The trip of a lifetime: Slowly exploring the life-changing Oregon coastline

Several years ago, I came up with this idea that it would be fun to really explore the Oregon Coast in-depth.  There is so much there, from the tacky tourist traps to the majestic viewpoints, and everything in between.  I started thinking about how much there is to do in even one small area, and how a road trip from Astoria to Brookings, that really encompassed everything, would have to be quite long.  I came up with an outline that does it all in 31 days--a perfect summer month!  (And I would envision this trip happening during the summer, for maximum benefit.)

And yet, still, this doesn’t encompass everything.  I did not list every single state park, golf course, lighthouse, etc.  There is simply too much.  You could spend a whole year along the Oregon Coast without doing it all, but this was designed to give folks a heavy sampling!

That said, not everybody has a month to take off and do something like this.  If this idea appeals to you, but you have a shorter timeframe to work with, an itinerary like this can be massaged to fit your own schedule and priorities.  (I tried to make sure there was something for everyone with regards to things like hiking, golf, fishing, but if you need more, all that stuff is an easy google search away! Insert as needed.)

Notably absent from this guide are lodging and dining recommendations.  I am kind of envisioning this trip as an RV trip, but you could also camp, stay in the cheapest motels possible, or only the most grand.  And the Oregon Coast has all of it!  There are also too many places to dine, and too much difference in taste to adequately pick out places to eat for anyone who might happen upon this blog post.  I did make one recommendation in Lincoln City for a spot to eat breakfast.  Other than that, you are on your own for these accommodations!  If you end up making this trip or one similar, maybe you can let me know about some of your best recommendations for food and dining.

In addition to all the other preparations one might make for a 31-day trip (and possibly longer, depending on how long it will take you to get to Astoria/home from Brookings), I would highly urge anyone embarking on this journey to purchase a 12-month pass to the State Park system in Oregon.  Lots of the attractions I mention are part of this system, and while a one-day pass will cost you $5, a one-year pass will cost you $30!  (And you will have it for 11 months after your trip is over, too, to explore some of the other great wonders of Oregon.)

Without further ado, I present Megan’s One Month Guide to the Oregon Coast!  Don’t forget the camera, you won’t want to forget this trip of a lifetime.

Day 1

Though this journey is meant to be about Oregon, I actually recommend starting on 101 in Washington and coming south into Astoria, so as to experience the largest truss bridge on the continent, at 4.1 miles long!  It is a sight to behold.

Once in Astoria, go check out the Goonies House. You can’t go in, but it’s a great photo op. While you are in the area, check out the Oregon Film Museum.  It’s an old jail, and there are displays set up in the cells.  The Fratelli Brothers’ RV is parked outside!

Next, take in the Maritime Museum. It contains 30,000 maritime artifacts and 20,000 maritime photos of the Columbia River and Pacific Northwest, for $12 per adult.

Finish off the day’s sight-seeing by warming up those legs...there are LOTS of walking and hiking activities ahead for you in the next month!  Go to the Astoria Column, with 164 mural-lined steps and magnificent view on top!

Day 2

Get a fairly early start today.  Go out to Fort Stevens, and explore there.  Don’t miss the Peter Iredale shipwreck while you’re there!

Next, head to Fort Clatsop, and explore all the Lewis and Clark exhibits and artifacts. Then, find the visitor center there to start the 6 mile Fort to Sea Trail hike.  Arrange for a shuttle car or cab pickup on arrival, or be prepared to hike the 6 miles back after exploring the beach!

You can either drive to Seaside tonight or tomorrow morning, it is only a 15 or 20 minute drive.

Day 3

This is your day to experience tourist Seaside.  Walk the promenade, browse the shops, ride the carousel, eat some maple-covered bacon, go down to the beach and swing on the swings, rent a boat for the canal...take your time!

Day 4

Head out of town a bit to hike Saddle Mountain!  It’s a fairly difficult hike, gaining 1800 feet in elevation over the course of 2.5 miles, but the views and wildflowers should be worth it!

If you are still recovering from Fort to Sea and the Astoria Column, you can instead elect to go golfing.  Highland is one of the better courses in the area, $28 gets you 18 holes.

Day 5:

Drive down toward Cannon Beach and enjoy Ecola State Park.  It offers 8 miles of beach trails with secluded coves and even an abandoned lighthouse! You can take your time here and just meander and explore.

Haystack Rock is the only other item on your agenda today.  It’s a 235 foot tall seastack, great for photographing, and a great beach to explore and relax on.

