Oswald West State Park is a place of boundless natural beauty; winding trails, lush undergrowth, regal trees, and breathtaking vistas of sea and sand. Stretching along four miles of coastline north of Manzanita and Neah-Kah-Nie Mountain, this 2,500 acre preserve is the Oregon Coast’s Walden; a place of quiet contemplation and regenerative power. Like its namesake, a former Oregon governor, it is an essential link to the state’s legislative history.

Born in 1873, Oswald West was raised in Salem. In 1911, he was elected the 14th governor of Oregon. During his one term, he proved to be a proactive legislator, most notably in his establishment of the state’s beach highway law. It proclaimed the entire Pacific coastline – today’s Highway 101 – a public highway, effectively preserving scenery for future generations. For laying this foundation, Oregon writer Stewart Holbrook labeled West “by all odds the most brilliant governor Oregon ever had.”