The Pacific Coast Highway used to follow the steep cliffs between Otter Rock to the south and Depoe Bay to the north. It was narrow and precarious and traversed unstable soils.
A modern replacement section of Highway 101 was built just inland complete with passing lanes, probably by the 60s. It is fast, safe, and not nearly as scenic as the original. The old highway was left in place as a scenic byway called Otter Crest Loop.
I remember a newspaper report from the 70s about a gentleman traveling home one night along the cliffside in his VW bus when the old road gave way in a landslide. He screeched to a halt and rode the sliding section of pavement down the cliff a considerable way before it came to a halt. He was rescued unscathed, but I wonder if he ever drove the old highway again.
The road was reopened and remained in use until a major landslide wiped out a section north of Cape Foulweather a few years ago. The picture above was taken a few years before that, while the road was still open to autos.
This section of the old road is now accessible only on foot. The small building in the photo is called The Lookout and it has been a souvenir shop as long as I can remember. It is perched almost 500 feet above the ocean and is accessible from 101. The view to north and south is spectacular and it is a popular whale watching spot during the annual California Gray Whale migration.
Ash Creek Images
Photographs of the West by Doug Gorsline
Dramatic Clouds Over Cape Foulweather and the Lookout at Otter Crest, Oregon.
