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A road trip down the Oregon Coast offers some spectacular scenery, great wildlife viewing, and cute coastal towns. With aquariums, hikes, breweries, and unique landscapes, you’ll never be short of things to do on the Oregon Coast.
We’ve been to the Oregon coast more times than we can count, spent countless camping trips up and down the coast, and have even cycled the entire length of the Oregon Coast when cycle touring from Seattle to San Francisco. I think it’s safe to say we’ve had our fair share of slow and steady enjoyment of the Oregon Coast, making this list an ultimate guide of things to do on the Oregon Coast!
The best way to explore the Oregon Coast is from north to south. Heading from Astoria down to Brookings, leaves you driving the Pacific Coast Highway on the ocean side, making it easier to pull off at all the viewpoints listed! Grab a beanie and a down jacket, and let’s head down the west coast together!
The Oregon Coast Map
This map of the Oregon Coast is a look at all the stops within this destination guide. By clicking on the different stops, you can get the exact Google Maps location and directions. The points on the Oregon Coast map are numbered, in the same order the destinations are discussed below. We hope this helps you find the best things to do on the Oregon Coast — making your trip less stressful and more enjoyable!
Things To Do On The Oregon Coast
Drive Across the 4.1-mile long Astoria-Meglar Bridge
What better way to start a trip to the Oregon Coast than by driving across the 4.1-mile-long bridge connecting Washington and Oregon? The Astoria-Meglar Bridge is the longest bridge in the United States, and is honestly frightening to cross, as it spans the 4+ miles across the Columbia River.
Unless visiting in October, to cross the bridge you must be on bike or in a vehicle. There is only one time a year when pedestrians are allowed on the bridge, during The Great Columbia Crossing.
Tour the Goonies Movie Locations in Astoria
Did you know The Goonies was mainly filming in Astoria, Oregon?! There are multiple filming locations throughout Astoria, most of which you can find here.
While you’re in Astoria, head up to the Astoria Column, where you can climb up the 125 foot column for 360 degree views of Astoria. There is a $5 parking fee at the base of the column, but the climb up the stairs is free!
Explore the Wreck of Peter Iredale
The Wreck of Peter Iredale is an old shipwreck site from 1906 in Fort Stevens State Park. While you can’t see the actual sails and such from the shipwreck (hello, over 100 years old), you can climb in and out of the body of the ship when the tide is right!
While you’re exploring the wreck, think of how crazy a time it was for the British sailors of this ship. They had just collected the wheat from up the Columbia River and were on their journey home when the gale-force winds caused the ship to crash into shore! Standing there today, it’s hard to imagine a time such as that. Thankfully, all 27 sailors were safely rescued from the wreck!
Search for Sanddollars at Cockcroft Sanddollar Point
We fully believe there’s a kid hiding in each one of us, and searching the beach for shells and sanddollars brings out the inner kid in us all. As the name suggests, Cockcroft Sanddollar Point is a great place to look for sanddollars! It’s just a bit north of Seaside, so we suggest staying in Seaside and then heading here in the early morning when the tide head out for best sanddollar finds!
Find your perfect Seaside stay here.
Enjoy the Beach in Seaside
Seaside is known for a resort-style area on the Oregon Coast. The town of Seaside boasts visitor attractions for all ages. Walk along the Seaside Promenade. Play with your family at the Captain Kid Amusement Park or the Seaside Aquarium. Or, if you’re into volleyball, join in the annual Seaside Beach Volleyball Tournament — a sand volleyball tournament with over 170 courts!
Hike at Ecola State Park
Ecola State Park is sandwiched between Seaside and Cannon Beach, offering a less busy beach to play at. The main attraction to Ecola State Park though is the awesome hiking and coastal scenery. This place is the kind of stop that makes Oregon Coast road trips something you’ll never forget!
Hike the trails. Head down to the beach. Explore caves. Check out the tide pools. Watch surfers. There’s much to do at Ecola State Park!
Photograph the Famous Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach
Another very popular beach on the Oregon Coast is Cannon Beach. The rock formations in the ocean, specifically Haystack Rock, are probably the most photographed rocks on the Oregon Coast.
