Considering a trip to the Oregon Coast? You should be! There’s so much to do, see, and eat on the Oregon Coast. Back in 2023, my family and I hopped on a free Southwest flight to Portland. The flight was paid for with our Southwest Rapid Rewards Points, mostly obtained via our Southwest Premier Rapid Rewards Card. We’ve moved on from that card since then, but it could be right for you if you fly a couple times a year – see the details on the Chase website.
Once in Portland, we rented a car and drove through the various forests of western Oregon, until we arrived on the coast in a tiny town named Waldport.
Waldport was our hub for this trip – we’d booked a little AirBnB with a pirate/sailing theme, which was perfect for our then-five-year-old.
When we went: October 2023
Where we stayed: Airbnb in Waldport, OR
What we did: coastal drives; viewed lighthouses and coastlines; saw the seals at Newport; went whale watching; visited the Tillamook factory
Notable stops along the way: After landing at PDX, we took a short detour and walked across the Multnomah Falls bridge; on the way back, we drove right past Oregon State University in Corvallis.
Places we visited – things to do along the Oregon Coast
Whale watching: We went on a whale watching tour with Tradewinds Charters in Depoe Bay. My daughter and I enjoyed the boat and seeing the California Gray whales – but we found out that my wife gets seasick!
Coastal features: Devil’s Churn/Thor’s Well/Cape Perpetua/Spouting Horn; Devil’s Punchbowl; Seal Rock; Yachats State Recreation Area; Netarts Bay Viewpoint; Barview Jetty/Cape Meares Passage
Lighthouses: Cape Meares, Tillamook, Yaquina Head, Yaquina Bay, Heceta Head, Umpqua
Tillamook Creamery: We drove up to Tillamook and did a self-guided tour of the factory, which was super fun for our kiddo (and was neat to see where all my favorite cheese and ice cream comes from). It also had a restaurant (more on that later) and a gift shop, and small market.
Tillamook Air Museum: We didn’t make it here, but it’s worth checking out! Take a look at the online photos, it looks pretty impressive.
Outdoors: We kayaked in a small bay near our AirBnB at high tide. Just be careful with this if you’re inexperienced and kayaking on or near a river that empties into the ocean – you could find yourself in the ocean very quickly. There are also plenty of beautiful places to hike and walk.
Newport Historic Bayfront: Lots of shops, seals, boats, and fishing operations, with restaurants serving up seafood directly from the fishing boats
Newport Aquarium: This is a research aquarium operated by Oregon State University. We went on a rainy day, which was not a good idea. I’s not a normal one and as such has several exhibits of land habitats that are close to the ocean – so we were outside in the rain. There were also a couple closed aquariums. Overall it wasn’t super impressive but also was not super expensive and it was a nice break from lighthouses and we were happy to support the university’s research.
Beaches: There are tons of beaches, obviously (it is the coast), but these aren’t really go play in the water or go surfing beaches since the water stays cooler. But they’re perfect beaches for walking, people watching, solitude, or taking in a high tide or a sunset.
Beaches we stopped at (or that you should go to) include:
- Tunnel Beach: Probably the coolest looking beach we didn’t go to, and I regret it
- Diamond Beach
- Cannon Beach
- Gleneden Beach
- Oregon Coast Beach
- Neahkahnie Beach
- Fogarty Creek Beach
- Depoe Bay Beach
- Yaquina Beach
- Heceta Beach
- Beverly Beach
Places we ate: Oregon Coast restaurants
Florence
- Mo’s Seafood & Chowder
- BJ’s Ice Cream Parlor
Waldport
- Skōsh: a carry-out diner. Decent food for being one of the few dining options, but the food took an incredibly long time.
- Hilltop Cafe-Bistro: Solid waffles and other breakfast options, especially for being one of the only food choices in town.
Seal Rock
- Luna Sea Fish House
Newport
- Camp One Coffee & Donuts: Decent donuts given the lack of donut shops in the area.
- Fish Peddler’s Market: Easily the highlight of the trip, food-wise. My wife and I both got bread bowls of clam chowder, made with clams that came straight from the dock. Our daughter doesn’t eat seafood, so we stopped for food for her before, but she got fries while we ate at the Fish Peddler’s Market, and even the fries were top-notch!
Tillamook
- Tillamook Creamery food court
- Old Oregon Smokehouse (we didn’t make it here, but it looked legit)
Coffee shops
As avid fans of local coffee shops, we love avoiding chains and trying local coffee shops. We discovered that coastal Oregon has lots of tiny coffee stands, and lots of smallish mom and pop cafes, and few true coffee shops of the coffee snob variety. We ultimately did not have a cup that we really enjoyed, but there were several places on our list that we didn’t make it yo.
Tillamook
- Five Rivers Coffee Roasters (we didn’t make it, but it looks decent)
Pacific City
- Cold Water & Coffee: This is probably the best-looking (from Google) of all the ones I looked at in all the coastal towns we were near, but we didn’t get the chance to try it.
Newport
- Camp One Coffee & Donuts: Stick to the donuts. The coffee wasn’t great, but would be fine in a pinch if you’re already stopping for donuts
- White Rabbit Espresso: By far the best coffee of our trip. A true coffee shop. This is the only coffee shop we returned to.
Waldport
- Espresso 101: A tiny coffee stand. Coffee was okay.
- Beachside Buzz: Tiny but cute coffee stand with decent coffee
- Cafe Chill: A little coffee shop with great, friendly service. Coffee was okay.
Seal Rock
- Seal Rock Espresso & Bakery: We got lattes and a bagel, all of which were underwhelming and took an excruciatingly long time, despite being well-reviewed. This place now shows on Google as permanently closed.
Shops
We really only shopped in Newport, where we visited the following on the bayfront:
- ManaTEES
- Made in Oregon
- 101 Local
- Newport Candy Shoppe
We also shopped at Tillamook Creamery, which has a nice gift shop and of course, a market with Tillamook dairy goods and other items.
How we got around
We flew into Portland via Southwest for free, thanks to our Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier card, and at PDX we rented a Hyundai from Enterprise.
Summary
Coastal Oregon is full of crashing waves, breathtaking views, lighthouses, and amazing seafood. It’s also a great place to walk, hike, kayak, and other outdoor activities.
While we had trouble finding good coffee options, we absolutely would not let that get in the way of visiting the Oregon Coast again.
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