Ona Beach State Park

By America's State Parks Editorial TeamMay 9, 2026 · Updated May 17, 2026

🏆 Beautiful park where Beaver Creek meets the Pacific Ocean — sheltered beach, estuary habitat, and the Beaver Creek marsh upstream is critical habitat for coho salmon.

Visitor Information

About Ona Beach

Ona Beach, the day-use and beach area of Brian Booth State Park (named Ona Beach State Park until 2013), sits where Beaver Creek meets the Pacific Ocean south of Newport on the central Oregon coast. The park features a broad sandy beach, a scenic creek estuary, and a family-friendly picnic area sheltered by shore pines. The other part of the park, Beaver Creek State Natural Area, has five miles of trails about a mile east of the beach, and a boat launch on North Beaver Creek Road across Highway 101 starts a three-mile paddle through the Beaver Creek estuary.

Ona Beach State Park in Lincoln County provides access to a beautiful sandy beach where Beaver Creek meets the Pacific Ocean. The park features a footbridge over the creek leading to the beach — a lovely walk through coastal forest. The beach is wide and sandy, with excellent conditions for kite flying and beach play.

Things to Do

Beach access is easy and family-friendly — the flat, wide beach is great for kite flying, beachcombing, and sandcastle building. Beaver Creek is calm enough for kayaking and canoeing upstream into the estuary. Beaver Creek State Natural Area, about a mile east of the beach, has five miles of trails.

Beach walking, picnicking, fishing in Beaver Creek, kayaking the creek, kite flying, and enjoying one of the central Oregon coast’s quieter beaches.

Getting There

Located along Highway 101 approximately 8 miles south of Newport in Lincoln County. Paved parking area. Since March 30, 2026 a day-use parking permit is required ($10 per vehicle, $12 non-resident).

Insider Tips

Creek meets ocean: Beaver Creek flows through the park and meets the ocean here — wade only in the shallow creek, stay out of the surf, and watch for sneaker waves. Pro tip: Across Highway 101 on North Beaver Creek Road, a boat launch starts a three-mile paddle through the marshes and wetlands of the Beaver Creek estuary. With kids: Children usually prefer the shallow creek to the cold ocean surf. Keep them within arm’s reach, especially near the creek mouth.

Best Time to Visit

Summer: Creek wading and beach play. Fall: Salmon spawning in Beaver Creek. Spring: Shorebird migration. Winter: Storm watching and winter birding.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Beaver Creek safe for children?

Only with close supervision. The creek is shallow in summer, but its depth and current change with the tide and after rain, and where it meets the ocean, cold water and sneaker waves can catch children off guard. Keep kids within arm’s reach, stay out of the surf, and never turn your back on the ocean.

Wildlife & Nature

Ona Beach State Park offers a rare combination — Beaver Creek flows through a coastal forest before crossing a wide sandy beach to the Pacific, creating a shallow freshwater wading area; supervise children near the creek mouth. The creek’s estuary — where fresh and salt water mix — is one of the most biologically productive environments on Earth. Juvenile salmon use estuaries as transition zones, adapting from freshwater to saltwater over weeks before migrating to the open ocean. Great blue herons fish the shallow creek. Upstream, the Beaver Creek marsh supports river otter and beaver and is critical habitat for coho salmon, cutthroat trout and winter steelhead. The park’s name comes from the shore itself: Ona is known as a Chinook Jargon word for razor clam. Brown pelicans — with 7-foot wingspans — dive from heights of 60 feet, folding their wings just before impact. Beaver Creek State Natural Area, the other part of Brian Booth State Park, lies upstream about a mile east of the beach.

Nearby Attractions

Beaver Creek State Natural Area, the other part of Brian Booth State Park, adds trails and the estuary paddle. Seal Rock provides exceptional tidepools. Newport — about 15 minutes north — has the Oregon Coast Aquarium, Bayfront, and Hatfield Marine Science Center. Yaquina Head features Oregon’s tallest lighthouse. South Beach State Park offers camping. Waldport has the Alsea Bay Bridge Interpretive Center. Cape Perpetua is about 30 minutes south.

Keep exploring: Ona Beach is part of Brian Booth State Park. The closest other parks are Seal Rock State Recreation Site (a short drive away) and Driftwood Beach State Recreation Site (a short drive away).

About the Author

America's State Parks Editorial Team

America's State Parks is an independent online guide to state parks and other public lands in the United States. Our editorial team compiles park profiles from official agency and operator sources and other identified references, and follows our published editorial policy and review methodology. Where a profile shows a source-check date, that date applies to the detail it names. We correct errors when we find them or when readers report them.

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