Sea Lion Arch

Quick Facts:

.55 mile hike from the entrance to the beach to the viewpoint on Bald Point:  Sea Lion Arch Viewpoint

Somewhat strenuous at the end

Sea Lion Arch google maps location:  Sea Lion Arch

In June 2026 we went on a trip to Portland.  I planned a lot of hikes to arches, waterfalls, and beaches.  I am a fan of the movie & book series Twilight, so I wanted to visit the beach that doubled as La Push Beach in the first Twilight movie.  It is actually called Indian Beach and is on the northern Oregon coast, not in Washington like the movie portrays.  Indian Beach is located here:  Indian Beach

There is a large paved parking lot with a machine to pay for parking.  We parked in the overflow lot since there were a lot of people there when we visited.  We paid at the machine and then took the parking receipt back to our car to display in the windshield.

As we were walking through the parking lot towards the path to head down to the beach, I looked over at the beach and instantly spotted a large sea arch in the water!  I was shocked, because I had searched online for arches to visit along the coast, and this one was not mentioned anywhere.  I also couldn't believe that I had watched Twilight countless times and had never noticed the arch at "La Push Beach."  But there it was!  And when I went back and watched the movie after my visit to the beach, there was the arch in the movie too:

Twilight Scene at Indian Beach

Screenshot from the Twilight movie, you can see Sea Lion Arch on the far right of the screen

This movie screenshot from the parking lot area shows Sea Lion Arch in the center top

During our visit in late June of 2026, the beach was very crowded with lots of people walking or sitting, or even surfing.  We walked to the southern end of the beach hoping to get a better view of the arch.  Then my husband tried climbing up the rocks on the southern end of the beach.  There was an obvious trail, but it was extremely steep and slippery with wet mud and loose rocks.  He was able to climb up, and I stayed below and waited to see if the view was worth it.  He came back to collect me, telling it was a sight not to be missed.  We went through some switch-backs in the very thick vegetation instead of straight up the steepest part of the climb.  I was wearing shorts, so I'm surprised I didn't end up with rashes from the vegetation that was up to my chest as we walked through it.  After the vegetation ended, we had no other choice but to make our way up the slippery mud and over the remaining rocks to the top.  Slowly but surely, and with my husband's help, I made it to the top.  The view was definitely worth it.  I was able to get some great photos of the arch, which I later learned is named Sea Lion Arch because of its resemblance to a sea lion.  Incidentally, part of Goonies was filmed on Indian Beach as well, although the most notorious beach scene was shot on Cannon Beach at Haystack Rock.

The viewpoint where we took photos of and viewed the arch is located here:  Sea Lion Arch Viewpoint  Getting down from our viewpoint was just as complicated as getting up, although we made it without sliding down or falling.  When we walked back across the beach we noticed that someone had written a line from Twilight in the sand near the southern end of the beach:  "Bella, where the hell have you been, Loca?"  I would guess that a lot of the popularity of this beach is due to Twilight, because the beach itself wasn't any more spectacular than any other beach we visited that day.  The main difference was the very large parking lot.

The location of Sea Lion Rock

When we hiked back up to the parking lot, we found a large sign that we hadn't seen before we went down to the beach.  It showed exact filming locations of the movies filmed on Indian Beach, including Twilight and Goonies, and it also had Sea Lion Arch labeled, which is how I found out the name of the arch, which up until that point I was calling "Indian Beach Arch."  It had a QR code that you could scan and see exact film locations.  

When we left Indian Beach, we went to Cannon Beach and admired Haystack Rock (filming site for Goonies), then on to Rockaway Beach to see Twin Rocks Arch, and finally to Oceanside Beach and Tunnel Beach to see Three Arch Rocks.  We also went to the lighthouse on Cape Meares, which is the best place to view the openings of Three Arch Rocks.  Earlier in the day we had gone to Arch Cape Beach and were lucky enough to arrive at a low tide so we could see Arch Cape Arch.  It was a very full and very fun day.  Here is a video of our visit to Sea Lion Arch:  Sea Lion Arch and Indian Beach

