What's not to be missed on the OR coast? (Portland: oceanfront, house)

[bobmulk]

Cannon Beach is an elegant artist's colony. Seaside has touristy kitsch but is wonderful anyway with a HUGE beach and a great Broadway. Florence has a magical downtown. The Taft area of Lincoln City is nice. Manzanita is charming. Brookings is fantastic.

[mollyblythe]

Originally Posted by nootka

... spend a while in Astoria (MANY things to do there)

The Crest Motel just atop the hill east of town has a great view of the mouth of the Columbia River and the bridge crossing into Washington! We've loved staying there.

[delta07]

My husband and I just moved to Central Oregon and are very excited to visit the coast. We are looking at taking a very short trip (2-4 days) for some camping, hiking, and general sightseeing. We will be traveling with our 2 dogs, so beach camping that allows dogs (preferably off leash areas if possible) is a must. We don't care as much about touristy stops, as our main focus will be some much needed R&R. In this short amount of time where would you recommend that we go? I checked out the link earlier in this thread to Cape Perpetua, which looked really nice. We would like to spend a day there hiking, but the campground is not on the beach, which is important to us.

[mmcguy]

For the camping purists, try Oswald West State Park off the west side of Highway 101 between Manzanita and Arch Cape (south of Cannon Beach). It is the BEST state park campground in the country (IMHO). You park up top and then take the hike down hill (about 1/2 mile switch-back) to the campground. Large wheelbarrows are provided for your gear.

Once there, you are free of cars, motorcycles, scooters, motorhomes, trailers, etc... All you have are tent-campers and a few bicycles. It's quiet, relaxed and feels like you're miles from any civilization. BTY, they do have toilets and showers, but no electrical. Some firewood is available, but plan to pack your own as well. Each site has a level tent pad (some have two), a fire pit and a picnic table.

The campground is a short (100 yard) walk over (or around) a natural breakwater to a great 1/2 mile long secluded beach. Note: The north end of the beach is popular with surfers during the day (there is also a picnic area north of the campground).

Another benefit is the tree canopy. Since it IS the Oregon Coast, it rains occasionally (snicker....). When it does rain, the tree canopy above the campground keeps things MUCH drier than on the beach or up in the parking lot. The down side is that not a whole lot of direct sun makes it into the campground (but there is some...)

Another fun thing (if you are driving) is to simply pull into all of the scenic waysides that the ODOT has created up and down Highway 101. The waysides are either scenic vistas, picnic areas on the beach or parking lots leading to beach access. Lot's to be seen!!!

[delta07]

Thanks mmcguy! Sounds like a nice little cg to check out. Are there any other cg's out there that would be vehicle friendly, but not too crowded? We have a VW bus that we like to camp in when possible, but definately don't like to camp in row to row RV's. We did this on the CA coast and it was WAY too crowded for us!

[Kathleenh54]

If you are going past it, try the Sea Lion Caves. We thought it was great.

[cgroveOregon]

Depoe Bay.....the world's smallest harbor!

[furyu]

Originally Posted by mtb83201

would I miss a lot if I started at Florence and worked northward to Olympic National Park? Or should I start at brookings and go to Rockaway beach? I'm trying to plan for the most action-packed stretch. Something tells me that the northern chunk would be better. I'm from Idaho, so I don't know what I'm doing. But my wife and I love Oregon and Seattle, and we're trying to decide which state to live in.

You'd miss the most spectacular part of the coast! From the California border up to Florence, the coastal views are unbelievably gorgeous (as long as it's not fogged in!). The town of Brookings itself isn't much to see, but from that point north, including Harris Beach which is on the northern most part of Brookings, you have awesome coastal views from higher points than anywhere else in the state. Beaches such as Lone Ranch and Whales Head are easily accessible and uncrowded, unless you consider whales, sea lions, and a variety of sea birds, 'crowds'. The Pistol River area/coast is probably the most photographed part of the state. Gold Beach and the mighty Roque River area is a point of interest to many. Approaching Port Orford, well... it's just unbelievably gorgeous, all the coastline along there. The town itself is tiny but historically interesting. There are numerous places to pull over and gawk!

The southern coast is far more rocky than points north of Florence. There are a plethora of interestingly shaped sea stacks that give the southern coast a unique quality unmatched elsewhere.

It takes about 3 hours (not stopping) to drive from Brookings to Florence.

But I guess I'm a bit late to tell you all of this! Hope you enjoyed your trip.

[tiffela74]

ive lived in Oregon all my life. On the coast here in Coos Bay for the last 5 yrs. Well, I took a day trip w/my husband down the coastline from here in CB down to Brookings on Thursday. The views are undescribable. There were areas that it was so stunning, it brought tears to my eyes. My husband said I look like a tourist from the Mid-west because I took so many pictures and was so excited about it all. I must agree with Furyu. DONT miss out on the views on the Oregon coast. You'll never forget them.
I'll post some of the pics I took when I can get a disk, then narrow it down. I dont think posting 158pics up would be appriciated! lol
Oh, and BTW, we stopped off at the Cape Blanco lighthouse, and from the viewpoint, stood there and watched a pod of whales spouting for about 2hrs. Even got some tail views! It was awesome!
GOD, but Im so lucky to live along the Oregon coast!
Tiff

[nephthys]

I would recommend Bandon to everyone. Here are some pics I took so you can see for yourself why.