Coast of Northern Oregon...
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You'll find area's along the coast of: Historical Interest, Scenic Sites, Camping Options, Shopping Opportunities and much more.
We begin our tour along the Coast of Northern Oregon, Astoria and end it at Lincoln City, some 113 miles later. We encourage you to sit back, relax and enjoy your tour.
Highway 101, along the Coast of Northern Oregon, in fact the entire coast, is now a part of our National Scenic Heritage. It was designated as a scenic byway, The Pacific Coast Scenic Byway. You'll follow Highway 101 all the way along the tour.
Mile 0 - Astoria, along the coast of Northern Oregon, is the oldest settlement in the Northwest. Here you have access to a lot of history about Lewis & Clark. Just outside Astoria is Fort Stevens State Park. This park is ideal for camping and has more campsites than any along the Oregon Coast. We've rated Fort Stevens in the Top Campsites in Oregon. MSN City Editors places Fort Stevens in the Top 10 Campgrounds in the U.S. A must see!
Mile 7 - Fort Clatsop National Memorial. You'll have to turn off Highway 101 on to Old 101 and head east about 3 miles to Clatsop Road. There you will see signs to Fort Clatsop National Memorial. This is the location where Lewis & Clark spent the winter along the coast of Northern Oregon in 1805. This is great for the Northwest History buffs or if you have kids, it will give them some insights into Northwest History.
Mile 20 - Seaside Factory Outlet Stores. You gotta stop at the outlet stores here along the coast of northern Oregon if you want some bargains...remember, there's no sales tax in Oregon so an added bargain for those traveling. You've also just entered into Seaside a favorite along the coast of Northern Oregon. On your left is the town area and beach...go on in and explore.
Mile 28 - Ecola State Park. Here you'll get spectacular views of the coast of northern Oregon and if you time it right, the whale migration. There are several picnic areas, sorry no camping but there's lot's of hiking trails. You can even see some Old Growth trees!
Saddle Mountain State Park has 10 primitive campsites. Head east onto Hwy 26 off of Hwy 101 for 17 miles..
Mile 30 - Cannon Beach. If you want to relax, this is the place. Take a view of the privately owned Tillamook Rock Light House. It's located about a mile out to sea along the coast of northern Oregon. It was once a public light house but now someone else has the honor of owning it. You can look but don't touch.
Mile 34 - Hug Point State Recreational Site. This area was an old wagon road, the drivers had to "hug" the point to get around it. It's pretty interesting and if you take the hike from Cannon Beach, this is where you'll end up.
Mile 40 - Oswald West State Park. This is about 2500 acres of rain forests, view points and tucked away beaches. If you want some solitude here, bring your tent. You can hike in to some tent only campsites. There is not a lot of amenities so be prepared. There are some who surf in this area at the coast of northern Oregon ...if you do...enjoy. At the beach you'll find some caves and tide pools. The kids love it...so do we.
Mile 43 - Neahkahnie Beach is a beautiful section along the coast of Northern Oregon. Apparently this is the location along the Coast of Northern Oregon where a Spanish Ship was beached. The crew carried it's cargo of "Treasure" ashore and buried it. Well, my wife from Spain, has a personal interest in finding this treasure...after-all the treasure's from Spain. She's always excited about the possibilities of finding this treasure...so far we haven't found it. So, you have a fighting chance. Perhaps we'll see you there looking too.
Mile 44 - Nehalem Bay State Park. This is a wonderful State Park nestled around the communities of Manzanita, Nehalem and Wheeler along the breathtaking views of the coast of northern Oregon. It's a very diverse park with some 280 campsites, 9 yourts, a horse camp, a hiker/biker camp and a an airplane fly-in camp. There's some 890 acres with trails for hikers and bikers alike. The park is close to some of the best clamming and crabbing areas. Also, windsurfers take note...the waves just north of the Nehalem Spit at Manzanita, are spectacular! Check 'em out.
Mile 50 - Rockaway Beach. The beach known for 7 miles of an uninterrupted sandy beach on this awesome portion of the coast of northern Oregon. It was initially built as a resort town in the 1920's. It's a true getaway.
Mile 54 - Barview Jetty Park. This is a county park with some pretty good campsites. Take a break along here for a nice picnic too and check out the jetty.
Mile 56 - Garibaldi is a little fishing community off the coast of northern Oregon. It offers fun for all ages. Both sport and commercial fishing are on-going within this community of 1000. Every March is the annual crab race, in July is Garibaldi Days and during the Christmas season is the Christmas Tree Express to Sparks, Nevada. While here, try your hand at fishing for some trout on the Miami River.
