To the Beaches!

Day 2 ~ Portland, OR to Beverly Beach State Park, OR

Portland is a beautiful city, nestled between the Willamette and Columbia Rivers, it butts up to the foothills of Mt. Hood to the east and the Coastal Range to the west.  Our road trip continues today as we headed out OR-26 to the beaches, where you drive among the stately Douglas Fir, Cedar, and Alder (Mmmm, alder smoked salmon!) 

Our morning destination was Gearhart, a tiny community with a big beach.  We’ve been many times with our family and always enjoy the place.  We highly recommend staying at Gearhart Ocean Inn (distinctivebeachlodgings.com) , a pet friendly retro style motel consisting of 12 cute little attached cottages.  Across the street is the Pacific Way Bakery & Cafe (pacificwaybakery-cafe.com), a treasure of a place.  It's a coffee shop/bakery by day and a first-class (tablecloths, great menu, outstanding service) restaurant by night.  Need groceries?  You can get most basics on the other corner at Gearhart Grocery (gearhartgrocerycatering.com) and you can pick up a few things to take for lunch on the beach.  About a three block walk is the beautiful beach where you can walk for long distances in either direction.  We love to stroll around the village and look at the homes we’ll never afford or fantasize about remodeling the ones we might.

Gearhart

Gearhart

The northern OR coast is stunning in so many ways; heavy forests line the mountains right down to the beaches edge.  Charming towns dot the coast along the way (following US 101S), each with it’s own character . . . Seaside with it’s “honky tonk” atmosphere, Cannon Beach with interesting shops including a wonderful kite shop (www.oregon.com/attractions/once-upon-breeze), great restaurants, tidal pools that are easy to explore and stunning views of Haystack Rock which is probably the most photographed formation on the northern OR coastline; Manzanita hugging the hills down to its crescent shaped beach.

Haystack Rock

Manzanita

Coastal Range

Continuing down 101 you reach a long stretch of sandy beach, home to the town of Rockaway Beach.  www.rockawaybeachor.us  It’s long been known as a seaside resort town and has a few condos and motels.  Outside Rockaway is a cedar wetlands preserve where you can see mammoth Western Red Cedars.  Also, you will continue to see the sea stack rock formations the OR coastline is known for.

Garibaldi was once a thriving logging community and Weyerhaeuser continues to operate a mill on the bay providing jobs to the community.   An obvious landmark is the single smoke stack from the 1920s that still stands today.  Garibaldi lies at the northern end of Tillamook Bay, and sport fishing is very popular here.  There are some good spots for butter clamming along the coast.  www.visitgaribaldi.com

The OR coast is where mountains meet the sea, it is home to giant red cedar, it supports commercial and sport fishing, and it offers beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean and its many bays.  But you will also note many dairy farms nestled between the coastal communities.  The town of Tillamook lies at the southeastern edge of the bay; both are named for the Native American tribe who lived in the area until the early 19^th Century.  The Tillamook people spoke a dialect of the Salishan language.  Today, tourists know Tillamook as the site of the Tillamook cheese factory and it is a popular stopping spot for the tourist buses and drivers, ourselves included.  It’s crowded but fun and you can get an ice cream cone, taste the cheese samples, take a self-guided tour of the cheese and ice cream making processes, and of course visit the gift shop or have a meal in the cafeteria. 

Tillamook Cheese Factory

Cheese Samples

Yummy!  Jamoca Almond Fudge

After eating ice cream for lunch we decided to take a detour and leave 101,  go out along the coast to Cape Lookout State Park.  Located on the sand spit between the ocean and Netarts Bay, this area is part of the Three Capes Scenic Route, and a nice respite as well as a pretty “off 101” route.  There’s camping and picnicking , nature walks, beachcombing (watch for glass floats), and beautiful views of the Pacific ocean.  Be aware of the tides as high tide will completely cover some of the beach.  While at Cape Lookout we saw some paragliders, which was fun to watch.

Cape Lookout Fisherman

Cape Lookout

Hanglider coming over Cape Lookout

People flock to Lincoln City in the summer to enjoy the beaches and all the tourist activities.  It is actually a compilation of many small communities and seems to stretch forever.  US Hwy. 101 winds from end to end and you can find lots of motels, restaurants, shops and attractions all along the nine-mile route.

I consider Lincoln City to be the Central OR coast; south of it are some of my favorite communities.  Depoe Bay offers a charming coastal atmosphere and is known as “The Whale Watching Capital of the OR Coast” from May through November.  The small downtown area is protected by a continuous sea wall, which offers views of the Pacific, and its spouting horns, while browsing, dining, or walking around.  There are many lodging choices in Depoe Bay but two very well known and respected accommodations in Depoe Bay, each with it’s own character are worth noting.  The famed Salishan Spa and Golf Resort (www.salishan.com) lies just north of Depoe Bay at Gleneden Beach.  The Inn at Arch Rock (innatarchrock.com) is a family owned and operated B&B perched on a bluff high above the Pacific.  

Depoe Bay

Depoe Bay

Just south of Depoe Bay is Otter Rock, aptly named, as the sea otters like to frolic on the rocks.  The Inn at Otter Crest, or the timeshares make for nice accommodations.  Years ago, I stayed by myself for a week at the timeshares and enjoyed the resort property and jaunts into Depoe Bay or down to Newport. 

Otter Rock Resort

 

Otter Rock

  Devil’s Punch Bowl is an impressive sea spouting horn.  Be careful of the spray at high tide, and at low tide, the cavern of rocks is interesting. 

Devil's Punchbowl @ low tide

One of our favorite chowder and pie places is Mo’s.  Throughout central and southern OR you will see signs for Mo’s famous chowder but this tiny location is a favorite. www.moschowder.com  

It’s worth noting that all up and down the OR Coast, the communities hold festivals throughout the year and summer is of course the busiest time.  You can participate or observe celebrations of Rhododendrons or Tall Ships, and Native American cultures or Celtic.  The choice is yours.  A valuable resource is the website visittheoregoncoast.com/events/

Our day concluded with arrival at our camping site, Beverly Beach State Park.  It’s been a long day of driving, but only covered about 200 miles since leaving the western suburbs of Portland.  Remember our post about needing camping reservations?  Well, it's a good thing we had them for this park as it was busy . . . lots of RVs, campers, and tents!

Bob, the Axe Man

Driving the coast is slow going, but so worth it!  My insight into retirement is that I must love the OR coast or I wouldn’t write such a long blog post about it.  And, I’m only mid-way down the coast!  More to follow, especially about the camping experience and that rooftop carrier which hasn’t been too annoying today while we traveled slowly and along the coastal route protected by the mountain range east of us.