About

I consider the Central Oregon coastline to be from Lincoln City to Florence. I’m not really certain if that’s very accurate, but for these purposes it will work.

Things to keep in mind: most of the state parks require day use parking fees. We typically buy the yearly pass that allows us to park at all of the state parks. Yaquina Head Lighthouse is a National Park and the state day use passes aren’t valid there. The pull-outs do not require parking passes.

Every year people get washed out to sea because of not following the warnings. Beware of the waves. Don’t turn your back on the ocean. The tides can carry large logs in and the sneaker waves are strong enough to pull adults out to sea. Most of the time things are quite safe if you stay out of restricted areas and pay attention to the tide warnings. Typically, warnings are posted in the parking lots of the parks and beaches.

Lincoln City is one of Oregon’s most popular beaches because of its close proximity to Salem. We don’t do a ton of photography at this beach except of our grandchildren playing in the sand. The city does hide glass floats along the beach for visitors to find. If you do find one, you can register it at the visitors center. I hear you might qualify for another prize. I have searched the beaches, but have yet to find one. I am told that they hide them close to the pull-offs. Two of my grandkids found them hiding in the large driftwood fields at D-Sand beach.

One of the top attractions in Lincoln City is the outlet malls. There are plenty of shops as well as a playground for the youngsters.

I heard from a local that a great place for affordable fish and chips is J’s Fish and Chips. It’s located on the east side of Hwy 101 just south of the outlet mall. (1800 SW Hwy 101, Lincoln City, OR 97367)

Taft does offer some nice photography opportunities, especially if the tide is out. The rock formations make interesting subjects.

There is an inlet at Taft that makes for a fun place for children to play in the water. The children enjoy building forts from the driftwood. The driftwood also is nice to use for a nice fire on the beach. A nice dock allows for fishing and crabbing when the tides and seasons are right.

One of our favorite places to eat at the beach is Mo’s. They are known for their clam chowder. It is located in Taft of the west-side of Hwy 101 and is located at the parking area for the Taft beaches and inlet area. They offer wonderful bay/ocean views while dining.

Fogerty Creek is one of our favorite state parks for photography, especially portraits. They have colorful cliffs, plenty of wave action, and interesting rock formations. It’s also a great beach for kids because the cliffs close off the beach both northerly and southerly. There is also a small creek that flows from the park to the ocean that gets quite shallow which gives the kids a nice place to play safely in the water.

There is a large grassy park, a pedestrian bridge that crosses over a small stream, picnic tables, and restrooms.

Boiler Bay is another nice pull out. The north side shows the colorful cliffs and straight out is a bunch of rocks that give some great wave action. Late in the day, the light shines on the rock walls making for beautiful photo opportunities.

There is a grassy park space, picnic tables, and restrooms.

Depoe Bay is a very small town built on the rocks above the ocean. There are no beaches there although Fogerty Creek is nearby. The city claims to be the smallest navigable harbor. Our favorite restaurant is Tidal Raves. It’s on the ocean side of Hwy 101 in the northern part of the city. The views are crazy good in there. The food is a bit on the spendy side, but it’s very good (trendy too).

The grey whales sometimes come up to the rocks. You will usually see a crowd of people along the rock wall if the whales are visiting. This is also a popular case to catch a whale watching tour. Tradewinds Charters is across the hwy on the southern edge of the city (near a traffic light).

If it’s a stormy day, be careful. The waves are known to come over the rock wall to the parked cars. This summer, 2018, a couple was washed out to sea by a sneaker wave. They had climbed out on the rocks past the safety barriers.

There are some very fun shops in Depoe Bay. Ainslee’s Taffy is way up on that list. They make their own taffy. There are a bunch of touristy places to buy everything from t-shirts to fine wines.

Rocky Creek State Scenic Viewpoint is just south of Depoe Bay. It’s just after Whale Cove. This is a great place to see the gorgeous cliffs and the wave action. As you pull in the park, look to the north. You should see a trail. This trail offers some of my favorite views in the mid-coastline of Oregon. We’ve also seen several whales playing in the water around the rocks. The trail goes all the way to the back of the Whale Cove resort. That’s where you can get some of the best views of the cove. You will have to go through some bushes to get there though. In the summer, the whales will sometimes come into the cove with their calves. Recently a viewing platform was built at the end of the trail.

