Just north of the Yaquina Lighthouse in Newport is a beach where we somehow found a sketchy little path down to the beach (parked in a neighborhood) and had the most delightful sunset with only one other couple on the beach. highly recommend but you'll have to explore a bit to find the access.

OP here - thanks to all of you Revised plan - so we're not going down as far on the coast, just staying at Newport and Manzanita as our 2 points and seeing everything N of Newport on the coast. We'll see the water, the mountains and raft in Umpqua, R&R at resort. I'm much happier with this plan actually - any suggestions on it appreciated!

Day 1 - Fly in PDX - have to just stay in Portland for a night based on flight schedules
Day 2+3 - We're going to stay at VRBO on Manzanita Beach and have a day there, on drive there, will hit:
• Haystack Rock
• Cannon Beach
• Ecola State Park
• Short Sands Beach
• Arch Cape
Day 4 - drive down to Newport stopping for a couple hours maybe at the following before staying at Little Creek Cove Inn (Agate Beach)
• Cape Kiwanda or Devil’s Punchbowl
• Depoe Bay whales
Day 5-7 - Will be a 3:30 drive I think to Umpque. Staying at Umpque Last Resort. We will relax a day, raft a day, have 1 free day possibly to Crater Lake?
Day 8-11 Will be about 2:45 hour drive to Bend to stay at Brasada Ranch. Will R&R first day, maybe volcano 2nd day and Kayak Moonlight Tour on the new moon night and generally indulge in relaxation
Day 12 - We have to make it in to catch the only nonstop flight out the next early morning but thinking driving through Salem?
[/b]Day 13[b] - 8a flight out

I feel like the crazy poster who constantly mentions this but, Crater Lake is beautiful but it takes them a long time to plow the whole road. It was mid-July before the road was plowed and accessible last year. You can still see Crater Lake before the road is fully plowed, but you can’t do boat tours, drive around the lake, or access most of the hiking trails. So you and everyone else who are visiting are stuck in one very small space.

Monkless has great food in Bend.

Crater Lake is a must see, one of the most spectacular sights ever. You will not believe how blue it is, it's almost unreal. In Bend itself, Smith Rock park, also the High Desert museum. Brasada/Pronghorn/Sun River are all resort options (or Five Pines in Sisters OR near Bend)

Anonymous wrote:Thanks everyone! I think we're gonna skip Bend to do coast.

Looking at PDX in -
Day 1 - Drive to Manzanita. Stay by beach in vrbo
Day 2 - Enjoy beach look for agates, see Cannon Beach.
Day 3 - get to Headlands Coastal Lodge in pacific City for a few nights - moonlight kayak, dunes, relax.
Day 8 - drive to Bannon. Lunch in Lincoln/see Depoe Bay/lunch - Anchor Inn Resort there or continue on to see Yachats. Stay around there or Coos Bay for the night or continue on to stay in Brandon area???
Day 9 - explore Bandon or Coos on way to Umpqua stay either Tiny Home (Umpqua Last Resort) or River Vista Vacation home.
Day 10 raft Umpqua
Day 11 relax - explore Umqqua
Day 12 - fly Eugene out

So I'm just trying to figure best logistics from Pacific City to Brandon since there's so much in between. Wish we could get down to Hold Beach but too much I think. Not sure if we do extra day for Coos/Depoe Bay v Umpqua free day?


Thoughts?

If into adventure stuff you could do sand dune ATVs in Florence (guided). That was crazy and i was physically sore the next day from stabilizing my entire body, lol.
Bandon--must go at low tide and walk the tidepools. We also did this in Newport with an entirely different ecosystem (not sure if that's the right word, but looked and felt totally different).

Bandon is very small--in fact, we had a snafu with our home rental there (was rented to two different families) and we literally got the last two motel rooms in town. Though I loved the town, it really is good for just 1 or 2 days tops. Newport has some shops and more restaurants and a much busier beach.

Anonymous wrote:My sister lives in Bend. 5-8 days is way too much unless you’re doing some major backpacking trip. There’s stuff to do there for maybe 1-2 days. I wouldn’t plan an entire trip around it, it’s okay but not that great!

Agree - there wasn't much else in the area. You need to tie it in to either Crater Lake or Portland/Beaches.

EAT AT SPORK.

Anonymous wrote:There’s no reason to spend so much time on the coast. The Oregon coast is beautiful but that’s pretty one note to come all that way for. Yachats is great, my favorite coast town, but Bandon and many coastal towns are very similar and pretty meh.

I would use the latter half of your trip to head inland and see the Redwoods (Avenue of the Giants), Crater Lake and raft on the Rogue River. You can fly out of Medford instead of Eugene. Medford itself isn’t worth visiting but Ashland is nearby a very cute town to spend an afternoon in, and catch a play at Oregon Shakespeare Festival if that interests you.

+1 With the luxury of that much time you could do soo much more. I also recommend adding the Redwoods and Crater Lake to the latter half of your itinerary. Grove of the Titans has some of the biggest Redwoods in the world. Rafting on either the Umpqua or the Rogue will be great so whichever fits better into the itinerary.

There’s no reason to spend so much time on the coast. The Oregon coast is beautiful but that’s pretty one note to come all that way for. Yachats is great, my favorite coast town, but Bandon and many coastal towns are very similar and pretty meh.

I would use the latter half of your trip to head inland and see the Redwoods (Avenue of the Giants), Crater Lake and raft on the Rogue River. You can fly out of Medford instead of Eugene. Medford itself isn’t worth visiting but Ashland is nearby a very cute town to spend an afternoon in, and catch a play at Oregon Shakespeare Festival if that interests you.