Why Lincoln City Gets Such Fierce Devotion: 'Something for Everyone' on Oregon Coast

Updated 07/28/2020 at 5:23 PM PDT
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Lincoln City, Oregon) – Fans of the Oregon coast can be fiercely devoted. They have their routines, their standard must-see’s and must-eats, often reveling in many of the same things each trip. They have the towns they love more than any other.

Canby resident Ashlie Daly is one of those. It’s more than a love of some beaches, it’s almost like a second home, or another member of the family to visit. The mom of two (well, three if you’re counting the big goofy dog), heads out to Lincoln City with kids and husband in tow as much as possible, digging deep into her experiences there.

She’s like many who love this town of pristine beaches.

“We like the casino, and that we’re able to do the tide pools,” Daly said. “There’s something to enjoy for everyone. There’s a lot for the kids to do; there’s a lot for me.”

That is a sentiment echoed by many who frequent Lincoln City: there’s simply much to do.

“We like it when they do the Finders Keepers,” she said. “I like the seven miles of long beaches, that you can walk uninterrupted for a long time.”

These beaches do in reality go on for seven miles, reaching from the tip of the Roads End area (appropriately named) to the southern tip of Siletz Bay. Along the way, it’s really just sand – but oh what beautiful sand it is. Except for a few spots that indeed have tidepools, such as the NW 15th Street ramp and NW 40th near the Chinook Winds Casino. A handful of others exist, periodically dotting this pristine stretch Oregon coast.

One major highlight is the far end: the Roads End area. Besides a bevy of amazing homes to drop your jaw at (many of which are vacation rentals), this state park is a rush of scenic eye candy. Get up farther towards the end of the road, search around carefully and you’ll find a couple of hidden beach accesses. These get you closer to the point, which hosts such wonders as a weird cave and Wizard Rock. Not to mention, there’s a trippy feature close to the edge that could be classified as a kind of bay. The sand curves around here so much that it actually winds up looking back at the shore in one spot.

Another amazing feature is Lincoln City’s habit of being an agate mecca. When agate beds open up is rather random – there is no way to predict when this happens or where. It’s simply good at having these spots appear, even in summer.

Other finds, as Daly noted, are the Finders Keepers – which just went year-round this past year. It used to be fall, winter and spring only.

Finders Keepers began in 1999, when a local artist first thought of glass floats as an intriguing way to launch the new millennium. Lincoln City sponsored the project, hosting the inaugural season in 1999-2000. Each year, tourists continue to come from around the country to search for their own brightly colored, signed and numbered glass float.

Another highlight is Lincoln City’s shopping scene: nothing to sneeze at. A variety of fun and funky shops appear throughout the town, including stores that cater to bookworms, rockhounds, candy lovers, antique hunters and lots of indescribable genres of shopping. There’s even one store on 101 that frequently has a giant automated dinosaur out front.

Of course, one of the central Oregon coast’s bigger attractions is the Lincoln City Outlets mall, formerly called things like Tanger Outlet Mall, among other names. Dozens and dozens of stores are clustered around this open air walkway, allowing you to take in that coastal air as you dart in and out of deal hunting.

It’s something that is actually a big part of Daly’s favorite memory of Lincoln City. Perhaps her most cherished time here happened way back in her teens.

“Think the best memory I have of it is when I was just old enough to drive out there on my own,” Daly said. “My girlfriend and I went and did the Outlet mall, and then we stayed to watch the sunset before we went home.”

Daly and her family have a couple of serious favorites when it comes to hotels. In that realm, too, she is fiercely devoted. The Coho Oceanfront Lodge (see above photo) is high on her list – and one that caused her to do something a little different than she normally does.

“I love getting the two-bedroom suites there,” Daly said. “That is one nice freakin’ hotel. Stayed there for my birthday awhile back. About two years ago, I loved the place so much I bought one of their hoodies.”

Like her love of Lincoln City, she wears that proudly too. Hotels in Lincoln City - Where to eat - Lincoln City Maps and Virtual Tours

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