Grab a beer at the Pelican Brewery and then head down to the water for sunset over Haystack Rock.
Cannon Beach is another one of those resort towns on the Oregon Coast. There are VRBOs, AirBnBs, and even larger hotels offered in Cannon Beach for a stay.
Stand in Awe at the Neahkahnie Viewpoint
One of the best parts about driving south down the Pacific Coast Highway is being able to stop at amazing Oregon Coast Viewpoints. Neahkahnie Viewpoint is one of those. During our cycle trip down the coast, we were just in awe at this scenic viewpoint. We knew heading climbing the hill leading up to Neahkahnie was steep, but we didn’t know we’d be rewarded with such an amazing view!
Watch for whales from this viewpoint! If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to spot a few — maybe even dolphins too!
Sample Local Cheese at the Tillamook Creamery
Okay, more than just cheese, you definitely need to get some ice cream here too! The Tillamook Creamery makes some of the best cheese in Oregon! They’ve been making cheese for over 110 years!
When we did our cycle trip we took a break from the bikes and did the factory tour at the creamery and can’t recommend it enough! Super interesting to learn about the history of Tillamook cheese! The samples are pretty good too :).
After visiting the Tillamook Creamery, head out towards Cape Meares Lighthouse along the Three Capes Scenic Route for a roughly 40 mile coastal loop off of highway 101.
Camp on the Beach at Winema Beach
Did you know you can camp on any Oregon beach for free? The only problem is finding one that’s safe to do so. At Winema Beach, there’s ample space for setting up a tent and staying the night on the sand. Pitching up over the little sand dune made us feel a bit safer and also offers protection from the wind. Winema Beach is the perfect place to have a nice beach bonfire at night too!
Hike to Drift Creek Waterfall
In the interest of full honesty on this website, we’ve got to tell you that we have yet to visit Drift Creek Waterfall. Jay saw an image of Drift Creek Waterfall on Instagram and we added it to our list of places we’ve got to check out.
Based on the images and reviews we’ve seen, we thought we ought to share this with you, as it seems like a great hike! This waterfall is technically not on the coast, but is actually ten miles inland from Lincoln City. Based on reviews of the drive, that 10 miles seems to be a long drive, taking nearly 40 minutes from Lincoln City.
**If you do go to Drift Creek Waterfall, come back and let us know about it! We’d love some insider info on the hike!
Explore Newport and Yaquina Head
Newport, Oregon is a coastal town with you guessed it, an aquarium and lighthouse, but did you know they also have a Ripley’s Believe it or Not Museum too?! Newport is also home to one of our favorite breweries in Oregon, Rogue Brewery. This little town in Oregon isn’t as popular as some of the other neighboring coastal cities, but it sure is a good one to explore!
Head down to the harbor and join in the crabbing, walk along Bay Boulevard to see cute ma and pa shops with salt water tafty, and typical coast trinkets. And follow your ears while walking on Bay Boulevard to see some sea lions up close and personal! These creatures may smell funny at times, but they are such a joy to watch!
Grab a Beer at Rogue Brewery
One of our favorite breweries in Oregon, the other being in Central Oregon, Rogue Brewery gives a laid back brewery tour ending in samples of their killer beers! Have a taste up in the tasting room, or just chill on the brewery floor while you sip on a cold pour and chat with others on the tour with you!
While you’re at Rogue Brewery, be sure to walk around on the harbor too. The seagulls there are insane, and if you’re lucky you’ll see someone pulling in crabs or a big fish!
*Before heading into Rogue, be sure to join Rogue Nation for discounts on pints and even a free pint on your birthday.
Marvel at Thor’s Well & Cape Perpetua
Cape Perpetua Scenic Area is full of everything that makes the Oregon Coast so great. When you see words like “state scenic area”, or “state scenic corridor”, you know it’s a place you should be checking out!
With gorgeous viewpoints, hiking trails, and strange rock formations, causing things like Thor’s Well, the Spouting Horn, and the Devil’s Churn, you could sit in awe at the natural beauty of this place for hours!
If you’re up for a 60ish mile bike ride, cycling from Newport to Honeyman State Park was one of our favorite days on our cycle trip. Read more about the details of that day here.
