Otter Crest State Scenic Viewpoint

Due to its notoriously bad weather and wind speeds up to 100 miles per hour, Cape Foulweather on the Central Oregon coast is aptly named.  Roughly 28 years before Lewis and Clark’s Corp of Discovery reached the Pacific Ocean, the cape was the first promontory on the coast of the Pacific Northwest to be named by the English explorer Captain James Cook.  You'll have one of the better views of this notorious land feature from Otter Crest State Scenic Viewpoint, which sits on a smaller headland formation just to the south. In addition, this roadside destination commands dramatic views of the Pacific Ocean and Otter Rock, with Beverly Beach and Moolack Beach to the south.

Otter Crest State Scenic Viewpoint is also a great location for watching gray whales as they migrate north and south. Because it is perched 500 feet above the sea, be sure to bring your binoculars.