Clatsop County will temporarily close vehicle access to north-county beaches over the April 11-12 weekend.
Gates at the county-owned beach entrances at Sunset Beach and Del Rey Beach will be closed Friday evening, April 10 and reopened Monday morning, April 13.
The closure is to discourage visitors from coming to Clatsop County and local communities.
Beaches north of the Necanicum River remain open to walkers. All beach users must observe social-distancing guidelines.
Currently county officials anticipate allowing vehicle access to the beaches on weekdays and restricting it on weekends, but will monitor visitor numbers and potential conflicts to determine whether access for vehicles can be opened up or should be further restricted.
While county officials have elected to allow regulated public access to these beaches, they and leaders from the cities of Astoria, Cannon Beach, Gearhart, Seaside and Warrenton strongly urge Oregon and Washington residents to follow Gov. Kate Brown’s March 23 stay-at-home order and pursue recreation only in their own communities. Large numbers of visitors crowding beaches and beach towns will result in further restrictions on public beach use.
The public is also asked to respect closures at other public sites. Fort Stevens and Ecola state parks are closed, as are state-managed parking lots and beach accesses. The beach at Seaside is closed to all users. The beach access road in Gearhart is closed.