When you are at the Oregon coast you see young couples, possibly honeymooners, having fun. You see families having fun. You see retired couples having fun. Everybody is having fun and that is what it is all about.
If you could only visit one area in the whole state and asked me for advice on which to choose, I would have to say, "Visit the coast." It doesn't matter which part of the coast you choose, you can't go wrong. It is easiest to divide the Oregon coast into sections by the way they are accessible from the major cities in western Oregon.
North coast--easily accessible from Portland and Salem
Central coast--easily accessible from Eugene
South coast--not easily accessible from anywhere
Now let me explain that last bit. The south coast is easily reached from Roseburg. However, if you want to drive to the coast from Medford, you have to drive into California and turn back north on the coast highway and drive back into Oregon. The good news is that it isn't that far to travel and the south coast would be worth it even if it was.
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It doesn't matter which area you choose on the Oregon Coast and you may choose to do the whole thing. You will see the most spectacular coastal scenery ever. Wherever you decide to go you will be travelling on US Highway 101 most of the time.
The north coast runs from Astoria on the Columbia River south to Lincoln City
The central coast runs from Lincoln City to Florence.
The south coast runs from Florence to Brookings.
In all three areas you will find beautiful sandy beaches, high cliffs with gorgeous vistas, fantastic state parks for day visits or overnight camping, lighthouses, and great
choices in lodging. Activities include beachcombing, exploring tide pools, clamming, surfing, kayaking,
crabbing, fishing, kite flying, aquariums, hiking trails, surf fishing, wind surfing or visit an Oregon Coast light house.
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In the Florence area are the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, the largest expanse of sand dunes in North America. The dunes run for 40 miles along the coast and are popular for off-road vehicle riding, hiking, horseback riding, and hiking. Also in the Florence area are the Sea Lion Caves where you can watch sea lions and seals.
If you are planning on staying several days on the coast,
Newport
is a good choice for a "base of operations". Besides the beautiful beaches, there are lots of things to do in the town itself. The historic neighborhood of Nye Beach is worth a day by itself and you can park right beside the beach. There are two lighthouses to visit - Yaquina Head and Yaquina Bay.
The south coast has a bit warmer weather. I have been there in October, November and April when it was quite balmy. You can have days anywhere along the coast that are cold any time of the year. It is wise to plan for all kinds of weather because you just cannot know what to expect. Dress in layers so you can add to or take off according to what the weather is doing. I have been at Cannon Beach and Ecola State Park on a day when it was so hot I went into the rest room and put my head under the cold water faucet to cool off. An hour later we drove south to Garibaldi and hit dense fog and thought we were going to freeze to death.
Choices in lodging on the Oregon Coast run from
resort hotels,
motels, bed and breakfast, to camping either in a tent or RV.
Can you camp out on the beach? Well, no, you can't. Some people do however. They can be told to move which would be a bit disconcerting if it happened in the middle of the night.
One of the fun things to do at the coast is build a campfire on the beach. This is usually fine as long as you use small pieces of wood (no big logs) and keep the fire well away from the grassland areas. Picture yourself sitting around a nice campfire eating roasted marshmallows, watching the most glorious sunset you have ever seen in your life and listening to the roar of the ocean waves.
On the south coast there is a short side trip you might like to take. The Oregon Caves National Monument where you can take tours of the marble caves.
superoog,creative commons
Beach access is easy and the state intends to keep it that way. Private property owners along the coast cannot deny the public access to the beach. There are no private beaches in Oregon. Anyway, the coast is almost one solid state park. I think the number of parks is 38 and some of them are huge. That's 38 parks in 360 miles!
There are some really fun
events on the Coast
throughout the year. These are events for all ages. Grownups will even enjoy the kid events--gives you an excuse to be a kid again.
Oregon whale watching
is a big thing at the coast. Whales migrate south during the months of December, January, and February. Then they migrate back north from March through
October.
Most people limit their visits to the coast to spring, summer, and fall but
winter on the Oregon Coast
can be fun also.
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