Suggestions For Oregon Coast

In Astoria check out the Iredale shipwreck and Fort Stevens. Both are great places for taking pictures. Have a great trip!

Cannon Beach is a must see, Jeff.

http://davidpattersonartist.com/art/all/all/all/cannon+beach+and+the+oregon+coast

The Astoria column for one but you wont have any trouble finding things to do or shoot with your route in mind, stay to the beach route 101 and you will go through lots and lots of little tourist towns. You will go through Tillamook so you should stop and tour and buy some Tillamook smoked cheddar cheese :-) If you cross over the Astoria bridge to the Washington side you can see the lighthouses - there are three. It costs $10 a day each spot or $30 for the year. Google Ft Columbia, Northhead lighthouse, Cape Disappointment. I have some pictures of the area on my profile.

Have a great trip.


Edit: there are three state parks within 20 miles of the Astoria bridge, there are 2 lighthouses :-)

Yes, Cannon Beach. Go up to the peak in Ecola state park. It costs a couple of bucks but is an amazing view of the ocean and beach.
Depot Bay has a nice little marina and some good wave action.
The sand dunes down by Florence are also a must see.
Do a search for lighthouses. Heceta Head is a good one as well as Yaquina Head

Port Orford, Battle rock beach, agate beach and humbug mountain on the southern coast. Cape Blanco, Devils Churn and Thors well ...spectacular at high tide, Just South of Eureka is the Avenue of the Giants near Fortuna, huge redwoods and some wineries. Trinidad North of Arcata - Patricks Point for camping. The whole OR coast is pretty spectacular.

Lots of great beaches to visit.
Long Beach across the long Astoria Bridge and a bit, Cannon Beach, Newport, Lincoln City, Oswald West State park.
Take a kite. Some of the beaches are windy and make for great kite flying. If you're into that. Lots of hiking trails.

The sea lion caves are interesting to see once.

Love Tillamook ice cream and cheese. The best.

There's also lava tubes and caves near Bend, Oregon, but that is more central Oregon. It depends on where you're coming into Oregon: http://culturaloregon.com/caving-in-oregon-explore-a-different-world/

I take it your going to see the Redwood Forest near Eureka, California. A site to behold.

Have a fabulous trip. The coast is very picturesque. Lots of photo ops.

Bandon beach is the best for photography along the Oregon coast IMHO.

Everyone goes to Canon because it's got more touristy stuff there but Bandon was always much less crowded and the photo potential much better.

Thanks for all the ideas so far. I'll look these places up!

Crescent City is just south of the Oregon border. Battery Point Lighthouse, you can take a tour at low tide. Stout Grove for old growth Redwoods. The harbor for birds and boats. From Crescent City to Eureka, the chance to see and photograph Elk. The Oregon coast is absolutely beautiful and the drive to Eureka is Redwoods and Elk.

Jeff your car looks like it is wearing a bike helmet! Have fun on your trip!

Ha! Andee - Once seen, it cannot be unseen. Now I'll never think of it other than as you described it. ;)

Bandon is easily my favorite place along the Oregon coast; Harris Beach State Park is a close second.

Cape Perpetua near Yachats is spectacular, make sure you drive up to the top.
My first reaction was to blow off "Sea Lion Caves" near Florence as just another roadside attraction but actually found it really interesting, worth the price.
Also the "Stout Grove" of Redwoods near Jedadiah Smith park, Prairie Creek Redwoods, Gold Bluff Beach and Patricks Point are all great.

Jeff you now have bragging rights. You can tell everyone you know when you go on a trip you drive the bike helmet wearing car! ;) Now if you can just figure out how to clip playing cars with clothes pins on your wheels for that cool clickety click sound you are all set! :)

I think it is a law you have to shoot haystack rock.

JC what on earth is a haystack rock?

Hi Jeff,

Hug Point is beautiful, it's near Cannon Beach. Be sure to go when it is low tide, when it is high tide the water comes up far. Sounds like a fun trip!!!

The dunes down around Florence are interesting.

Search haystack rock and see all one thousand versions on FAA

Kind of like having to shoot the Brooklyn Bridge and Empire State Building if you go to NYC.

It's a law.

OK I gotcha. Never heard of them before this...interesting.

I'll shoot haystack rock..don't want to get into trouble.

Thanks for the suggestions so far everyone...

"Suggestions For Oregon Coast" Yeah don't go. Those people are nuts and snobs to boot. Well maybe a few. No other place on earth like the Oregon coast, unfortunately there is no other place on earth with the weirdest people and testiest . Just my opinion but I live here . LOL so I can say that. I found Newport to be the best and most centrally located and enjoyable. Have fun.

Been there twice now and my favorite photo spots are Cannon Beach, Arcadia Beach, Hecata Head Lighthouse, Coquille River Lighthouse, Seal Rock State Wayside, Bandon Beach, and Arch Rock State Wayside. There's also a cool house on the cliffs by Otter Crest Loop which is on the 101 before you get to Hecata Head .

If you like real seafood, go to Tony's Crab shack by the wharf in the historic old town area of Bandon. There's also a great Pizza place there called Old Town Pizza And Pasta. Another good Pizza place is Flashbacks in Newport.

