Oregon's nearly 400 miles (644 km) of pristine, public coastline is made up of diverse terrain that changes from rugged cliffs to evergreen forests to Sahara-like dunes and boundless sandy beaches. From Astoria in the north to Brookings in the southern tip, follow the shoreline past a smorgasbord of one-of-a-kind attractions including scores of quaint towns with a penchant for serving up legendary seafood, historic lighthouses, breathtaking viewpoints, stunning state parks, a cornucopia of galleries and museums and a world class aquarium. Mild temperatures, dramatic scenery and a wide range of recreational activities make the coast one of the state's most popular regions.  For more on the Oregon Coast please visit: http://www.traveloregon.com/Explore-O...

OREGON COAST CITIES:

ASTORIA. Historic place. Go up to Astor Column, walk to top if you want. See Fort Clatsop the Lewis and Clark camp (currently being rebuit Aug 2006), Ft Stevens (Warrenton) where portals look out waiting for the Japanese in '41. Lots of old homes. It is built right on the Columbia River so there is a rich fishing and canning history here, as well as lots of Scandinavian heritage.

SEASIDE. One of Oregon's first beach resorts. Nice beach here. Still a busy place. Broadway has arcades, shops. More for the younger crowd.

CANNON BEACH. Trendy place, nice beach, lots of galleries and shops, nice place to stroll around town. Costs a bit more. Downtown is off busy 101.

N TILLAMOOK CO. Several small towns, most on bays not ocean. Fun to poke around in them, more downscale than Cannon Beach. Rockaway Beach is on ocean

TILLAMOOK. Tillamook cheese is the best there is. Visit the cheese factory

S TILLAMOOK CO: Two options here 101 which is not on ocean. Or Three Capes Co Rd. Go west out of Tillamook toward Netarts, S to Pacific City back to 101 s of there. Road is a little narrow hangs on the cliff in a couple of places, but nice drive, not too busy. Sand Lake along here is dune buggy place.

NESKOWIN: Quiet place, beach is a little hard to access, but good one. Nice motel.

LINCOLN CITY: 10 miles long 1 mile wide. Town is right on beach but 101 is not. New Indian Casino n end of town has increased traffic.

DEPOE BAY: Named for Chief Depoe. Very good stop with rocky shore line. Watch the ocean here. Spouting Horn. Beverly Beach SP CG south is popular

OTTER ROCK:  Devils Punch Bowl, a good place to see tide pools to north and walk the beach to south. A bit of a walk to them. This is a favorite spot of mine.

NEWPORT:  Yaquina Head Lighthouse n of town is open, tide pools here also. Agate Beach where you turn to LH, once aptly named you could always find agates. You still can at times. The waterfront in Newport is good. Shops, deep sea fishing, lots of boats, big bridge, MO's for chowder. Yaquina Bay SP has access to jetty and beach.

SEAL ROCK: State Park Big rocks in ocean, birds, seals?, tide pools. Another favorite stop

WALDPORT. There is a fleamarket downtown on 101.  Some better buys than other beach towns.

YACHATS: Nice little spot, better for motels. but get ready for the next 20 miles. Some of the best coastline there is. Cape Perpetua, nice visitor center. On top was another WWII observation site. Heceta Head Lighthouse and House, one of most photographed places in country.. House is haunted goes the story but you can visit it anyway. Sea Lion Caves. Costs but you can see the sea lions in their cave home.

FLORENCE: It has a bayfront old town too, but not as good as Newport. Parking is better. Honeyman SP is good camp site. Near Cleawox Lake but a bit of a hike across the dunes to the ocean.

OREGON DUNES: Managed by Forest Service. They start at Florence run 40 miles along coast to Coos Bay. You have to get out of the car to see these. 101 just touches on them. Dunes Overlook is a very good site. Several small CGs

REEDSPORT: Winchester Bay is good site. You can crab here. We caught enough for 20 of us not long ago. Good stop.

NORTH BEND/COOS BAY: The city on the coast. and not really on the ocean, on the bay. Charleston to west is also a crabbing site and Sunset Bay SP good place to camp, golf nearby.

BANDON:  Only spot from Coos Bay to Port Orford where 101 is along the ocean. Nice old town area with some good shops. Has a good fresh fish market right near the docks.

PORT ORFORD: From here 60 miles of spectacular rugged coast line and you are right on it much of the time. Cape Blanco lighthouse worth a visit

GOLD BEACH: If you have time, the jet boat ride up the Rogue River is great. The shorter ride to Agness takes 5 hours or so

BROOKINGS: Has become a popular retirement place. Good weather much of year. Just north of Cal state line.

Also,  be sure to check out the many lighthouses along the Oregon Coast. You can make a good tour just visiting them.