McVay Rock State Recreation Site is a scenic rocky beach a few miles south of Brookings near the Oregon-California border.

The state park combines a manicured grassy area and a developed dog park with rough gravel and a coarse sand beach full of basaltic lava formations, towering cliffs, and sea stacks.

The short and steep trail from the parking area leads to the shore. The only amenity here is an outhouse restroom.

At the low tide, an extensive shoreline opens up so you can walk to the Winchuck River mouth to the south. At the minus tide, you can also walk all the way to Sporthaven Beach to the north. Be mindful of the tide level to avoid being stranded on your way.

The name of this place comes from a massive McVay Rock nearby. Sadly, it was destroyed for fill rock and gravel, but the name remains.

McVay Rock State Recreation Site - Things To Do

McVay Rock State Recreation Site is a fantastic place for hiking, picnicking, nature viewing, whale watching, surf fishing, clam digging, and overall enjoying the beach life.

The fenced off-leash dog park is excellent for bringing you fluffy (or not so fluffy) 4-legged family members to play here.

Also, this spot is one of the best rockhounding and tidepool watching places on the South Oregon coast.

McVay Rock Beach - Agate Hunting

McVay Rock Park is a highly productive rockhounding area thanks to the gravel bars and Chetco River. You can find cool rocks for your collection year-round!

You can literally start picking up agates the minute you walk onto the beach. Most materials here are marble-sized or smaller.

In addition to agates, you can find brecciated jaspers, quartz, petrified wood, sea glass, and beautiful nephrite jade.

McVay Rock Beach - Tidepool Watching

The rocky shore creates a fantastic environment for tidepool watching. You can see various marine life, including starfish, anemones, urchins, crabs, and more.

Please be careful around tidepools and don't disturb or step on ocean flora and fauna.

Redwood Stump In The Sand

A unique attraction many are unaware of is a giant redwood stump stuck in the beach sand. You can climb right on it to see the growth rings.

Widely spaced rings indicate when the redwood grew and developed in good conditions with abundant nutrition. Narrowly spaced rings show when the area around the tree was scarce.

Interestingly, severe winter storms of 2007 moved the redwood remains inland for about 15 feet.