelp, a type of long, rubbery seaweed, swaying with the water. Bull kelp anchors to the rocky bottom with holdfasts and rises up to the surface, where it forms canopies of leaf-like blades that float at …
Before the first Europeans saw a glimpse of the coast from the decks of their ships, the region surrounding Otter Rock Marine Reserve was home to indigenous peoples who lived here for millennia. Several tribes lived and fished along this coastline. Among the many tribes that called this area home, …