The bay of the same name is a 6-acre (2.4 ha) harbor that the city promotes as the world's smallest navigable harbor.

Depoe Bay was named for Siletz Indian Charles "Charley" Depot who was originally allotted the land in 1894 as part of the Dawes Act of 1887. There are conflicting accounts of the origin of his name. One says he was given the name "Depot Charley" for working at the military depot near Toledo, Oregon. The family was later known as "DePoe". His original tribal affiliation was Tututni.

Watching waves crash right onto the main drive is a past time during storm season here in Oregon. There were a number of people out this day all getting free salt water showers. The less adventurous were sitting in their cars watching the waves douse their vehicles in water.