Maxwell Point Tunnel Oceanside Beach

The Maxwell Point tunnel was built in the early part of the 20th century by the Rosenberg family, who created the original resort in Oceanside. The tunnel through Maxwell Point was covered by a landslide and completely inaccessible. Sometime after the early 90’s, it was cleared, allowing people to wander through again.

Oceanside Beach State Recreation Site is open to the public and is fee-free. Amenities at the site, in the unincorporated community of Oceanside, include picnicking, wildlife watching, fishing, windsurfing, and kite flying. Beachcombing is popular in summer, and agate hunting is best in winter, when ocean currents remove sand. Oceanside is about 11 miles west of Tillamook off U.S. Route 101.

Three Arch Rocks National Wildlife Refuge is a U.S. National Wildlife Refuge located on the central coast of Tillamook County, in the northwestern part of Oregon. It is one of six National Wildlife Refuges within the Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex and was the first National Wildlife Refuge west of the Mississippi River. In 1970 the Refuge was designated as wilderness. It is one of the smallest wilderness areas in the United States.

Three Arch Rocks consists of 15 acres on three large and six small rocky islands located about a half mile offshore from Oceanside. It is one of the smallest designated wilderness areas in the U.S., but features the largest colony of breeding tufted puffins and the largest common murre colony south of Alaska. It is the only northern Oregon pupping site for the threatened Steller sea lion.

What to Photograph

Photographing from the tunnel give a great framing for the Three Arch Rocks Wildlife Refuge and the otherwise inaccessible beach on the other side of the tunnel.

 

Where it is:

The 7.3-acre site lies between the Pacific Ocean to the west and homes on a steep slope to the east. Cape Meares is to the north and Netarts Bay and Cape Lookout are to the south.

Oceanside is located nine miles west of Tillamook and two miles north of Netarts on Three Capes Scenic Drive, a 20-mile loop of breathtaking scenic wonders.

Maps:

Interactive Google Map

Use the map  + – controls to zoom in and out, click and drag the to move the map, use the Map drop-down to change to “Map”, “Satellite”, “Hybrid”, or “Terrain” views.  Drag the little man icon from the upper left corner to a map location for street level view.

 

GPS:

45°27’42.3″ N 123°58’16.564″ W

 

Hours:

The location is open 24 hours a day.

Cost:

There are no standard fees associated with this park.

 

Location Contact Information:

Oregon Parks and Recreation Dept
725 Summer Street NE, Suite C
Salem, OR 97301
Office: (503) 986-0707

Park: 503-842-3182


Maxwell Point Tunnel Oceanside Beach Photo Gallery

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More Photographic Destinations in Oregon:

Interactive Google Map

Use the map  + – controls to zoom in and out, use the Map drop-down to change to “Map”, “Satellite”, “Hybrid”, or “Terrain” views.  Drag the little man icon from the upper left corner to a map location for street level view. Click on a pushpin for more information about the Photographic Destination, then click on the title to go to the location page.

Click Here for Photographic Destinations by State 

 

All the information in this post was believed to be accurate at the time it was published.  Please be sure to double check with the location before relying on this information as everything changes over time, especially hours, prices, and whether the location is still open.  

Great Places for Great Photos

 

Let me help you to find a great location for your next photography adventure.  I will list many lesser-known destinations, as well as the famous "Icon Locations" for photography.  I will provide photos (Lots of Photos), location information, consisting of what there is to photograph as well as other information about the destination.  I will give costs, maps, directions, contact information, and other essential information for a successful photo trip.  I will only post for locations that I have personally photographed to ensure a quality guide to great locations for photography. If you know of great places that are not posted, please send me the details, I may just decide that is a place I need to go!

 
 

Greg Disch is a freelance photographer located in Arkansas. Greg specializes in nature, scenic, wildlife, and other outdoor subjects in Arkansas and other areas of the country.  Most of the images on this site are available for sale as prints, personal use, or rights managed stock photos.

Greg offers both classroom instruction and in the field hands on photographic workshops. Classroom sessions are normally held in Fort Smith Arkansas, but arrangements can be made to bring a class to your group.

All classes and workshops have small class sizes designed to provide an optimum student to instructor ratio, where you can get the personal attention, you need.  Most classes and workshops are limited to a maximum of six participants and will be held with a minimum of only two.

If you are looking for a wonderful opportunity to get personal individual instruction, I do private workshops and classes at a location of your choice, whether doing a location photo shoot, coming to your home or business, traveling across the country on a road trip, or at my classroom.  This is a fantastic way to learn digital workflow and be sure that your computer equipment is properly configured for optimum performance.

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