Review: Oregon Undersea Gardens:
Date of visit: December 7th, 2013.
Aquarium’s website:
Oregon Undersea Gardens
Oregon Undersea Gardens opened in 1966 and it is located along the waterfront in the seaside town of Newport in the state of Oregon. The city has a total population of only around 10,000 inhabitants and yet somewhat remarkably there are 3 aquariums in the area. Oregon Coast Aquarium is arguably one of the 10 best aquariums in the United States, Hatfield Marine Science Center is well worth visiting and is by donation only, and Oregon Undersea Gardens is the final part of the group (all within 7 minutes of each other!) but it is the ugly sister of the trio.
Oregon Undersea Gardens costs $11 for an adult and it is part of a glitzy, cheese-drenched Newport waterfront that includes Ripley’s Believe It Or Not and a Wax Works building. All 3 can be seen for an outrageously overpriced admission fee but the air of decrepitude is palpable in the sea breeze. I spent perhaps 20 minutes in the aquarium but it is essentially one large tank of 2,000,000 liters (530, 000 gallons) that is almost 50 years old and feels even older. There are two flights of stairs down to a darkened room that is in the shape of a long rectangle, and the entire zone is encircled by viewing windows on the single tank. The element of being situated directly beneath the waves is lost by the theater seating and rusted ladder hanging down into the depths.
The highlight is definitely when a diver enters the water to showcase some of the denizens of the deep, and the Pacific Octopus on display can usually only be seen when the show is in progress. There are at least 5 Wolf Eels in the large tank, along with other notable species such as: Pacific Halibut, Rock Sole, Red Irish Lord, Lingcod, Cabezon, Kelp Greenling, Bocaccio, Sablefish, Yelloweye Rockfish, Tiger Rockfish, Canary Rockfish, Vermillion Rockfish, Quillback Rockfish, Black Rockfish, Copper Rockfish, Chum Salmon, Pink Salmon, Coho Salmon, Sockeye Salmon, Chinook Salmon, Pacific Cod, Shiner Perch, Striped Seaperch, Pacific Herring, White Sturgeon, Ratfish, Electric Ray, Dogfish Shark and various crabs. There is also a multitude of sea urchins, sea stars and various other invertebrates.
I purchased a guidebook that gives 34 pages of details in regards to the occupants of the single tank, and it was well that I did as it helped me differentiate many of the species on display. There is absolutely zero signage in the aquarium and the sense of being transported back to an earlier era of aquatic displays is overpowering. I would recommend that all hardcore zoo nerds stop by for their 20 minutes of fun and then never make a return visit, as it is simply one more aquarium to tick off on a lifetime list and not worth much of anything other than being representative of a blatant tourist trap on the waterfront.
Date of visit: December 7th, 2013.
Aquarium’s website:
Oregon Undersea Gardens
Oregon Undersea Gardens opened in 1966 and it is located along the waterfront in the seaside town of Newport in the state of Oregon. The city has a total population of only around 10,000 inhabitants and yet somewhat remarkably there are 3 aquariums in the area. Oregon Coast Aquarium is arguably one of the 10 best aquariums in the United States, Hatfield Marine Science Center is well worth visiting and is by donation only, and Oregon Undersea Gardens is the final part of the group (all within 7 minutes of each other!) but it is the ugly sister of the trio.
Oregon Undersea Gardens costs $11 for an adult and it is part of a glitzy, cheese-drenched Newport waterfront that includes Ripley’s Believe It Or Not and a Wax Works building. All 3 can be seen for an outrageously overpriced admission fee but the air of decrepitude is palpable in the sea breeze. I spent perhaps 20 minutes in the aquarium but it is essentially one large tank of 2,000,000 liters (530, 000 gallons) that is almost 50 years old and feels even older. There are two flights of stairs down to a darkened room that is in the shape of a long rectangle, and the entire zone is encircled by viewing windows on the single tank. The element of being situated directly beneath the waves is lost by the theater seating and rusted ladder hanging down into the depths.
The highlight is definitely when a diver enters the water to showcase some of the denizens of the deep, and the Pacific Octopus on display can usually only be seen when the show is in progress. There are at least 5 Wolf Eels in the large tank, along with other notable species such as: Pacific Halibut, Rock Sole, Red Irish Lord, Lingcod, Cabezon, Kelp Greenling, Bocaccio, Sablefish, Yelloweye Rockfish, Tiger Rockfish, Canary Rockfish, Vermillion Rockfish, Quillback Rockfish, Black Rockfish, Copper Rockfish, Chum Salmon, Pink Salmon, Coho Salmon, Sockeye Salmon, Chinook Salmon, Pacific Cod, Shiner Perch, Striped Seaperch, Pacific Herring, White Sturgeon, Ratfish, Electric Ray, Dogfish Shark and various crabs. There is also a multitude of sea urchins, sea stars and various other invertebrates.
I purchased a guidebook that gives 34 pages of details in regards to the occupants of the single tank, and it was well that I did as it helped me differentiate many of the species on display. There is absolutely zero signage in the aquarium and the sense of being transported back to an earlier era of aquatic displays is overpowering. I would recommend that all hardcore zoo nerds stop by for their 20 minutes of fun and then never make a return visit, as it is simply one more aquarium to tick off on a lifetime list and not worth much of anything other than being representative of a blatant tourist trap on the waterfront.
