Otter Rock, Oregon

Otter Rock is located in Lincoln County between Newport and Depoe Bay along US Highway 101, overlooking the Pacific Ocean near Devils Punch Bowl State Park & Beverly Beach State Park. You can view the Devils Punch Bowl where the ocean has carved out a big hole in a large rock on the shore. There are also a few shops and a restaurant, Mo's, where you can dine on great chowder and other seafood.

On March 7, 1778, about 10 miles off the Central Oregon Coast, Captain James Cook observed: ”The land appeared to be of a moderate height, diversified with hills and valleys, and almost everywhere covered with wood. There was, however, no very striking object on any part of it, except one hill, whose elevated summit was flat.” This concise description of the Otter Rock area was penned by the famous English explorer, who spent 5 days along the Oregon Coast on his way from Hawaii in search of a passage to the Atlantic Ocean. When word spread of Cook's observations of the coast, a permanent connection was established between Oregon and the outside world.

Prior to Cook's sighting, the local Indians probably used the area's volcanic formations (Gull Rock, Otter Rock and Whale Back) as a camp from which to hunt otters for their meat.