At the Prom’s northern edges, at 12th Ave., things become markedly more deserted. This final access gives way to a host of chunky, wispy dunes, and eventually an estuary and the mouth of the Necanicum and its slightly weird mudflats. For some reason, people tend to migrate south of this rather popular entrance, but leave the northern section alone – which is where the river mouth sits.
Walk this stretch of perhaps a quarter mile or a little more, and you’ll discover one of the more unusual spots on Oregon’s coast, albeit deceptively so. At any regular glance, it looks completely average, perhaps even slightly boring and featureless. However, it cloisters a treasure trove of unbroken sand dollars – likely the most you’ll ever find on any beach on these shores.