While many rock formations along the Oregon Coast play host to sea lions and seals, Lion Rock, situated at Arcadia Beach in Arch Cape, is named not for a set of resting inhabitants but for the contour of its edges.

Viewed from the mile of shoreline that stretches to its south, the rugged basalt sea stack resembles the form of a crouching lion, wading among breaking waves.

Two smaller forms sit at its side, each accessible at low tide.

At times, the set of rocks can even be navigated in a loop along Arcadia’s sandy shore. Look for small tide pools at the rock’s base. The area is a nesting favorite for both shellfish and seabirds.

To Lion Rock’s north sits Humbug Point, a promontory from which nearby stacks are suspected to have broken away many millions of years ago. To the south, wide and sandy beaches stretch across seaside streams and scattered stones to the headlands of Hug Point, encasing Arcadia as a seaside cove.

For a landscape view of Lion Rock, look on from the parking area at Arcadia Beach State Recreation Site, where the rock sits in view between shore pine and hemlock canopies, a grove fit for a misty walk or a summer’s rest.