Perfect Days on Oregon Coast: Second Summer on Display Recently

Published 09/17/22 at 6:45 PM
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Oregon Coast) – There are plenty of times on the Oregon coast where you can invoke Lou Reed and start singing “Oh What a Perfect Day.” Some of these recent days in the last week or so are a stellar example: there has been some exemplary second summer weather out there. Perfect days seem to abound, and the area has been – mostly – living up to that moniker of “Second Summer” (meaning this time of year is the best weather on the beaches). (Photo Neil Elfrink / Keepers of Heceta Head Lightstation)

It's been captured in numerous ways in social media, but some of the most striking came from Friday at Florence's Heceta Head Lighthouse and its gift shop and BnB. On the Keepers of Heceta Head Lightstation Facebook page, the nonprofit group has not only displayed some amazing photo captures all summer, but the written descriptions have been downright beautiful prose as well. There, roving ranger Neil Elfrink provides writeups of a day's encounters and interactions with visitors along with elegantly-written and informative glimpses of what nature is up to. Then, his photos really drive the points home.

Photo Neil Elfrink / Keepers of Heceta Head Lightstation

Case in point: Elfrink's photos of the Heceta Head Lighthouse grounds and ocean views from Friday are dazzling.

Photo Neil Elfrink / Keepers of Heceta Head Lightstation

As he puts it: “Light winds and a beautiful blue sky produced a perfect day at the Lightstation. A pale, waning moon sailed slowly over the lighthouse. A few whales spouted in the distance. The usually roiling Pacific Ocean looked more like a tranquil Lake Michigan, according to some visitors from Kalamazoo.”

Indeed, these shots show off the central Oregon coast landmark surrounded by seas so calm they appear glassy. It's all mesmerizing.

These recent days have been nothing short of killer on the coast.

If you can't make the actual tours of the lightstation and witness Elfrink and the other roving rangers filling your brain and with fun and informative stuff, keep in touch with the FB page.

Second Summer is where the Oregon coast weather actually gets better in September and early October – in general. Winds calm down, blues skies are more prevalent, and temps tend to linger higher, and the whole region is overall just stunning. Some locals have called it “actual summer” on occasion because sometimes the real summer there is plagued by more cloudy days than sunny ones, but September and October open that up.

Photo Manuela Durson - see Manuela Durson Fine Arts for more

Wide open skies were part of the gorgeous wonders at Bandon on the south Oregon coast recently, which enabled photographer Manuela Durson to snap this wowing image at night. Howling Dog Rock, in the Face Rock area, is particularly magnificent when seen with the rest of our galaxy. Her shot makes you feel much more connected to the strange new worlds out there.

Last week, wildfire smoke had been altering sunsets on the Oregon coat, though not much in the way of a burning smell made it out there very often. Other days, there wasn't necessarily any (or hardly any) of the particulates floating through the beachy atmosphere. Some second summer sunsets were simply spectacular because of the way the cloud cover interacted with the last light of day. This shot, taken at Seaside by Angi D. Wildt Gallery (located in Astoria) showed just such colorful pleasantries.

Photo Angi D Wildt Gallery

However, there's something even more awe-inspiring here. Take a close look at the area just lef of center: there's hints of a sun pillar there. It's a quirky weather phenonema that's downright unusual in these conditions.

Farther south this month, at Cape Kiwanda, the Pacific City icon was surrounded by these lovely – albeit thinly overcast – conditions. Again, the photo came from Wildt.

Photo Angi D Wildt Gallery

What's next for Second Summer along the Oregon coast (and Washington coast)? See Oregon Coast Weather - Washington Coast Weather

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