Shore Acres State Park is an Oregon State Park located on the Cape Arago Highway south of Coos Bay, Oregon

Coos Bay, Oregon

Coos Bay is a city located in Coos County, Oregon, United States, where the Coos River enters Coos Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The city borders the city of North Bend, and together they are often referred to as one entity called either Coos Bay-North Bend or the Bay Area...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The park features 5 acres (2 ha) of formal gardens including a rose-testing plot and Japanese lily pond. During autumn, winter and spring, visitors gather on the tall sandstone cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

 for storm watching and observation of the gray whale

Gray Whale

The gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus, is a baleen whale that migrates between feeding and breeding grounds yearly. It reaches a length of about , a weight of , and lives 50–70 years. The common name of the whale comes from the gray patches and white mottling on its dark skin. Gray whales were...

 migration. Another seasonal attraction is the Shore Acres Holiday Lights, lasting from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day, when the gardens are decorated with thousands of lights and illuminated sculptures. Shore Acres also includes a small beach on a secluded cove where elephant seal

Elephant seal

Elephant seals are large, oceangoing seals in the genus Mirounga. There are two species: the northern elephant seal and the southern elephant seal . Both were hunted to the brink of extinction by the end of the 19th century, but numbers have since recovered...

s haul out to molt amongst picnickers.

Shore Acres was originally an estate of the same name owned by Louis Simpson, a Coos County

Coos County, Oregon

-National protected areas:*Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge*Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge *Siskiyou National Forest *Siuslaw National Forest - Incorporated cities:- Unincorporated communities and CDPs:-See also:...

 timber baron

Business magnate

A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself...

. After fire and financial losses devastated his estate holdings, Simpson sold the land to the State of Oregon

Government of Oregon

The government of the U.S. state of Oregon, as prescribed by the Oregon Constitution, is composed of three government branches: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial...

for use as a park in 1942. The gardens Simpson developed, as well as one building, the gardener's cottage, remain as important features in the park.