Viewpoints on Oregon Coast With Something Strikingly Different: Langlois, Coos Bay, Lincoln City

Published 03/22/21 at 11:50 PM PDT
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Langlois, Oregon) – Every viewpoint along the 362 miles of Oregon coast has at least one exceptional find, if not dozens. Indeed, from morning into the wee hours of the night, the sights can even be mind-blowing after dark. Sometimes it's wildlife, many other times it's a soaring expanse of waves, unique features and maybe even ways to spot weather ahead of time. In some cases they're a bit of a secret. (Above Simpson Reef, courtesy Oregon's Adventure Coast: Coos Bay, North Bend, Charleston)

Case in point: this trio of oceanic wilderness by the roadside on the south coast and central coast.

Simpson Reef, courtesy Oregon's Adventure Coast: Coos Bay, North Bend, Charleston

Simpson Reef. As the Cape Arago Highway twists its way southward and nears its end point, one unassuming but awesome little viewpoint comes into view. Simpson Reef is more than just a lookout spot over the ocean: it’s home to gobs of squirmy seals and sea lions barking and carousing, and it’s yet another glimpse of the intricate and fascinating geology of this area.

Sometimes thousands of those pinnipeds are down there making a raucous, especially on famous Shell Island just in front of this glorious, unique place.

From here, the massive and slightly mysterious reefs can be seen jutting up from the ocean, and these and Shell Island itself sometimes resemble a remnant from an ancient civilization

Beautiful Secrets of Lincoln City. There’s more to Lincoln City than just beaches. Some viewpoints here offer up truly unique ways of looking at this central Oregon coast town.

Beach Avenue Overlook Park. There are two secret parks in town and here is one of them. Here, you're directly above the bend where the cliffs turn from the Siletz Bay to the beaches. It's a lovely spot and highly underutilized. Find Beach Avenue, just as you enter the Taft area (and right after the Inn at Spanish Head). Follow that to its end.

Oceanview Walk Park. The second secret park in town sits on Harbor Avenue right next to the Coho Oceanfront Lodge. Look for NW 16th street, in the midtown area, then head towards the ocean. This one is a simple and quaint collection of sidewalk and bench overlooking the waves and sand. It's tiny but it's lovely.

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Blacklock Point, Langlois. One of the more jaw-dropping but still remote places on the entire Oregon coast is Blacklock Point, where a long stretch of vibrantly-colored cliffs and grassy viewpoints hover over blackish, large-grained sands.

During bright daylight the cliffs have a vibe of the cliffs of Dover, without the whitish tint of course, invoking that ancient, mysterious feeling those structures in England do so well. However, some lighting will fire them up into a near-white look, which is smile-inducing if you have Dover on your mind. At sunset, they become fierce shades of gold and orange, as if Nature had created its own form of a neon sign here.

Below, the sands are grayish to almost black, and large and coarse. In some areas, it’s more pebbles. Those softer sandstone cliffs seem to undulate in shape, like a giant ribbon snaking northward, frequently containing mini-caves and large indents to alcoves.

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One of the highlights is the trippy sandstone arch, which looks almost suspiciously like the Guardian of Forever in the original Star Trek and Star Trek: Discovery. Or maybe just some alien planet anywhere. It’s unlike any arch on the Oregon coast. It too seems to change colors with various lighting: under gray skies it’s browner, under bright sunlight it’s an unusual washed out gray, and in sunset it glows.

The interesting thing about the viewpoint at Blocklock Point is that it’s technically not on Blacklock Point – in reality it’s almost 2,000 feet south of the actual Blocklock Point outcropping. From the real Blocklock Point, you don’t get quite the view of the cliffs, but still a good look at the jagged, intricate cove between the two viewpoints.

This whole area is not easy to get to: it’s about a mile and a half hike through thick forests and often super-muddy trails, starting at Floras Lake and the Cape Blanco Airport.

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Keywords: Oregon Coast, viewpoints, Simpson Reef, Yachats, beaches, Lincoln City, Coos Bay, Newport, Bandon, Langlois, Port Orford, Gold Beach, Brookings