Oh, don't try to get out and pump your own gas in Oregon... it's against the law and they get grumpy about it. :-)

Jeff there is so much for than Haystack Rock. Do a google search. It is sooooooo overdone. Try Oswald West State Park. A nice quarter mile walk through a natural rain forest to a beautiful once secluded beach .The locals call it short sands but on google maps labeled as Smugglers Cove. Florence is some nice shooting and also between Newport and Lincoln if you want some beautiful rocks and shore shots. All along the coast is beautiful and magical places to shoot. Don't get to excited about Astoria unless you are into the Goonies but then again starting there going down is some really great shooting if you just get off the beaten path. Have fun and be safe. Lot of crooks down that stretch this time of year.

We will be driving down Hwy 101 so plan on making stops all along the way. The Haystack Rock may well be overdone, but I know my wife will wan to see it. She already mentioned that once. Once in Astoria, I know now we have planned going to Cape Disappointment, see the Astoria Column, going ziplining (will be interesting) and not sure what else at the moment. These suggestions have helped... thanks for them all!

Here's the route to be taken (so far). The POI's added were done automatically....a bit overwhelming actually
http://www.routeyou.com/route/view/3090189/standard-car-route/great-american-road-trip-northwest-version.en

All good suggestions so far. I agree about Bandon Beach being a photographer's paradise. If you've never been to the redwoods, then you absolutely must! It's a really short drive (maybe 15 miles?) inland from Crescent City to Jedediah Smith Park. There's a lot to see on your route!

We plan to see the redwoods, that is a must!

If you have time, take Howland Hill Road from Crescent City to Stout Grove. It's a dirt road that takes you about 8 miles through the redwood forest. You can take the highway back to town from Stout Grove. It's not well marked or easy to find. Stop at the Forest Service visitor center in Crescent City for directions.

I grew up on the Oregon coast. A couple of not so well known places you may want to check our are Hobbit Trail Beach. The trail head for it is just north of Heceta Head. And south of Sea Lion Caves check out Baker beach. If you walk all the way to the end of the beach at Baker beach (walking north) it's a really pretty area too. Further south there is a place call Sunset Bay state park near Coos Bay. Also in the area there is a beautiful place called Shore Acres Gardens. The Gardens are beautiful and they also have a little trail that leads to the beach. Heceta Head mentioned above is a beautiful area but also a pretty popular and well known photo spot that evryone takes a photo of, sort of like Hay Stack Rock up north. The heceta head light house is really beautiful though. It's often shot from the turn out just past Sea Lion Caves but that is where just about every tourist on HWY 101 shoots it from. Hope that helps. Enjoy the coast it really is beautiful! :-D

Oh I just remembered another pretty spot, Oswald West Park, I think it's near Newport but I can't remember.

Definitely consider visiting the Willapa Bay area on the Washington side of the river, the wildlife refuge there is wonderful, and the landscapes and historic structures of Cape Disappointment and Fort Columbia State Park are fascinating. In Oregon you might consider visiting Saddle Mountain, it's a bit of a hike, but the top is covered in wide meadows full of rare wildflowers in season, and offers views that include the entirety of Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington. You can see at least 4 volcanoes, and the Olympic mountains if the air is very clear. The length of the Lower Columbia River is visible, as is the coast from Willapa Bay all the way south past Oswald West State Park (also worth a visit). I've written several articles about hikes in the area; Here's one about Saddle Mountain http://seattlebackpackersmagazine.com/hike-saddle-mountain/ Backpacking on Long Island in Willapa Bay http://illuminationsfromtheattic.blogspot.com/2014/06/backpacking-on-long-island.html Hiking in Willapa National Wildlife Refuge: http://seattlebackpackersmagazine.com/hiking-willapa-national-wildlife-refuge/ and an article about Fort Columbia: http://illuminationsfromtheattic.blogspot.com/2014/01/explore-century-old-fort-columbia_6.html

I've not been up there, but I'd imagine there's got to be something interesting surrounding where Lewis and Clark reached the sea at the end of the Columbia.

Joshua - that is where the lighthouses are, at the mouth of the Columbia. There is so much history along the Columbia on the Wa side.

@Loree - those drives look great! Thanks for those.

Investigating some of those other suggestions mentioned, and of course we'll see lighthouses. One of the reasons my wife wanted to go to Oregon. She loves lighthouses....

Just wanted to thank everyone for the suggestions, and we managed to make it to many of the spots listed. Unfortunately, just not enough time to do everything. Such is life ;)

A few pictures I took along the trip. (Please remember I don't claim to be a photographer... )

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10155679286475551.1073741834.517050550&type=1&l=aba896ca66

Though they're on FB, you don't have to have an account to look at them.

Thanks again, everyone...

Just saw this 'discussion', Jeff. So sorry I missed it earlier. I would have strongly encouraged you to head off the coast a bit into the redwoods around Crescent City. Also would have suggested a stop at the locally-owned cheese factory in CC.

Did you see whales along the way? I didn't have a long lens, but got a few tails off North Beach in CC.

Love the Pacific Coast. Hope you had a LOAD of fun.

@Carol - We went to the Tillamook Dairy in Oregon, but didn't know there was one in Crescent City. We did stay a few days in Eureka CA, and spent a couple of days exploring the redwoods. Saw no whales though. Maybe next time....

Lots of fun, but an exhausting trip. 5700 miles of driving.....

Jeff.. download Google Earth [ free version ] if you don't already have it. Make sure photos is checked on the left pane so you can see photos that others have taken of the areas you are interested in. If you see a cluster of photos in the middle of nowhere... that is probably a good indication of something good ;O)

Actually Bob, already went. Good idea though :)

I guess I should have read all the posts huh? LOL

Wow, Lara, you rang off a list of my favorites.