Whale Watching in Depoe Bay, Finding Starfish in Yaquina Head Tidepools and Cruisin Oregon Coast Highway!
We are on a 7,000 mile Great American Road trip. You can catch up on our last post: Crescent City, California and Redwood National Park – Finding Treasure at Battery Point Lighthouse, Beach Camping for the 4th of July! here.
Oregon Coast Highway
The Oregon Coast is popular for it’s iconic Oregon Coast highway. The driving is smooth and follows the the 101 the entire way. Along the drive you find majestic Redwoods, inspiring beach views and small sea towns.
You can pull over practically anywhere and have nice scenery. We happened to lunch along the highway, at one of the many options of view points. The camper provides nice shelter from the highway.
Oregon Dunes National Park
Oregon Dunes National Park is a unique place along the Oregon Coast. There are 40 miles of undeveloped coastline which meet massive sand dunes footed by forest and lakes. You can camp or take an ATV out on the dunes for a some off road fun – a very popular way to enjoy the dunes.
Oregon Coast Dunes Day Use Area
We stopped at the Oregon Dunes Day Use Area hiked down the dune, through the forest to run along the shoreline. There are two hiking options, the small kid friendly option is about 2 miles.
Dunes formed when sand blew from strong on shore winds over millions of years.
Seal Rocks RV Park
You can find many state parks along the coast line. They are all unique and beautiful and much lower priced than private campgrounds. However, if you need a convenient stop, with services (like wifi, sewer hookups) and a nice view, sometimes private campgrounds are the way to go.
We arrived at Seal Rocks RV park, to find our campsite, with a nice view of the ocean. The beach is a short walk from the campsite and is a nice sunset activity.
One Day on the Oregon Coast
Travelling to Oregon Coast for only one day? Here is a great Itinerary to follow.
Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area
One of the highlights of our day trip is a visit to Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area. A bit of a mouthful but this is a National Park and consists of a Lighthouse, Tidepools teaming with life and an Interpretive center describing life as a lighthouse keeper.
Yaquina Head Interpretive Center
Inside the Interpretive Center, you will find a unique museum documenting early life in the Lighthouse, Whale Bones, Seals, and practices of Bureau of Land Management Forest Rangers who originally surveyed the area in the 1800’s.
Yaquina Head Lighthouse
Part of the Outstanding Natural area is the Lighthouse. Tours are not currently running, but you can still walk up the lighthouse and take in the view.
Yaquina Head Tide Pools
The tidepools at Yaquina are an exhilarating experience of discovery. You can find seals, mussels, starfish, sea urchins and anemones in this exceptional tidepool. We saw all of them. National Park Rangers are always on hand to answer questions or help protect these valuable resources for generations to come.
The kids loved finding new sea creatures. Madison found a starfish. Lincoln’s joked with a ranger that there were some strong rocks around here (because they were covered with mussels).
Whale Watching in Depoe Bay, Oregon
A trip to the Oregon Coast is not complete without whale watching. Gray Whales make their path along the Oregon coast through Depoe Bay for the Summer and Winter migrations. In the Summer and Winter spots, several “resident” Gray whales stick around year round. You can literally sit on the boardwalk and watch them surface between dives.
Don’t forget to stop by Depoe Bay brewing for the great beer and mediocre food!
Cape Foulweather
In the 1800’s, Captain James Cook attempted to anchor on the Oregon Coast on his trip up the pacific coast toward Alaska. With 100 mile per hour gales, the weather was so terrible he could not go ashore. He named the Cape Foulweather and the name stuck.
With a short trip to Oregon at Bay, we set sail for Seattle or more specifically, Issaquah Washington to catch up with some old friends and soak in the sights!
