COAST OF OREGON
WELCOME TO THE COAST!
We traveled from Seattle, Washington to San Francisco, California. As part of this trip, we decided to take the long way and drive the coast of Oregon. This without a doubt topped one of our favorite parts of this trip. I can guarantee that we will most certainly be back! If you are searching through Google Maps for places to stop along your route, the options will appear endless. From viewpoints to capes, every stop is breathtaking! One thing to note is hotel options along this route are limited. We recommend opting for campsites or airbnb’s for this journey.
ROCKY CREEK VIEWPOINT
Did someone say whales?!
Leaving Portland, our first stop was Rocky Creek Viewpoint in Depoe Bay. As the goal of our adventure was to travel the coast, we drove approximately 2 1/2 hours to this first stopping point. Upon arrival, we were mesmerized by the views, but were amazed by the whale sitings! We stopped here on a whim, and saw a total of three whales during our short time here. This park is easily accessibly by all, unlike some of the areas we will describe below.
If you are planning your trip along the coast, we recommend you bring binoculars and sun protection. The opportunities along Highway 101 to see wildlife along this route seem endless. Although some areas of the Pacific Northwest were rainy and cloudy, the coast of Oregon treated us with cloudless, sunny days!
DEVIL'S PUNCHBOWL
Ready for a splash?
Devils Punchbowl was incredible, if you can figure out how to actually get inside! Upon arrival, our GPS took us to a short overlook, but when we heard people talking from below we were determined to get inside ourselves!
The key? C avenue (see our instagram post for details). You are going to venture away from the parking lot down C Ave, past 3rd street, until you see a dirt path on your left. Follow this down until you reach the beach! Lastly, continue traveling to the left until you see the punchbowl!
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It is highly recommended you only go down into the punchbowl at low tide as it fills up entirely during high tide. It is important to check tide times to prevent visiting the punchbowl during unsafe times.
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There are two parking lots, one at the overlook and one further back towards 2nd street. If you are going inside, we recommend parking near 2nd street so you don’t have as far of a walk back!
YAQUINA HEAD LIGHTHOUSE
It’s more than a lighthouse..
The Yaquina Head Lighthouse is a must stop as you discover the coast of Oregon! The main attraction is not the lighthouse, it’s the cobble beach with full view of seals, tons of migratory birds and sea life! You can even explore the tide pools.
Consistent with our previous recommendation, bring your binoculars! You should also bring supportive footwear, with some traction. Flip-flips are not ideal for the cobble stone terrain.
Also, it is important to note that this is a national conservation land. The admission fee is $7 a vehicle, but the fee is waived if you have unless you have your National Park Pass! See more of Yaquina on Instagram!
CAPE PERPETUA
The BEST stop of all!
They say save the best for last, and I can honestly say we somehow managed to save the BEST for last. Yes, you will see lots of capes along your coastal journey, but Cape Perpetua is absolutely breathtaking. It is the highest point along the Oregon Coast (approx. 800 feet). There are many trail systems throughout this cape, and we wish we would have had more time to explore them!
You can drive the top by car, and you can spend as little or as much time as you want. These amazing views are only a short walk from the car! We recommend venturing a little further towards the right to check out the stone shelter. This is an incredible stop for watching the sunset too!
FLORANCE
I bet you worked up an appetite!
We packed a lot of stops into one day as we traveled Highway 101. We had The Waterfront Depot saved as a must do before we ended the day at our airbnb. Nestled in the old town Florence, this restaurant was nothing short of amazing. From the food to the service, we were so glad we held off our appetites to stop here!
Reservations are highly recommended in advance, but there is usually always open seats at the bar. The way we travel, we never quite know where we will end up, so we opted for the bar seating! And to be fair, you never know where the adventure will take you!
REEDSPORT
From sea life to wildlife
As we mentioned before, hotels are very limited along the coast. We didn’t want to stray far from Highway 101, so we opted for an airbnb in Reedsport, Oregon. This area was a perfect halfway point along the coast. You could even extend your time longer and do some camping along the way! The airbnb we chose was The Elk View Suite, and yes there were actually elk grazing the field in the morning! It was situated right along the Dean Creek Elk Viewing Area. Oregon is so vast and unique that you never know what you will see next.
OREGON DUNES
How do you dune?
The last thing we expected to see along the Oregon coast was sand dunes! But yes, this is real and they are awesome. We took a short trail at Oregon Dunes National Recreation area to the head of the dunes. You can hike all through these mountains of sand! We highly recommend bringing water and sun protection.
We opted for a quick picture and moved along our way down highway 101, but you can even rent dune buggies in some areas! The even weirder part was seeing evergreen trees growing along the dunes! We recommend stopping, even if its just for a short time.
What we took away:
Overall, traveling the coast of Oregon was an absolutely incredible experience. We discovered so many wonderful places along the way. Although we only spent two full days along Highway 101, we think much more time could be spent here. If we were to go back, we would definitely allocate more time hiking and camping along the coastline. The opportunities really are endless here. If you enjoy seeing natural beauty, this is an experience for you!