The Beautiful Oregon Coast

Places to Stay on the Central Coast 

Sylvia Beach Hotel in Newport--My Favorite!

Newport is my favorite coastal Oregon town. It is very artsy and has an interesting downtown right on the bay where the fishing boats come in.

This "hotel", on the ocean side of town at Nye Beach, is really more like a funky, cozy B&B. There is an excellent breakfast served in a communal area overlooking the water, and optional dinners, as well. When I first discovered it, I was on a tour of the coastline with a girlfriend from Canada. We prepared to set up camp (there are plenty of very nice parks, by the way, if you like to camp) and realized we had forgotten the tent stakes. We happily ended up at the Sylvia Beach and shared breakfast with the owner from Portland, "Goodie"--a bit eccentric and very friendly.

An older, renovated hotel with a literary theme, friends of Goodie's were asked to each design a room based on their favorite author. All are very fun and interesting and you will want to try and stay in all of them. The Edgar Allan Poe room even has a pendulum hanging over the bed. Check out the personal stories of guests in the journals provided in each room.

Beware those with allergies: there is a resident cat and she will sleep in your room with you if you want her to. On the top floor of the hotel there is a library as well as 2 bunk rooms (one male, one female) for groups or singles on the cheap. It is a great place for a writer's retreat.

One word of caution: If you prefer a sleek, well-appointed hotel with plenty of ammenities, this may not be the place for you. There are no TVs or phones and the emphasis is really on personal introspection. One thing nice about it is that if you are a single person looking for an interesting retreat, you will not feel awkward or out of place. If you are traveling with children, it is definitely not the perfect place for you.

Seevue Inn: In Yachats, South of Newport

The little town of Yachats right on the ocean and south of Newport is also a great place to stay. There is so much to see and do up and down the coast from there. Here is a small, quirky, reasonable "find" of a place to stay just outside of town. Some rooms have fireplaces, some have a kitchen and each room has a different theme. It sits on a cliff looking out over the ocean.

Heceta Head Lighthouse Bed & Breakfast

Aaaah...this is quite the place to stay: a relatively recently renovated (say that fast 5 times!) lighthouse keeper's home. It is very high on the list of great accomodations. The view is spectacular. The rooms are luxurious and the food is delicious. There are only a few rooms, so be sure to book well ahead of time.

When you first open this site it looks blank, but the fog in the photo is clearing to reveal the view of the lighthouse.

Terry-a-While Motel

Terry-a-While offers accommodations on the beach between Yachats and Waldport, not too far south of Newport.

Ya know, this is a good place to stay if you want to be able to walk right out onto the sandy beach from your room, and that is unusual on this part of the coast. You also have a kitchen. The accomodations make you feel as if you are staying in a friend's family vacation cabin. Though some of the units are a bit disheveled, they are a good deal.

Edgewater Cottages near Waldport

A very popular place. I have never stayed here, but had hoped to and did take a tour of the cottages. I have friends who have stayed there and love it. The "cottages" are very different from each other: some are small while others are large. Its a great place to stay with a family or group. They book up quickly for the summer so call early-on.

Places to Eat on the Central Oregon Coast 

Mo's Chowder House in Newport

When in Newport, you must eat at Mo's. It is part of the Oregon Coast experience. Don't expect a fine dining experience! It is much like a clam shack on the east coast. There are 2 locations downtown: one on the bay side of the street and one a little way down on the other side. Very popular and very busy, especially the bay-side one, you will sit at communal tables. Have the clam chowder with Oregon shrimp on top. Yummy. Visit with your tablemates. There are 2 more locations for Mo's: one in Florence and one north of Newport near the Devil's Punch Bowl. The one in Florence is large, downtown and on the bay while the one at Devil's Punch Bowl is small, quaint and perched up on a cliff next to the ocean.

Salishan Lodge, South of Lincoln City

This resort is located just south of Lincoln City and north of Newport. It is on several of the "best resorts" lists and the restaurants at this resort are excellent. This would be a nice place to stay, too, and the rates aren't bad for these up-scale accommodations. They also have a golf course. The drawback is that they do not have any beach access.

La Serre Restaurant in Yachats

Located in Yachats and only open for dinner, they have very good gourmet-quality food.

Places to Visit Along the Central Coast 

Oregon Coast Aquarium - Newport

Just outside of Newport proper, this is a very nice medium-sized aquarium with some fun-to-watch outside exhibits including otters and octopi. Inside, my favorite display is the jellyfish exhibit--very ethereal.

This is where the whale, Keiko, who was eventually released near Iceland, stayed to recover from his captivity in Mexico.

Oregon Coast Aquarium "JellyCam"

The Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport LIVE WEBCAM of the jellyfish exhibit. You can look at a live images of the moon jelly exhibit (the lights are turned off at night). The animal on display is the Oregon moon jelly, Aurelia labiata.