Day 6:

Continue south and explore the towns of Manzanita, Nehalem, and Rockaway.  If you happen to be Catholic like me, and can time this day to be a Sunday, I recommend taking in mass at St. Mary by the Sea in Rockaway.  It is a very sweet little parish, and as you leave mass, the doors pretty much open right up onto the beach!

Recommend making it to Tillamook, as that is when your next day starts.

Day 7:

Work up an appetite by going out to the Bayocean Spit, and doing the 7.6 mile hike out to the end.  Despite the distance, it is easy, being very flat.  Bayocean was a planned resort community that was not well planned--it got wiped out by the ocean going over the peninsula.

After all the hiking you have done in just the last 7 days, it is time for a treat!  Head over to the Tillamook Creamery, widely known as the Tillamook Cheese Factory.  Take the tour and get some cheese, but for the love of all that is good and holy, do NOT pass up getting an ice cream cone!!

If you still want more to do, you can check out one or both of a couple local museums, the Tillamook County Pioneer Museum or the Tillamook Air Museum.

Day 8:

This is really the one time your main route veers off Highway 101.  Instead, you will be taking the Three Capes Drive, as 101 goes inland a bit and this keeps you closer to the ocean.  Follow signs for Cape Meares, and head south on Highway 131 from there.

At Cape Meares, visit the “haunted” lighthouse, take in the ocean views, and enjoy some short nature walks.

Continue south to Cape Lookout State Park for views of hang-gliders and the majestic beaches and cliffs.

The third cape of the Three Capes is Cape Kiwanda, renown for it’s photography opportunities.  Some may say it is the most beautiful spot on the Oregon Coast, but with nearly 400 miles of rugged coastline, that’s a pretty tough call!

Settle into Pacific City for the evening

Day 9:

Splurge option: Hang gliding lessons with Oregon Hang Gliding school, $130/person

Active option: Hike Cascade Head, 4.2 miles round trip, for impressive views over the coastline
Low key: Rent a bike, explore Pacific CIty, whale watching, golfing in Nestucca

Head to Lincoln City

Day 10:

The ONE AND ONLY dining recommendation I will make: Nelscott Cafe for breakfast.  It’s small, and recommended you get there fairly early to beat the crowd.

Lincoln City boasts an outlet mall that seems to attract a lot of people.  It’s worth exploring, if for nothing else than killing a little time.  There is something kind of fun about strolling through a mall while you can smell the salty ocean air.

If you did not get your shopping fill at the outlet mall, you can find lots of little shops all up and down 101 in Lincoln City.  Make sure to get some saltwater taffy, many shops sell it!

This is probably also the only time I will recommend taking in a movie, but check and see what the Bijou is playing. It is an older theater with a sweet old-timey feel to it.  They tend to play older movies or less popular movies, not your typical current blockbusters.

Finally, Lincoln City is known for kite-flying!  Stop at a shop and get your kite on!  Go run into the surf where the D River enters the ocean, while you are at it!  (D River is reportedly the shortest river in the world!)

Day 11:

Get up a bit early to enjoy the morning air, and take a long drive to find a short hike.  Look up directions to Drift Creek Falls.  Getting there is not easy, but from the trailhead, you hike 1.5 miles to a place where the creek you’ve been following...jumps off a cliff and joins a bigger river!!  It is quite the sight to behold.  In addition, you get to cross the bigger river...on a super awesome suspended bridge!!  At that point, you’ve seen the best of the hike, so you can feel free to turn around and come back to your car.

If you are feeling up for it, Lincoln City still has more to offer.  You can choose to spend your afternoon on Devil’s Lake, fishing, swimming, and boating, or you can instead check out Salishan Golf Course if you are so inclined.

I also have great childhood memories at Fogarty Creek State Park just north of Depoe Bay.  If you just need a little more beach time, I suggest getting on the road south toward Depoe Bay and stopping here on the way.

Day 12:

Wake up in Depoe Bay, and choose either the 8 o’clock trip or 10 o’clock trip on the Whale’s Tail Zodiac Boats out into the ocean for some whale watching!  A 90 minute trip is well worth your time and $35 per person

Continue south toward Newport.  Near Otter Rock, stop in for some tasting at Flying Dutchman Winery, then go and see the Devil’s Punchbowl, where the water sprays up from the rocks as the waves come in.  There are some tidepools near Otter Rock, I suggest going down to them to explore the underwater ecosystem.  Sea anenomes are my favorite, but keep an eye out for starfish and other creatures.

Settle in to Newport for the evening.

Day 13:

Spend some time at the Oregon Coast Aquarium.  Among other things, they have a huge underwater glass tunnel where you can see all sorts of water creatures, including small sharks, swim all around you.

