Does Oregon Really Have 100% Public Beaches? (purchase, living in, price)

[gemstone1]

"The beach is essentially a private beach for the home owners in a state that prides itself on public beaches".

No, beach access may be restricted, but as described the beach is public....but you don't want to hear that because that would upset your agenda.

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

This whole lighthouse situation was a tragedy the way it was handled. This land was a valuable cultural resource that was enjoyed by locals and visitors alike for well over 100 years. Then it was just stolen away from them in a big land grab. A lot of people here are not happy about the way it was handled.

I think the tribe feels the same way except it was a cultural resource for much longer.

[RobertFisher]

Originally Posted by gemstone1

"The beach is essentially a private beach for the home owners in a state that prides itself on public beaches".

No, beach access may be restricted, but as described the beach is public....but you don't want to hear that because that would upset your agenda.

Maybe this analogy: The moon is public according to the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. All mankind owns it, including us. Only Elon Musk and a few others have the means to get there; most of us can't get there, but that does not change the fact that the moon is public.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by AnythingOutdoors

With Privates Beach in Santa Cruz there's no other access, cliffs and private property on both sides. Which is why homeowners fought so hard to keep it de facto private (hence the name).

Apparently you didn't read the link I provided about Lighthouse Beach. Property owners are in the process of donating land to provide access to the beach. These things take time, so just be patient, it'll happen.

I have read everything posted, including about the situation in Santa Cruz.

Historically, Geoffroy Drive has connected Sunny Cove Beach to Twin Lakes State Beach; by various trails going down the bluff to the sand. At some point in 2015, however, a property owner installed a gate blocking the road to Twin Lakes with an OK from the County but without acquiring a Coastal Development Permit from the Coastal Commission.

The Commission is now in litigation with the property owner as a result. In the meantime, Commission staff has put out a prescriptive rights survey and has been hearing a lot of complaints from the community about access being blocked. People now have to walk 5-6 blocks around to get from one beach to the other – this also breaks up the California Coastal Trail.

Investigate the gate on Geoffroy Drive - Allow access to Twin Lakes State Beach – Surfrider Foundation

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by Silverfall

I think the tribe feels the same way except it was a cultural resource for much longer.

I fully understand that. But I'm not in favor of giving them back their land. It's a bad precedent and just creates more problems. Everybody has access to public lands including Native Americans. As it is now, nobody has access to it.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by gemstone1

"The beach is essentially a private beach for the home owners in a state that prides itself on public beaches".

No, beach access may be restricted, but as described the beach is public....but you don't want to hear that because that would upset your agenda.

The argument is over where to draw the line between the public beaches and private land. But that is a moot point if only the landowners have access to the beach. Public dry sand beach is of no benefit to the public, if they have no access to it. It's of no relevance to the landowners if they control access to the entire beach.

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

I don't know the answer. There should be about 198 access points on the Oregon Coast. That's about one every 1.5 miles. I'm sure the Washington Coast has more per mile. But they are not compatible. Because most of the Washington Coast is undeveloped land and has no roads. The Oregon Coast is 100% developed.

You keep bringing up Puget Sound, which is a completely different subject. I was talking about ocean beaches. Regardless I did look at Washington State Department of Ecology website map for beach access in Puget Sound. The numbers are astonishing. Way too many to count. But my wild ass guess would be that there are 5,000, maybe even 10,000 public access points in Puget Sound.

Puget Sound is part of the ocean. It is saltwater ocean shoreline, affected by the tides and currents. And there are sand beaches.

And there are not remotely 10,000 public access beach points between Olympia and Bellingham. Probably closer to 100 or so. But unlike Oregon there is no connection between them since shoreline is not public in Washington, it is private down to the low tide line. So you are basically bouncing from one small city park to another a long way away with nothing but private homes with no-trespassing private shoreline in between.

There is no access at all on much of Washington's outer coast since much of it is not reachable by highway. Certainly not if you want to drive to the beach much less onto it. It is a backpacking or sea kayaking expedition just to get there.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

......... Public dry sand beach is of no benefit to the public, if they have no access to it. It's of no relevance to the landowners if they control access to the entire beach.

The public has access to all dry sand beaches on the Oregon coast. Occasionally, access takes a little extra effort, but if you can get to it, you can use it. Nothing in the law guarantees that everyone can drive right up to every beach, with parking provided. The belief that every beach must have parking and a road right into it is entitled beyond belief.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

The public has access to all dry sand beaches on the Oregon coast. Occasionally, access takes a little extra effort, but if you can get to it, you can use it. Nothing in the law guarantees that everyone can drive right up to every beach, with parking provided. The belief that every beach must have parking and a road right into it is entitled beyond belief.

No they are not. You are not paying attention. These are beaches that are posted No Public Access. So the public does not have access to them.

[Metlakatla]

^What that actually means is that there is no public access through that particular location. It doesn't mean that the public can't access the beach otherwise.