Oregon Coast Highway 101

Driving along Highway 101 is very beautiful.  It is not at all the experience that I've had driving the California coast.  I expected to see sandy beaches, but instead I mostly saw very tall trees.  It's not at all obvious that you are right beside the Pacific Ocean, because you can't see it most of the time.  I don't recall ever driving through such tall trees as I did in Oregon.  There are many beaches along the coast that you can stop at as you drive along Highway 101.  There are a few small towns where you can stop to grab a bite to eat or purchase souvenirs.  We stopped in Rockaway and ate lunch at El Trio Loco III in Rockaway Beach.  We had wanted to eat at the Tillamook Creamery but it closed at 6 p.m. before we could make it back there after our adventures.  

heading for Indian Beach on the 101 highway

It is amazing to drive along the 101 highway knowing that you are right next to the ocean, but not being able to see it because of all of the tall trees.  

the large upper parking lot for Indian Beach

the lower parking lot for Indian Beach, and where some of the Twilight filming took place

We paid for parking at this pay station, and then put the receipt in our windshield.  It cost $12

the pay station

This was my first view of Sea Lion Arch.  Before that, I didn't even know there was an arch at Indian Beach.

view of Sea Lion Arch from the parking lot above the beach

walking down to the beach

coming out onto the beach, once again spotting Sea Lion Arch

The beach was pretty crowded

There's a small creek to cross on Indian Beach

looking over at the northern end of Indian Beach

Sea Lion Arch

looking towards the southern end of Indian Beach

On the far left of this photo is another large rock that has an arch under it

This is the Twilight filming spot:  La Push Beach in Twilight

The arch under this large rock

close-up of the arch under the nearby rock

I used my zoom lens to take some close-up photos of the arch

the arch opening

You can see the birds resting on the rock

The arch under the nearby large rock is very visible in this photo with my zoom lens

view down at Crescent Beach from Bald Point

Crescent Beach

looking down from Bald Point

the trail up on Bald Point

This is what we climbed up to get up onto Bald Point

We took the "switchback" instead of the direct way to the top - on the left you can see the vague trail through the brush

getting down was tricky, but we made it without falling

someone had written in the sand at the Twilight filming spot on the beach

The Twilight filming spot from behind

stepping into the ocean for a minute

the Tillamook Lighthouse off in the distance

The small creek on Indian Beach

heading back up from the beach

the stairs back up to the parking lot

There is a billboard at the top of the trail with information about filming on Indian Beach

this QR code took me to an app of various movie filming locations

The stats from my Map My Run app

from the beach up to Bald Point

Cannon Beach

Next door to Indian Beach is Cannon Beach, so we decided to go visit Cannon Beach as well.  The famous Haystack Rock is at Cannon Beach.  Cannon Beach was one of the filming sites of Goonies.  Cannon Beach is located here:  Cannon Beach Google Maps Location

We had a really hard time finding parking at Cannon Beach, but when we finally did find a spot to park, it had this easy access staircase down to the beach

we walked through this little tree tunnel

and then on this grass path onto the beach

our view when we came through the grass

there's Haystack Rock on the beach. 

looking back up at where we came down to the beach

Here is the scene from Goonies at Haystack Rock on Cannon Beach:  Goonies Opening Scene

Haystack Rock

My husband and I at Cannon Beach

heading back up to our parking spot

through the tree tunnel

and up the stairs

Arches in the Portland Area:

Natural Rock Arch

Phantom Natural Bridge

Arch Cape Arch

Sea Lion Arch

Twin Rocks Arch

Three Arch Rocks

Catherine Creek Arch

Places to Stay in Portland

We stayed at the Fairfield by Marriott located in Lake Oswego, which is located here:  Fairfield Inn because it was centrally located to everywhere we wanted to go.  There is not a hot tub, but there is a heated pool and there is a pretty good hot breakfast, which included sausage patties, scrambled eggs, spinach quiche, and sometimes sausage patties or bacon.  There are also waffles, oatmeal, cereal, fruit, bagels, and bread.  The room was comfortable and clean and the staff was friendly.  Their official website is here:  Fairfield Inn & Suites

Resources to enhance your visit to Portland:

These items might make your adventure to Portland more enjoyable.  Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn on qualifying purchases.  This is at no additional cost to you.

Best Easy Day Hikes Portland

Columbia Women's Arcadia II Jacket (this is the rain coat that I use)

Compact Travel Umbrella

Portland Family Adventures

Portland Hiking Guide

60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Portland