Cape Kiwanda: the sandstone cape, the offshore rock and the boats
Compiled by Surf Haunts · Updated 2026-09-20
At Pacific City on the Oregon coast, Cape Kiwanda and the large rock offshore make an easy pair to recognise. They belong in the same view, but they're different kinds of stone. And the beach between land and sea has a working history that a quiet landscape picture can miss.
Two landmarks, two kinds of rock
The Oregon State Parks description of Cape Kiwanda identifies a sandstone headland. Its edges are actively eroding, so the outlines in older photographs won't necessarily match newer ones.
The offshore stack is different. A geological field guide to this stretch of Oregon's coast identifies the cape's sandstone and the basalt that forms Haystack Rock.
That contrast is worth noticing: the warm headland attached to the coast, then a separate, darker mass out in the water. They shouldn't be described as one continuous sandstone formation.
Pacific City's Haystack Rock
The local destination guide calls the offshore landmark Haystack Rock at Pacific City. Adding the town's name is useful; "Haystack Rock" on its own can leave a photograph's location unclear.
The photograph above shows this offshore rock at sunset. It isn't a photograph of the sandstone cape itself.
Boats going straight off the beach
Pacific City's dories add another piece to the scene. Since the early 1900s, local fishermen and women have launched them through the surf at Cape Kiwanda. Linfield University's oral-history project about the Pacific City dory fleet brings together recordings, photographs and accounts from people connected with it.
The boats help explain why the beach has mattered as a workplace as well as a place to spend a day by the sea. If you want to go further than a short history, those recorded voices are a good place to start.
What do you remember from Pacific City?
Have you watched the boats return, or got a photograph showing the cape as it used to look? Let us know if you'd like to share it or correct a detail. We'll ask before publishing your contribution and agree with you how to credit it.
Our Cape Kiwanda print
The illustration places the warm headland opposite the offshore stack, with water between them. It leaves the boats and buildings out of the view. You can see the Cape Kiwanda / Pacific City print in the collection.
Compiled from public historical sources and fact-checked against them at the time of writing – not a first-hand or local account. Corrections and memories are welcome; we verify before publishing anything sent in.