The park offers bathrooms, picnic tables, benches, and a large grassy area all with incredible ocean views (well, not the bathrooms).

Lookout Observatory and Devil’s Punchbowl are interesting places to stop. It doesn’t take much time to take in the sites. Devil’s Punchbowl is a large cavern formed in the rocks. The waves come rushing into the cavern. During low tide, it is possible to walk around inside the cavern if you are braver than I am. I’ve seen it done, but I won’t do it.

There is a

Beverly Beach is a pretty place to camp and the beach is fun for the kids to play in the water. The park offers bathrooms and picnic tables. There are other beaches further south that we prefer.

One thing that many campgrounds in Oregon offer are yurts. Yurts are water-tight and come equipped with beds, tables, chairs, electricity, and heat.

Agate Beach is a very nice beach. I haven’t spent much time there lately, but we went there often when I was a child. I loved to look for agates and I found quite a number of them as a child. I don’t know if they are as easy to find these days. It’s on my bucket list of places to go back to visit.

(update - I recently went back to agate beach after a king tide and there were no agate to be found. It was a really nice beach for kite flying though.)

Yaquina Head Lighthouse is definitely a place to stop. Often the lighthouse is open to the public. There are some very beautiful photo opportunities from here.

Newport is one of the largest cities on the Oregon Coast. If you need anything, Walmart and Fred Meyer are likely to have it. Our favorite place to eat in Newport is on the bay front located on the southern edge of town. It’s called Local Ocean. The food is incredible. We love the fish and chips. It offers a very nice view of the bay and the fishing boats as well.

If you aren’t starving, I’d head toward Nye Beach before going to eat at Local Ocean. Nye Beach is a very uppity tourist place. There are some nice shops that feature the work of local artists.

After Nye Beach head toward Yaquina Bay Lighthouse. This lighthouse isn’t that great to see, but the park around it offers amazing views of the Yaquina Bay bridge and the bay itself. On the east side of the bridge (which you can drive to), there is an area to park and walk down to the waters edge. We always enjoy taking pictures from here.

The Newport Bay Front is on the east side of the bridge. The bay is lined with restaurants and tourist shops. It’s always a fun place to spend some time. Local Ocean is down by the fishing boats on the bay front. We also like the Mo’s Annex. It has windows overlooking the fishing boats. The original Mo’s is across the street from the Annex. If you are wanting to see seals and sea lions up close, go to the dock on the west side of the Undersea Gardens.

On the south side of the Yaquina Bay bridge is the Hatfield Marine Science Center and the Oregon Coast Aquarium. The Hatfield Marine Science Center offers free admission. The Oregon Coast Aquarium is somewhat spendy, but has a lot more exhibits including a really cool walk through shark tank.

There are other beaches and pullouts south of Newport before the town of Waldport, but we haven’t spent much time there. We love photographing the bridge in Waldport. That’s about the extent of what we’ve done there. They do have a pretty fun city park.

There are plenty of beaches between Waldport and Cape Perpetua, but I haven’t stopped at them.

Yahats - Cape Perpetua is another must stop. Thor’s Well, Devil’s Churn, and Spouting Horn are there. Thor’s Well is a hole in the rock and the water sprays out, but the beauty is when it goes back in. It’s like someone pulled the plug out of the bathtub. If you are photographing there, make sure someone is watching the wave action for you. The waves can come in high and wash people out to sea. The best action at these places is during high tide.

Heceta Head Lighthouse is another must stop. The beach is a beautiful cove and offers beautiful views of the lighthouse built up high on the cliff above. The lighthouse is usually open to the public. There are more amazing views from the lighthouse. Again, it doesn’t have to take much time, but it’s gorgeous and worth the stop.

Sea Lions Caves - a tourist trap. You can see the seals and sea lines for free on the bay front in Newport.

Florence has the huge sand dunes. I didn’t realize how large the dunes were until I tried to climb them. My word, bring an oxygen mask with you. Honeyman State Park is one of the most popular places to see the dunes. I really enjoyed the Oregon Dunes Natural Recreational Area which is further south.

To continue the journey down the Oregon Coast, click on the Southern Oregon Beaches.