GPS Coordinates: 44.829404, -124.0670442

REGIONS > CENTRAL OREGON COAST > DEPOE BAY AND VICINITY

​This small wayside is west of Oregon Coast Highway 101 just north of Depoe Bay, and offers spectacular views of the coast from a series of gently sloping basalt bluffs.

​Originally known as Brigg’s Landing, the area was renamed after a dramatic shipwreck occurred here on May 17, 1910. On that evening, a steamboat called the J. Marhoffer caught fire when an engineer mishandled a blowtorch. The flames spread quickly and the ship’s captain ordered the crew to abandon the stricken vessel. Since the crew was unable to shut down the engines before taking to the lifeboats, the J. Marhoffer continued to steam north, now fully engulfed in flames.

​Residents from the area came down to the beaches to watch the burning “ghost ship” chug by until it finally crashed into the rocks of Brigg’s Landing. The resulting explosion sent smoking debris flying inland as far as half a mile (.80 km). Amazingly, only one person died. 

Today, the J. Marhoffer wreck is a distant memory and the wayside is better known as a great spot for watching the annual gray whale migration, or a variety of seabirds including brown pelicans, black oystercatchers and marbled murrelets.

Still, if you're interested in seeing the ship's boiler come at low tide and make sure to find the piece of shrapnel from the explosion embedded in the nearby hillside (see slideshow to the right for details on this). 

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