Oregon's Coastal Sweet 363

Portland’s climate was still a little wet and cool in early May and so we took the camper van out for a little run to the sun. The weather was looking good due south and so we blitzed down to Shasta and spent three perfect days at Shasta and Trinity Lakes — both of which were full to capacity.

But then weather reports for Oregon looked to be improving from south to north and so we decided it was time to reacquaint ourselves with the sweet 363 miles of the Oregon coast. To actually drive the entire Oregon coast including the many scenic offshoots is not something to undertake in a day. Two days minimum and preferably four days – we took five 🙂 Here is a little narrated pictorial of our road trip.

Take the milepost listings in this post as approximations – I did my best to look them up on the internet but I cannot guarantee their accuracy and the turnoff you need may be different depending on the direction you are traveling.

The stunning sunsets at Harris Beach in Brookings did not disappoint – Milepost 355

While hanging at Harris Beach we spied two Orca whales playing \ feeding just 100 yards offshore. One looked to be a baby. It was an awesome site.

Let these names roll off your tongue – Winchuck, Chetco, Pistol, Rogue, Elk, Sixes, Coquille, Coos, Umpqua, Siltcoos, Siuslaw, Yachats, Alsea, Yaquina, Siletz, D, Salmon, Nestucca, Tillamook, Trask, Wilson, Kilchis, Miami, Nehalem, Necanicum, and Columbia.

The rugged Southern Oregon coast and the rocks and sea stacks of Boardman State Scenic Corridor – Milepost 346

If you are an Oregonian a few of those names above should ring a bell. For the rest of you those are the names of the Oregon coastal rivers that we crossed from South to North (I’m sure I left a few out) on our jaunt up the Oregon coast from Brookings to Astoria. We didn’t really cross the Columbia while on the coast but we did as we returned from Longview to Portland.

More rocks and sea stacks near Brookings.

One of our travel themes on this road trip was to try and visit as many of Oregon’s lighthouses as possible and we came pretty close to capturing all of them on camera even though some can only be seen at distance. Here are a few of our favorites.

The Cape Blanco Lighthouse at Port Orford – Milepost 296

The Coquille River Lighthouse at Bandon – Milepost 259

The Cape Arago Lighthouse at Charleston – Milepost 238

Heceta Head Lighthouse, between Florence and Yachats – Milepost 178

We passed through plenty of charming little towns and we pulled off at a couple of dozen viewpoints that included small hikes to the beach or to an overlook with an impressive view. Certainly good weather makes this trip much more enjoyable and we were very lucky for the entire 363 miles of the Oregon Coast.

Meyers Creek Beach – Milepost 333

Beautiful Shore Acres Gardens at Shore Acres State Park in Charleston – Milepost 238

Depoe Bay – Milepost 128

Sea stacks at Siletz Bay – Milepost 120

Haystack Rock at Pacific City – Milepost 90

Rugged Cape Kiwanda – also at Milepost 90

View south from Cape Meares – Milepost 64.

Twin Rocks at Rockaway Beach – Milepost 51

Overlook near Manzanita Beach – Milepost 40

Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach – Milepost 28

The Wreck of the Peter Iredale at Fort Stevens State Park – Milepost 7.5

And there you have it – the sweet 363 miles of the spectacular Oregon Coast. I know we missed lots of sites and so a return trip is required and I’m thinking of running the Washington Coast as well. There’s always another adventure to be had!

Oregon’s Coastal Sweet 363

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