Head to Agate Beach for some exploring and agate hunting!  (Full disclosure: I was privileged to spend one summer living on Agate Beach...like the house I rented a room in looked over the beach.  I watched the ocean while I ate my cheerios.  So I have special sentimental attachment to this beach, but really, it’s amazing.)

Schedule this ahead of time, as tours fill up, but take a tour of Yaquina Head Lighthouse at 12, 1, 2, or 3.

Spend some time relaxing, and end the evening with a bonfire on Nye Beach!

Day 14:

Drive inland on Highway 20 about 7 miles, and take the business route through the small town of Toledo.  Explore the downtown area, which is along the Yaquina Bay.  (It could be argued that it’s more of a river at this point.)  

Take Highway 229 across Highway 20 to Siletz.  Not a lot to see or explore here, other than to maybe find a spot for lunch.

From Siletz, take County Road 410 abou 12 miles to Moonshine County Park.  Locals to the general area rave about this swimming hole!

Head back to Newport

Day 15:

Start your day at the Hatfield Marine Science Center, kind of a more academic aquarium, run by Oregon State University.  (Personal bias: it has to be good!)  I have been here, but not since childhood.  My outstanding memory of it is that I got to touch an octopus, and that was pretty cool.

Next, while you are in the bay area, get a tour of the Rogue Brewery, some of the best beer in Oregon.  Stay for samples if it suits your fancy!

The Nye Beach area has lots of fun shops and eateries, mostly with a lighthearted “new age” feel to it, so spend some time here.

Beverley Beach State Park would be a nice place to wind down in the evening, and maybe take in a sunset.

Day 16:

Down by the bay (sorry, no watermelons grow here…), you can take in some great tourist kitsch, with the Wax Museum, the Undersea Gardens, and Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, I believe all for $25 per person, last time I checked.

Walk the shops and restaurants on the bay, spend some time watching the seals

Visit Yaquina Bay Lighthouse and State Park

Day 17:

Newport is going to be your longest stay at one spot, and this morning you leave it!  Head south a little bit to Seal Rock.  Explore to your heart’s content, including shops and Seal Rock State Recreation Area, where you will have the chance to explore some more tidepools.

Continue south to Waldport, where you can take in the Alsea Bay Interpretive Center, including crabbing and clamming demonstrations, and a bridge walk tour.  Waldport is a very quiet town without much of a tourist presence, and it would be a nice place to just take it easy for the evening.

Day 18:

Admittedly, I have never really stopped to explore Yachats, but it has been sworn to me that this is the best town on the beach, and perhaps the best kept secret.  It may be worth exploring to see why!

Then visit Cape Perpetua for some of nature’s wonders.  Tidal pools, coastal forests with pristine ocean views, a spouting horn, and something called Devil’s Churn, which I am told you have to experience to fully appreciate.

Continue south toward Florence, and visit the Sea Lion Caves.  You start at a great lookout, and then an elevator takes you down into the caves where Sea Lions live and feed.

Head into Florence and explore shops and dining.

Day 19:

Honeyman State Park sits just south of town, at the beginning of the Oregon Dunes.  You may frolic in the dunes, and one of my favorite things to do is go down to Lake Cleawox which is excellent for swimming.  The fact that it is surrounded by sand keeps it fairly warm.  You can also rent some non motorized boats.

For some adrenaline-pumping fun, check out Sandland Adventures for a wild dune buggy ride!

Day 20:

I am advised that the Hobbit Trail, which is near Heceta Head but quite hard to find, is a great thing to take in.  It is ¼ mile down to a quiet beach, which you may have to yourself!  It’s reportedly good for finding sand dollars.

Heceta Head Lighthouse is regarded as maybe the best lighthouse on this trip.  It sits atop a cliff and promises some of the best views in the region.

Finally, you may finish out your time in Florence with the Florence Historic Walking Tour.  It is self-guided, with stops suggested by a local museum.

Next, head south to Reedsport, and inland 3 miles to Dean Creek Elk Viewing for a relaxing end to your day, observing the natural world.

Day 21:

Explore Reedsport area:

Overlook Trail

Umpqua Discovery Center

Umpqua Lighthouse

Loon Lake

Day 22:

Head to Winchester Bay for more Dunes fun with Dune Country ATV Rentals.  They are reportedly incredibly friendly and helpful toward first-timers.

Visit Tenmile Lakes for fishing, swimming and boating.

Head to the North Bend/Coos Bay area for the night.

Day 23:

It has been reported to me that as you are passing through North Bend, at one point just off the highway, you can see a model Beaver seated atop a pile of woodchips.  Know that being a Beaver fan is a huge part of Oregon Culture.  You’re not cool unless you’re a Beaver fan ;).

