Road trip up the Oregon Coast

A road trip on the Pacific Coast Highway is a scenic way to see the Oregon Coasts’ many attractions. There is no better time to do this than in the mild weather of perfect Pacific Northwest summers. 

 

The coastline scenery changes from rugged cliffs to sandy dunes to pristine evergreen forests. Although there are many cities to visit along the 363 mile coastline, this article will focus on Bandon, Lincoln City, and Cannon Beach. 

 

Bandon, a city in the southern part of Oregon, is the place to be for the avid golfer. The Bandon Dunes golf resort has three golf courses with a fourth opening in 2010 and five types of lodging located throughout the resorts sprawling acreage. The accommodations vary from the Lodge overlooking the Dunes golf course to secluded four bedroom cottages. 

 

Bandon’s golf courses were based on  Scotland's links, which are defined as a sandy area near the coast with minimal trees and few alterations to the natural landscape. This is considered to be golf as it was intended to be played. 

 

The tranquility and isolation of the resort’s surroundings make it a one of a kind place to play golf in the United States. Almost every hole at the Bandon Dunes course commands views of the ocean. 

 

George Peper, a writer for Links Magazine, was impressed with the golf resort saying, “As an idyllic place to stay and play golf it has only two peers – the Monterey Peninsula and St. Andrews.” 

 

Lincoln City lies 150 miles north of Bandon and less than 90 miles southwest of Portland. The annual Kite Festival held this year from June 27-28 is the highlight of summer in Lincoln City. The festival hosts professional and leisure kite flyers with some of the most colorful show kites in the world. 

 

The Culinary Center in Lincoln City offers cooking classes and hosts food events throughout the year, including the Chowder Cook-off in November. The culinary classes focus on food from the Pacific Northwest, such as seafood and shellfish. Their use of locally grown organic vegetables and grass fed natural meat reflect the Culinary Center’s and Oregon’s commitment to the environment and sustainable food sources.  

 

Blown glass has found a home in Lincoln City. Japanese fishermen used glass floats as a buoy for their fishing nets. Plastic buoys replaced glass ones, but 2,000 floats are washed onto the beaches of Lincoln City every winter. A project was started in 1997 to register and number the glass floats discovered by tourists who scour the beach for floats. 

 

If unable to find a glass float on the beaches, the Jennifer L. Sears Glass Art Studio allows visitors to blow their own glass float, paperweight, or bowl and offers free professional glass blowing demonstrations. 

 

Hunger pains can be a problem on road trips. Behold the Tillamook cheese factory, located half way between Lincoln City and Cannon Beach. There is an enclosed viewing area inside the factory for witnesses how the world’s best cheddar is made. The best part is the free mouthwatering cheese curds. 

 

Cannon Beach is one of the most popular destinations on the coast. Full of quaint shops and art galleries, Cannon Beach is the quintessential seaside getaway. 

 

Haystack Rock is the focal point of Cannon Beach’s landscape. During the low tide, visitors can walk to the massive rock and find thousands of mollusks and barnacles clinging to it. 

 

The Oregon Coast is the place to be for families, nature lovers, and people who simply want to get away. Click here for more information on traveling in Oregon.