Seal Rock

This is a very pretty and interesting stop with a big rock as tall as a hill jutting out in to the sea and good tide pools at low tide. It is located south of Newport.

Sea Lion Caves

Sea Lion Caves is actually a nice spot. I tend to shy away from the touristy things like this, but you do have a great view of the Sea Lions inside the caves. It is a big echo chamber of Sea Lion roars. It is worth a visit, at least once. The Sea Lions will be inside the caves in the winter months and during cold or stormy summer days.

On warm days, you can also look over the edge of the cliffs at the turn-outs just north of the cave to see them on the rocks below.

Strawberry Hill

This is a hard stop to find. It is marked, but comes up suddenly around a bend. If you pass it, turn around and go back. At low tide you can walk out on the rocks, see tide pools and starfish on the rocks and, best of all, get a very close look at the seals resting on the next rock outcropping. Take binoculars. It is worth the stop. You do need to be fairly agile to navigate the short hike down and across.

Cape Perpetua

The entrance to the visitor center for Cape Perpetua is well marked and is on the hill side. In the visitor center you can view the ocean through scopes and they will help you look for whales. You may want to stop here first and get oriented.

Cape Perpetua is one of the best spots on the coast, I think. There is so much to see here. My favorite is the Devils' Churn where the sea rushes in and out of a natural, long, narrow channel to explode in huge waves at the end. Be careful. People have drowned here.

Walk over to see the spouting horns too, where water rushes up under the rock-overhangs, creates pressure and shoots out through holes in the basalt rock.

There is a drive which takes you high up on the cliffs. Get specific directions for it from the visitor's center. Its a good place to look for whales during their migration periods, or just to enjoy the views. The drive seems long, but keep going, its worth it. It takes you to a wooded area with a small parking lot. There you will find a trail for a medium length hike in the woods which leads to an ocean overlook constructed of rock and you will have excellent views. Take binoculars to look for whale spouts. Continue on the trail which takes you back along the other side of the cliff where you will see some more ocean views on your way.

After your hike (or before), if you walk out of the parking lot on the south side and sit on the grassy slope you have an absolutely fabulous, long view of the coast to the south. Take a snack and sit and enjoy.

Whales and the Oregon Coast 

All About the 'Free Willy' Whale, Keiko

Keiko, the killer whale made famous by the Free Willy movies, was a resident of the Oregon Coast Aquarium in order to rehabilitate him for a return to the wild.

I remember watching the special truck which brought him to Oregon and seeing him lifted into the aquarium in a sling. He did recover enough to be sent to Iceland, but, sadly, died of a sudden onset of pneumonia in Norwegian coastal waters in 2003.

Here you can read his whole story.

Whale Watching Spoken Here

This is a volunteer whale-watching program during peak gray whale migration times coinciding with winter and spring breaks. Trained volunteers are stationed at twenty-eight locations on or near the Oregon Coast.

This site will also link you to other information about whale watching including boats trips.

Agates & Velella 

An Article on Vellela Jellyfish

This is an interesting article from the Spokesman Review, a newspaper based in the state of Washington, just north of Oregon.

A "Sail Jellyfish"

A great close-up photo of a Velella by John Harvey.

A Big Flotilla of Velella

Here is another beautiful photo, by Emma Stanyard, showing a whole grouping of them washing up against a cliff.

Agates of the Oregon Coast...

Rockhound's Guide to Collecting Oregon Coast Agate and 15-20 million year old marine fossils. A site with excellent information on Oregon agates, including many photos and tips on looking for them. It also has links to other sites about the Oregon Coast.

More Info on the Oregon Coast 

Visit the Oregon Coast - Oregon Coast Visitors Association - OCVA

The Oregon Coast Visitor's Association provides travel and tourism information to those planning a vacation on the beautiful Oregon coast.

Oregon Coast Webcam

Updated every 60 minutes, this webcam looks out over Agate Beach which is located in Newport.

The Oregon Coast and Its Denizens - New York Times

A wonderfully-written article by Russ Rymer for the New York Times about a trip taken to Newport, Oregon and his stay at the Sylvia Beach Hotel.

My Other Oregon Lenses 

Check these out, too!

Portland, Oregon

Favorite things about Portland: a hip city on many of the top-places-to-live lists.

Eugene, Oregon

Favorite things about Eugene: return to the 60's.

Insider's Oregon

Favorite places up the McKENZIE RIVER, in CENTRAL OREGON and SOUTHEASTERN OREGON.

The Bounty of Oregon Foods

Oregon is known for its fabulous regional foods and cuisine. Check out this lens to learn about berries, seafood, cheeses and more plus where to find it and where to eat it.