Heceta Head Lighthouse and Cape Creek Bridge
No trip to the Oregon Coast is complete without visiting a lighthouse. And, while we have mentioned a couple of other lighthouses above, Heceta Head Lighthouse offers a unique experience, and you guessed it, great views! Tucked down below Highway 101, to get to this lighthouse, you have to peel off the PCH, then drive under Cape Creek Bridge (a sight to see in itself).
The state scenic viewpoint has a large parking lot with vault toilets and a secluded beach with hiking trails around too. You can walk (uphill) to the lighthouse from the viewpoint and even purchase gifts at their small gift shop!
Visit the Sea Lion Caves
While you can see sea lions at many spots along the Oregon coast, and even in towns like Newport, the sea lion caves offer a tour actually inside a cave where sea lions reside part-time throughout the year.
Call ahead to make sure they’re open AND that the sea lions are in the caves! If you miss the sea lions, you can still tour the caves with a free entrance at a later time when the sea lions are around!
Play in the Sand at the Oregon Dunes
The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area brings in visitors from all over the states. Dune buggies, quads, and even sandboarding are all popular sports at the Oregon Sand Dunes! Don’t worry, you don’t have to have your own gear, there are plenty of rental companies around that offer everything needed to spend the day at the Oregon Dunes!
Check out the bigger dune buggies if you’re in a larger group! But be sure to know your boundaries. Accidents on the dunes are quite common — and one time people we were with completely rolled their dune buggy because the hill was too steep for them to get up! Not a good family bonding time! 😉
Go Deep Sea Fishing in Charleston
We’ve only been deep sea fishing once out of Charleston, but it’s still something we talk about and hope to do again! We went with another couple and both had more fish than we could have ever imagined! Betty Kay Charters hit it out of the park with our trip. Even with some people getting seasick, the crew handled it like champs, and everyone walked away with pounds and pounds of fish for just a half a day at sea!
Paddleboard at Sunset Bay
Sunset Bay is a family favorite campground for people with little children. With the bay blocking big waves from crashing in, it’s a great protected area to swim at. Paddleboarding and sea kayaking are also great activities to do from Sunset Bay.
The campground at Sunset Bay is also fabulous! The hosts are really nice, and the site are always clean. Loop D is our favorite, as it’s tucked away from the road, and has the best bathrooms! Whenever we camp at Sunset Bay, we also hike to Shore Acres State Park. The hike is relatively flat along the coast, and leads to a well kept garden (free entry with your camping ticket).
Just past Shore Acres is another area with sea lion viewings and a great overlook for whale watching too!
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Check Out the Sand Art at Face Rock in Bandon
Face Rock State Scenic Viewpoint is a great place for some beach time when passing through Bandon. We’ll be doing a full post on things to do in Bandon soon, but for now, just know it’s a great stop on the Oregon Coast.
Bandon, Oregon hosts a weekend market, cute little shops in downtown, great seafood places, and sand art is done when the tide is out, that gets washed away every day when the tide comes in. There are also tide pools and a large beach area for a full-day beach getaway!
READ MORE | 15 Things to do in Bandon, Oregon
Stay & Play at Turtle Rock
Our first time at Turtle Rock was only a few years ago, but we’ve been back a number of times since with our family. The big beach area is perfect for bonfires, and the sunset behind the turtle rock is quite the site to see.
The Turtle Rock RV Resort offers RV spaces with hot tubs and cute little tiny homes to rent as well .. also with hot tubs! Head to their website to have a full look at all their accommodation options.
Drive Over the Tallest Bridge in Oregon
Thomas Creek Bridge is the Tallest Bridge in Oregon, and it’s right on the Pacific Coast Highway. While it’s often under construction, if you get the chance to drive over it slow and steady, is gives quite an eerie feeling. The drop down both sides is a bit more than my stomach can handle!
Hike Around Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor
Natural bridges. Beaches. Fern covered hikes. Whale watching. Beautiful rock formations. Samuel H. Boardman is a place people travel near and far to reach, and as reviews would have it, is some people’s favorite place in the world.
