South Beach is located along the Pacific coast at Yaquina Bay, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of Newport, Oregon. South Beach State Park begins at the jetty protecting the mouth of Yaquina Bay and extends for several miles south along the coast. The beach continues beyond the park to Seal Rocks.

South Beach is popular for surfing with an exposed beach break over a gradually rising sandy bottom that produces a consistent surf any time of the year. South Beach is locally popular and sometimes gets crowded despite the known issues of strong currents and sharks that hunt seals near the jetty.

Along much of the Oregon coast, erosion is an issue affecting both artificial and natural structures. Beach sand is typically removed by energetic winter storm waves and deposited by more gentle summer waves. This dynamic is different at the jetties where sand is almost continually accreting against the barrier. The alongshore drift of currents and sand increases during the winter and sand is deposited and dramatically built up. Each year the trapped sand piles higher and threaten to bury walking paths and boardwalks. Read more here and here. Explore more of South Beach here: