Tell me about the Oregon Coast

We LOVE the OR Coast - been there 5 times. For weeks at a time. We are blessed to have done that. Not sure we will do it again. We wound up concentrating Cannon Beach to Bandon. Walk the beach each day. Do I need to tell you that sunrises and sunsets will blow you away? (Not literally!) I did a lot of photo work - if you want to see images of the Coast you can go to www.LaurenBarbara.com and to the Wanderings link on the left and to Oregon - Coast. There is more than one page and the "next" and "back" buttons at the bottom are dark blue and kinda hidden. Enjoy.

Astoria would def. be a good starting point. Besides Fort Stevens (very interesting), there's:

The 125 ft tall Astoria Column which sits on top of 600 ft Coxcomb Hill. Terrific 360 degree panoramic view. Take your own balsa wood glider or buy one at the gift shop and launch it from the tower.

Numerous movies were filmed in and around Astoria and on the coast like Free Willy and The Goonies. The Oregon Film Museum is in Astoria in the old Clatsop County Jail and has exhibits.

If you could make the timing work out, Seaside has the annual "World’s Largest Amateur Beach Volleyball Tournament" in August. We happened to be there last year when it was on and was fun to see some of it.

If you were to hop over the Astoria-Megler bridge to WA, there's Long Beach which has the longest beach in the US (28 miles) - lovely little town to visit in the summertime. IIwaco is just down the road and there is a Saturday market on the boardwalk and a few places to stop and eat there. Cape Disappointment State Park (1800+ acres) is interesting to drive around and they have campsites, yurts and cabins.

We stayed in Newport last month for a week and enjoyed it. Was rather cool and cloudy and not much fun for sitting outside. They have Nye Beach, a small historic area near the ocean and the Historic Bayfront along the river which both make a great visit.

Neskowin just north of Lincoln City is a quaint interesting place to visit. Very small and has a bunch of summer cottages next to the ocean, many of them old. You can walk through it but have to park nearby. Recommended!

We went on a horse ride along the beach in Pacific City a few years ago. Great fun but hard on an aging body...

You'll see lots of tsunami warning signs along the coast. Make sure your running legs are in shape and have your sneakers handy! :)

We’ve been down as far as Florence dunes and by far prefer the cannon beach area. Within driving range of so much for day trips and a wonderful community to come back to. Many vacation rentals in town. We are the Canadian empty nesters and prefer June to sept 31

Crowe wrote:
Bring an appetite and a high-limit credit card. The seafood is out of this world, but not cheap.

LOL! I just got back from Norway. $150 for lunch for 3 people was the norm. I also live in New England. In bad fishing years seafood can be outrageous.

True, but New England seafood is in a class by itself!

Crowe wrote:
September has great whale watching.

Bazinga! We were leaning towards September but this might be the clincher. And I don't mind Californians or Canadians! :B

Thanks everyone! Keep the suggestions coming. Will look at campgrounds to see if they have cabins and I'm a big fan of VRBO as well as continuing the hotel search. Kind of like the idea of a cabin-it's a little more "casual" and suits us well.

I don't mind the Canadians of Californians either, during this time of year it is empty nesters wanting the campgrounds to be a little quieter, almost no kids during the week.

September has great whale watching.

Bazinga! We were leaning towards September but this might be the clincher. And I don't mind Californians or Canadians! :B

Thanks everyone! Keep the suggestions coming. Will look at campgrounds to see if they have cabins and I'm a big fan of VRBO as well as continuing the hotel search. Kind of like the idea of a cabin-it's a little more "casual" and suits us well.

RedRocket204 wrote:

Lwiddis wrote:
I suggest October. Best weather. Less people with kids back in school.

From my 9 years living on the north OR coast, I'd say September is absolutely the best weather with also the kids back in school and the tourist crowds gone. October can be iffy on weather. ..........

I agree that weather is better in September, but still lots of visitors fewer kids but many Californians and Canadians, and still crowded on weekends. September has great whale watching.

Bring an appetite and a high-limit credit card. The seafood is out of this world, but not cheap.

LOL! I just got back from Norway. $150 for lunch for 3 people was the norm. I also live in New England. In bad fishing years seafood can be outrageous.

Lwiddis wrote:
I suggest October. Best weather. Less people with kids back in school.

From my 9 years living on the north OR coast, I'd say September is absolutely the best weather with also the kids back in school and the tourist crowds gone. October can be iffy on weather.

mockturtle wrote:
People don't actually swim in the ocean on the Oregon coast. There is some surfing and wind surfing is popular.

Agreed on the swim thing although I have gone out into the ocean in just trunks a small hand-full of times. But, I was always in the ocean as I surfed there year round and new what was going on with water temps. Of course, the surfing was almost always with a hooded full suit, booties and gloves.

donkeydew wrote:
the southern oregon coast is more scenic,the weather usually warmer, the ocean a little warmer and it is less crowded.

Less crowded, yes. The other stuff, no way. The ocean is not warmer in the southern OR coast and there are very scenic areas central and northern OR coast. Sure, the scenic stuff is subjective but having surfed all up and down the OR coast along with into northern CA and WA, the water is just plain cold everywhere.

Bring an appetite and a high-limit credit card. The seafood is out of this world, but not cheap.