The natural beauty of this area is nothing short of breathtaking, and with the many trails and viewpoints, there’s a serenity to this place that can’t be found in many other Oregon Coast hot spots!
Spend a day here, or a week. There’s really that much goodness to see! And remember, when traveling from north to south on the Pacific Coast Highway, stopping at every viewpoint is much easier and safer to do!
WATCH MORE | Visiting the Natural Bridges and Scenic Corridor
LEARN MORE | 11 Things to do in Brookings, Oregon
Tide Pools at Harris Beach
Harris Beach State Park is the most popular beach to go to when in Southern Oregon. It’s a campground (with some pretty strict park hosts) a state park with lots of beach access, and a place the local elementary schools take their students to visit the tide pools. That’s not to say adults can’t go there too.. we’ve had many great trips to the tide pools at Harris Beach.
Park in the large paved parking area, and spend the day playing in the sand and investigating the different creatures in the tide pools.
If you’re looking for a more private beach area in Brookings, head to Lone Ranch Beach, just north of Brookings. This is our personal favorite beach in Southern Oregon as it’s much less crowded than the neighboring areas.
READ MORE | What to do in Brookings, Oregon
Places to Stay on the Oregon Coast
AirBnB Oregon Coast | AirBnB is a great option for finding a place to stay all up and down the Oregon Coast. With many people offering entire homes for rent on AirBnB, you could have a whole home to yourself. This is a great option for saving money on food and being able to spend more on adventures!
If you’re hoping to stay with a local, don’t worry, AirBnB offers local stays too! What a great way to find out even more about the local area and even other places you may be traveling to!
We recommend using the map version of the search tool. That way you can see where the homes are in relation to where you plan on visiting. The AirBnB Oregon Coast offers many tiny home / cabin like stays! Perfect for a beach get away!
Hotel Stays | If staying in someone else’s home doesn’t tickle your fancy, search for hotels on the Oregon Coast here. Obviously, the bigger cities are going to have more hotel stay options, but again, using the map version of booking, you can really visualize where you want to stay!
Camping | Camping is a great money saver and memory maker! And the Oregon Coast offers so many fantastic campgrounds, it’s unreal. Most of them are state campgrounds, offering rates right around 20 USD a night. You do have to make reservations for most places, which can be done with the google link provided for each place in the Oregon Coast Map at the beginning of this post!
Learn more about free camping in the United States here.
Getting to and Around The Oregon Coast
Flying | Luckily, Portland brings in one of the biggest airports on the west coast of the United States. Look for flights from your location to PDX(or Portland, Oregon). This is the search engine we use when booking flights.
Learn how to get the best prices on flights to Oregon here. Learn how to get the best prices on flights to Oregon here.
Rental Cars | If you’re not from the area or don’t have your own car, you’ll want to rent a car to get you up and down the Oregon Coast, maybe even plan a proper Oregon road trip! There’s not much public transportation in Oregon, and it’s always nicer to have your own car when visiting a place of such spectacular scenery.
Training | Amtrak trains offer trains right into Downtown Portland. They connect larger cities all over the United States. However, fair warning — training in the United States is NOTHING like training in Europe!
More On Things To Do in Oregon
Both being from Southern Oregon and really spending a lot of time exploring the great outdoors, we’ve got a good list of things to do in Southern Oregon we think you’ll like! We’re including Crater Lake National Park, our favorite swimming holes, and even tips on Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor!
The best is yet to come… the national park and national monuments in Oregon are rich in beauty. With hot springs, more awesome hikes, painted hills, and even caves, Oregon’s national monuments, and parks have a little something for everyone!
Our Oregon page is full of unique things to do in Oregon. Find river access points, hikes, waterfalls, hot springs, and even information on cycling the Oregon Coast here!
Trust us on this one.. we’ve driven up and down the Oregon coast many times, and even took it slow and steady riding our bikes from Seattle to San Francisco.. so we know the cutest of them all!
Things to do in Northern Oregon | Exploring Outside of Portland
Our Northern Oregon post is just like this one. You get to read and see all the things we recommend in Northern Oregon. Hiking, waterfalls, scenic viewpoints, you name it, it’s there!
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