Four Days on the spectacular Oregon Coast

Last summer, we undertook an epic four day road trip around Oregon in a rented camper. We flew into Portland, picked up the RV, and headed to our first destination and ultimately spending 4 days on the Oregon Coast. Here's our itinerary:

Day 1 - Cannon Beach to Nehalem Bay State Park
We started our trip in Portland where we picked up our camper - there will be more to come on the nuts and bolts of renting and driving the camper in a future post- and we drove out of Portland heading west towards Cannon Beach.

Cannon Beach is one of my favorite spots on the Oregon Coast. A small city with New England vibes, Cannon Beach is known for it's iconic Haystack Rock. 
We:
-stopped at Ecola State Park for the stunning view of Cannon Beach
-had beers and appetizers at the bar at Pelican Brewing's Cannon Beach location
- walked along Cannon Beach - definitely at the top of my list of favorite beaches!
- walked through town to Public Coast Brewing Co. for dinner and enjoyed some live music while we ate (named in honor of Oregon declaring all beaches public in 1967)

We had a reservation to camp at Nehalem Bay State Park so we headed south along the coast enjoying the scenery. Once we were set up for the night at the park we walked the path to the beach and sat in our camping chairs to watch the sunset. It was so windy and so chilly but the sunset was definitely worth waiting for. Crazily enough, while I was taking photos of the sunset a few people on horseback rode past to make the photos all that much better. How often does something like that happen?!?

Day 2 - Nehalem Bay State Park to Depoe Bay
We packed up the RV and started our drive down the coast to see more of Oregon's natural beauty - seriously, it's so amazing - and see what trouble we could get into.

We:
-visited Cape Meares and it's lighthouse, a non-working lighthouse that you can tour
- saw an incredible spectacle of hang gliders at Cape Lookout beach. We parked the car and walked to the beaches edge and when I looked to my left there were hang gliders galore floating down to the beach. 
- stopped at Pelican Brewing's amazing Pacific City location. Right on the beach with a view of the dunes and Oregon's largest haystack rock, this location has been voted one of the best places to have a beer on the coast. It's easy to see why.
- enjoyed chowder, oysters - large oysters with a capital L - at Mo's Seafood and Chowder in Lincoln City which came highly recommended and didn't disappoint. 

Our stop tonight was at Sea and Sand RV park, a Good Sam campground in Depoe Bay.  We paid extra for an oceanfront location and boy, was it worth it! We pulled out the camping chairs and donned our fleece's (and hats and gloves) to watch an extremely pretty sunset. Such a memorable experience.

Day 3 - Depoe Bay to Yachats
Day 3 found us packing up the RV and saying good-bye to those beautiful views at Sea and Sand. We were excited for another day on the coast and our first stop wasn't far away. 

Here's what we got up to:
- Stopped at Devil's Punchbowl State Natural Area to see the hollow rock in the ocean shaped like a punchbowl. We were here during summer months so no great water slamming or loud roars. Just a peaceful filling up of the punchbowl from the ocean. But I hear that in winter it is quite the sight to see.
-Walked along the ocean path at Devil's Punchbowl and spoke with a friendly lady who, along with her husband at another sight, was an official whale watcher. They sit and record sightings. We thought we saw some far off the coast but never did decide if we did or we were seeing things.
-Made our way to the seaside town of Newport, Oregon where we parked the RV and walked through the town. Made a stop at one of Oregon's most famous brewpubs, Rogue, and had a few apps at the bar (and a few tastings)
- Drove the stunning coast along Cape Perpetua which is a large headland jutting into the ocean and stopped at Devil's Churn (seemed to be a devil theme to today's drive), an inlet along Cape Perpetua that creates a churning of the waters - and sometimes a spouting horn. There's a visitor center and scenic viewpoint here.

We arrived at our campground, Sea Perch, just south of

Yachats in time to enjoy walking the beach and viewing another colorful Oregon sunset.

Day 4 - Yachats to Reedsport
Our last day on the coast started with more driving and we headed south  where we:
- passed more stunning scenery and viewed the precariously perched Heceta Head Lighthouse.
- came upon the little known Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. Viewed from the road, the sand dunes look massive so we had to give it a go. What a cool place! We saw only a few other people and were able to take a walk from the boardwalk at the viewpoint and climb the sand dunes. Peaceful and beautiful. 

Our itinerary now had us heading inland at Reedsport. And even though the Dean Creek Elk Viewing Area wasn't on the coast, I just had to share this spot, too.  A very cool ending to our 4 days on the Oregon coast!

And there you have it. Four days on some of this country's most scenic coastline. Equal parts rugged and wild with beaches available to all. I'll be back, Oregon. And hopefully soon!

How about you? Have you experienced the beauty of the Oregon coast?


Linking up with: Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global, The Weekly Postcard at Travel Notes and Beyond and Sharon's Souvenirs !