How Oregon almost lost public access to beaches
From Offbeat Oregon History podcast by www.offbeatoregon.com (finn @ offbeatoregon.com)
April 16, 2026 · 9 min
About this episode
The episode discusses how Governor Tom McCall fought to maintain public access to Oregon's beaches in the face of private landowner challenges.
After a beachfront landowner discovered a loophole in the law and fenced off “his” beach, other oceanfront property owners were eager to follow suit. Governor Tom McCall was determined to stop them, and this is how he did it. (Cannon Beach, Clatsop County; 1960s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1206a-how-tom-mccall-saved-public-beaches.html)
Topics covered
- public access
- beaches
- land ownership
- Oregon history
- government action
Keywords
- Oregon beaches
- public access
- Tom McCall
- landowner
- 1960s
Mentioned in this episode
Places: Cannon Beach, Clatsop County
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