Sport Haven Beach is located right at the mouth of the Chetco River in Brookings, Oregon. This family-friendly coarse sand beach stretches almost a mile south of the Chetco River South Jetty.

It is known for its easy access, plenty of parking next to the beach, beautiful views, and fantastic rockhounding.

Sport Haven Beach is popular for a ton of adventures including excellent rockhounding, fishing, surfing, jogging, bird watching, and even kite flying events. With restaurants, seafood markets, and lodging just steps away, you can easily spend a whole day enjoying the beach life.

Sport Haven Beach Rockhounding

Sport Haven Beach and the nearby gravel bars along the Chetco River provide an incredible rockhounding experience. The river carries a diverse mix of materials from the Klamath Mountains and Upper Chetco, depositing a fascinating variety of rocks along the shoreline.

On the beach, you can find milky-white quartz, sometimes containing striking mineral impurities, and large, colorful pieces of jasper, often green, brown, or red, with brecciated patterns. With their rich translucence, carnelian agates add to the excitement, while greenish serpentine is a fun and distinctive find. On rare occasions, lucky rockhounds may even come across pieces of petrified wood.

The best time to search for these specimens is during low tide and after storms when fresh deposits are revealed. However, even in summer, you can still find plenty of beautiful rocks scattered along the shore.

While digging is not permitted, a Sand Dipper Beach Scoop can help collect rocks from hard-to-reach spots.

Besides rockhounding, Sport Haven Beach has something for everyone:

Surfing: Big waves in winter are great for experienced surfers, while smaller summer waves are perfect for beginners.
Fishing: Catch surfperch right from the beach or fish from the jetty rocks for bottomfish, salmon, and tuna.
Walking and Jogging: Easy sand and beautiful views make it ideal for relaxing walks or jogs.
Bird Watching: From late summer through spring, migrating shorebirds visit the beach.
Southern Oregon Kite Festival: Every third weekend of July, enjoy kite flying events just steps from the sand.

And if you are looking even more rockhounding opportunities, be sure to visit the nearby beaches such as Harris Beach, McVay Rock State Recreation Area, and Crissey Field State Recreation Area.

Cautions: Beware of changing tides, rip currents, driftwood, sneaker waves, and never turn your back to the ocean.