Mile 64 - Tillamook Cheese Factory is located on the Northern part of Tillamook City along the coast of northern Oregon. You gotta stop here and take the self-guided tour of Tillamook Cheese. The Tillamook Cheese factory is on the top 10 list of sites visited within the State. It's an education for both young and old. Once the tour is finished, visit the gift shop and by all means buy some of that famous Tillamook Ice Cream. You can eat it right there.
Tillamook is the center for the dairy industry along the Coast of Northern Oregon. The annual Dairy Parade is a big hit in June. In the late 90's this entire area was under water due to extensive flooding. I had the opportunity to help in the clean-up. There was lot's to clean-up. I hope this doesn't happen again in the near future...must be one of those 100 year floods.
Mile 65 - Three Capes Scenic Loop. It's time for a little detour and get off Highway 101. The Three Capes Loops is one of the Coast of Northern Oregon's 38-mile thrilling yet scenic driving experiences. The loop will wind along the coast between the towns of Tillamook and Pacific City. You will pass three prominent headlands: Cape Meares, Cape Lookout, and Cape Kiwanda.
To begin you excursion, note your odometer reading and head west from Tillamook on Third Street. You'll pass what was the thriving ocean resort town of Bay Ocean. It's gone now, more than 30 years ago Bay Ocean washed into the Pacific Ocean; houses, businesses, everything...gone during a raging Pacific storm.
Arriving at Cape Meares State Park, on the northern tip of Three Capes Loop, visit Cape Meares Light House. You'll also get some sweeping views of the caves and sea lion rock. While there, take a picture of Octopus Tree. You'll know what we mean, it's an old spruce with many legs.
On the loop, stop by the Whiskey Creek Fish Hatchery. It's a good education about salmon for both young and old.
If you are looking to camp here's the spot, Cape Lookout State Park. It's south of the beach towns Oceanside and Netarts. You'll have 1974 acres to explore in this wildlife park. There are 215 paved campsites and yurts and cabins are available too. Make reservations though.
You'll arrive at Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area. Here the huge waves pound the sandstone cliffs and caves. Just to the south the 327 foot Haystack Rock juts from the ocean here awaiting for you to take a picture. It's much photographed. Surfers are able to ride some of the longest waves along the Oregon Coast, right here. All the while, look up and you may spot a hang-glider catching some of the wind currents off the rock cliffs.
A little over a mile, south of Cape Kiwanda is Pacific City. This is pretty neat. This is one of the only places along the Oregon Coast where flat-bottom fishing dories are launched directly into the surf. During the salmon season, late summer you may have an opportunity to watch this event. Also, don't be shy if you want to buy some salmon. Just walk up to one of the local fishermen and ask if they'd sell you one. They are fresh and good!
Just outside of Pacific City is Robert Straub State Park. Take a walk along the white sand beach towards the mouth of the Nestucca River. This is considered by many, the best fishing river on the Northern Oregon Coast. The park is a day-use only park...sorry, no camping.
About 38 miles on your odometer you'll be meeting up with Highway 101 again.
Mile 68 - To the south of Tillamook is the Tillamook Naval Air Museum. Just drive along 101 and you can't miss it on the left as you head south. Turn left on Long Prairie Road and right on Blimp Blvd. If you like airplanes, like I do, you'll love this museum.
Mile 98 - Neskowin, there's not much here, a grocery store, restaurant and some accommodations. Pretty good place to relax, so if you have some time try out one of their 2 golf courses.
Mile 112 - The 45th Parallel. If you have studied about the earth's rotation and wind patterns you will quickly notice that along the 45th parallel is a convergence of wind, commonly referred to as the trade winds. This area ultimately makes for great kite flying opportunities.
Mile 113 - Lincoln City is a relatively "new" city. It was formed in 1965, combining the cities of: Oceanlake, Delake, Taft and the communities of Cutler City and Nelscott to form the present day Lincoln City. The trademark for Lincoln City along the coast of northern Oregon, is the miles of sandy beaches. A total of some 7.5 miles of sandy beaches. This ends your tour of the Coast of Northern Oregon. You can pick up the rest of the coastal tour at the Southern Oregon Coast.
Contact us regarding any insightful info about the Coast of Northern Oregon.
Craig Dahl -
The Travel Expert
Senior Editor
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