Three Oregon Coast Stops With Something Different

Published 8/13/24 at 6:55 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection

(Oregon Coast) – Exploration, even when it comes to a familiar place, is often the real spice of a travel experience. Trying something new, wandering just outside of the usual bounds, or just call it treading new territory: this can turn a trip to the beach into a whole other kind of adventure. (Above: Cape Meares - all photos Oregon Coast Beach Connection)

Looking for something a little different for your next jaunt to the Oregon coast? Maybe you want to do it with less crowds?

Here's three insider's tips on places you may not have experienced yet – or know about. Now you do. Hit the virtual tour links for even more.

Atop and Beneath Cape Meares. Now that the last northern stretch of the Three Capes Loop is open once again, it's an easy run between Cape Meares the headland and Cape Meares the village. Both are packing a powerful amount of wonders to see and do.

Beginning atop the 14-million-year-old headland, there's the considerably younger beauty from 1890: the Cape Meares Lighthouse. It sports a gift shop and a wrought-iron spiral staircase which leads you to the lens - a kaleidoscopic carnival of colors when the sun hits it just right. It’s open during the busier times of the year on the Oregon coast.

A quick trail brings you to the Octopus Tree, which is a freaky old organism some few hundred years old with a bizarre candelabra shape. Other trails in the area take you all around this cape or down to the village of Cape Meares.

The town sits on the edges of what used to be the old ghost town of Bayocean, but there's none of that area left. It was all bulldozed or fell into the sea decades ago. However, Cape Meares still features a fascinating beach and one building there was moved from the old ghost town: the community center. Hotels in Three Capes - Where to eat - Three Capes Maps and Virtual Tours - Hotels in Tillamook Bay - Where to eat - Tillamook Maps and Virtual Tours

Auto Tour Around Cape Perpetua. Just south of Yachats, prepare to get high – some 800 feet, that is.

If it's crummy out, then this little drive is a gem and full of discoveries. It begins a few hundred feet from the Devil's Churn parking lot: just look for the sign to Cape Perpetua's top. Take that road on the east side of the highway to get to the Interpretive Center or to go to the top of Cape Perpetua and its multiple, eye-popping trails.

However, there's also that engaging 19-mile, 45-minute tour around the mountain and back to Yachats. You'll meander through a thick rainforest before ending up back in town. Sometimes, you may spot a bear from the road. The winding, twisting road to the top gives you a preview of the kind of wilderness you'll be driving into, one only this part of the central Oregon coast can provide.

Even if it's crummy weather, heading to the top and its 803-foot vantage point is not a bad idea. You can always check out the scenic ocean vista from the parking lot, or brave the brief walk to the old stone shelter. It's a lovely construction of medieval-looking stonework built originally as part of Roosevelt's New Deal work plan, giving folks construction jobs in the area. However, during World War II it served as a lookout for enemy aircraft. Hotels in Yachats - Where to eat - Upper Lane County Maps and Virtual Tours

Lincoln City Actually Has One Secret Beach Access. Well, actually there's two. Yet both deliver you onto a stretch of beach that some may be walking on anyway, but much less than normal.

Most beaches in Lincoln City are quite well populated. It's difficult to get away from it all, really However, this one does pop out in a somewhat remote stretch where other accesses are few and far between. It may not guarantee you'll find yourself alone, but it increases your chances.

Starting at the very northern edge of town, just before you get to Roads End, look for the sign pointing to NW 50th amid the placid neighborhoods. Follow that until it ends and it meets NW Jetty. You'll soon discover an abandoned gravel "driveway" which winds its way down to the beach. Along the way, there's another tunnel-like path that looks a little like the famed Hobbit Trail near Florence, although that doesn't seem to lead anywhere. Just continue on the main path.

Down on the beach, it's the only access for about half a mile in either direction. There are some interesting rock features here created by a crumbling cliff, and the sand is pristine and more than a little pleasant.

Don't touch this place during winter high tide events, however. Hotels in Lincoln City - Where to eat - Lincoln City Maps and Virtual Tours

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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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