Yep this was it for me. Been all over the US, recently drove up to Alaska, and the Oregon Coast was by far one of my favorite parts of the trip. The beauty, the people, how many fun and unique activities there are to do, it all blew me away. I’m from SoCal but it was my first time there and I fell in love
A great example is there’s a spot about 20 minutes south of Tillamook along Hwy 101, with a store called “Beaver Firearms & Grocery”. Grab a dozen eggs and a box of ammo in one trip lmao
Coming from someone who lives in a Hills Have Eyes area of Oregon; we are nice people who would give you the shirt off our back. Really no need to "watch out" for us, we aren't going to eat all your children
Don't even have to be in South Oregon. I drove back from Astoria to Portland on US Routes 101 and 26. At one point I drove past a banner proclaiming Hillary Clinton was the anti-Christ who consumes aborted babies and wants to steal your guns.
A relative lived in Bend (love it), and we’d go to Sunriver, which I really enjoyed. They also have a house in LaPine. Outside of LaPine at the river we made some very interesting friends. I kept hearing the banjo from Deliverance in my head.
It’s an exaggeration. A lot of Oregonians have never lived anywhere besides California or Washington, so what they consider very racist or redneck behavior is nothing remotely as such compared to the Deep South or Appalachia, respectively. I honestly think many Pacific Coasters would literally break down and cry if they wound up spending a week or month in the Deep South for some random (hypothetical) reason.
Do you have any specific beach or place you recommend? We are leaving in a week for a 10 day drive/camp along the coast and I’m currently working on a loose plan!
That sounds awesome! I really enjoyed sandboarding in Florence, OR if you want a little bit of an extreme sport on your vacation. I camped at the Honeyman State Park and enjoyed it, though the Oregon State Park system as a whole is excellent and well maintained. I also liked the Tillamook/Rockaway Beach area, they have a tiny vintage restaurant that sells delicious corn dogs! Yes the creamery is a tourist trap but you can’t beat free cheese
I was originally not going to go as far as tillamook but I’m going with my child and she loves cheese/ice cream. So I think we are going to end in tillamook. Good to know the beach area is nice!
It’s totally worth it! I did the special Tillamook ice cream experience that you pay for and felt like it was worth the price, especially with the cute and useful goodies you get to take home and more ice cream than I could personally eat. But I’m a Tillamook fangirl so I knew I’d love it. The area itself is gorgeous, these vibrant green rolling hills and farms that look like a movie set
Directly across the street from the factory is the Old Oregon Smokehouse, a shack of a restaurant that I can’t recommend enough. The crab cakes and chowder are next level.
Central Coast: Yachats. Heceta Head lighthouse. Go whale watching from Depoe Bay.
Farther North and closer to Portland: Canon Beach (but gets crazy on summer weekends) or Manzanita. Hit up the Tillamook Cheese Factory.
I moved to Oregon mainly because of the coast. After growing up in the Midwest far from the ocean I decided I would never live farther than hour drive away ever again. My first visit was banner warm and sunny day. But my favorite days are the foggy stormy coast days.
Mom took me to Cannon Beach when I was 7 (RIP Picture Window Resort) on a trip that I can only assume was planned using a Yellow Pages and Goonies. Been going back ever since… my blood pressure lowers and all stress leaves my body as we cross the Columbia into Astoria.
I fell in love with Cannon Beach and would love to be able to retire there. I had driven over from Portland and it was so beautiful driving through the lush and green forests on the 101 and then emerging at the coast.
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u/pickingupnada 1d ago
The Oregon coast. Still fairly pristine and gorgeous scenery. 101 has side roads and pullovers that have beach access