Visit the Coos Art Museum

Visit the David Dewett Veteran’s Memorial

I have never seen Shore Acres State Park personally, but from people who have lived in the area, I have heard very good things, and the pictures look stunning.  More than just a State Park, it has botanical garden, a japanese garden, and a gift shop.

Day 24:

Southern Oregon and Northern California, along the coastline, are famous for the Oregon Myrtle Tree, which produces a beautiful wood product.  Visit the Oregon Connection House of Myrtlewood and look over their gorgeous products, maybe take home a souvenir!

There are a few casinos along the Oregon Coast, and you may have squeezed in Chinook Winds in Lincoln City or Three Rivers in Florence, but this is also a great opportunity to explore the Mill Casino in North Bend.

Check and see what is playing at the Egyptian Theater.  It is an old renovated theater with a Wurlitzer organ.

Day 25

Bias here is that my brother is deep into the world of golf (he is a golf course superintendent) so when I think of Bandon, I think of how he loves to play golf here!  And indeed, there are some world-renown golf courses.  I think his favorite is Bandon Dunes.  It’s a bit of a splurge, but I’m told that if you are a golf lover you won’t regret it!

If you are not much of a golfer, you can still take in this part of Bandon by playing the Bandon Preserve, a par-3 golf course.  It’s less expensive than some of the regular golf courses, and the money goes to a good cause.

Like many other coastal towns, Bandon has a fabulous boardwalk of shops.  Be sure to take some time to explore them!

Bandon is the self-proclaimed Cranberry Capital of the World, and has lots of shops with all things cranberry, but visit a farm (they grow in a bog) to get the full cranberry experience!  Faber Farms is one that offers tours.

Bullards Beach State Park, with dunes, beach, crabbing on the river, and a lighthouse seems like a great way to end the day.

Day 26:

I have regrettably never been to West Coast Game Park Safari (still Bandon), but I know people who have.  And those people have held baby tigers.  So I suggest checking this out!!

Bandon also boasts a lavender farm (Merritt Lavender Farm) with a labyrinth, which probably smells amazing.  Probably a great way to get some zen, since you have now been on the road for nearly 4 weeks!

Finally, visit Face Rock State Scenic Viewpoint.  From the Oregon State Parks website: “There is an American Indian legend about this spot. Some say they hear a maiden's voice on the wind, and standing on the cliff overlooking the ocean you can easily pick out the face on Face Rock. There is a well-kept trail to the beach, and several rocky intertidal areas to explore at low tide.”

Day 27:

Continue south, toward Port Orford.  Visit Cape Blanco State Park.  This is the home of the westernmost point of the continental United States.  It is recommended to have both a windbreaker jacket and sunglasses, to protect your eyes from the sand!  Some visitors report that the sand blows in ripples, like waves.

There are lots of walking trails, and the oldest working lighthouse in Oregon, along with tours of the lighthouse.

If you were inclined to do any camping, there are 22 spots here, but they are first come first served.

Day 28:

Explore the Port Orford Lifeboat Museum, Port Orford shops, and maybe Humbug Mountain State Park for a hike which, at 6 miles is “Lush, green, narrow, steep, and divine” according to one yelp reviewer.

On the drive to Gold Beach, don’t miss out on visiting the Prehistoric Gardens with huge, kitschy models of dinosaurs, or the views at Sister’s Rock State Park.

Once you get to Gold Beach, take in the sights of the Mary D. Hume Steamship remains, a steamboat that sunk and just has stayed over the years, but a great photo op, and if you need more to do, check out the Curry Historical Museum.

Day 29:

This one is not for the faint of heart!  Jerry’s Rogue Jets will take you to places you can only otherwise get by hiking, and it’s a great, beautiful, scenic trip up the Rogue River.  There are day trips, but I recommend getting away from modern life for a night, and staying at the furthest point this boat goes, at Paradise Lodge.  You will need to leave at 7:30 in the morning.  Pack light, but bring the essentials, and maybe some spending cash!

Day 30:

You will be returned to Gold Beach, arrival time about 3:30pm.  Relax and enjoy the town of Gold Beach, as well as it’s beautiful (and typically warmer than most places on the Oregon Coast) beaches.

Day 31:

Head down to Brookings for your last day of this journey!  Enjoy the beaches, the town, and maybe go see Oregon’s largest Monterey Cypress tree!

If you made it this far, congratulations!  I hope this Oregon Coast Binge is a life-changing experience.  It will probably be years before I get to do something like this, so if anyone out there reading this does this trip, or a similar one, please let me know about anything I missed, or anything that should be struck from this itinerary!