Travel Dates: September 2022
Hotel:
Beachfront Inn – nice accommodation right by the beach with all rooms having an ocean view. There are no elevators to the 3 story inn, so be mindful if you get a higher floor room and have a lot of luggage to carry. What’s nice is that the inn offers free continental breakfast.
We enjoyed going to the beach (right behind the inn) and were lucky to have a seal sighting along the coast, along with many pelicans diving for fish.
Food:
Catalyst Seafood Restaurant – they catch and cook their own seafood so the menu may change based on what’s in season and the catch-of-the-day. They’re known for Dungeness crabs, but we missed crab season by a few weeks so got rock fish and fried oysters instead, which were both fantastic.
Activities:
Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor is a 12-mile state park along the coast of Oregon. There are numerous stops along the way on the coastal side of the road, and they’re all about a 2 minute drive from each other. Some are quick overlooks while others have ~1 hour hikes.
One of our favorite stops was the Natural Bridges, which is THE picture when you look up Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor. From the parking lot, the left side takes you to an overlook and there are staircases down for a hike towards the bridges. We made a blunder and took the hike to the right of the parking area through a sketchy path. It’s still a beautiful view of the bridges, but not exactly what we were looking for. Either way, both paths are very very step–to the extent that we were using both hands to grab on to tree branches and roots.
Our second favorite stop was the Secret Beach. There are no signs for this, but it’s the next pullout after the Natural Bridges (if you’re driving south to north) right where the traffic barrier ends. Again, there are two paths down to the beach–one left and one right of the parking area. The right side seemed easier as there was a clear path to follow. It was a bit steep and roughly a 10 – 15 minutes hike one way. The hike takes you down to Secret Beach, and the last part requires some steep rock descends.
Other highlights along the Corridor are Cape Ferrelo Viewpoint, House Rock Viewpoint, and Whaleshead Beach. These were quick and easy stops with more amazing views of the Oregon Coast. Note that of all these stops, only Whaleshead Beach had a park restroom.
Harris Beach State Park is yet another beach with rock formations. The whole coast of Oregon is sprinkled with these beautiful sights. It’s a nice quick stop if you have the time. At the beginning of the entrance to the park, there is a parking area and on the left, there is a path where you can do a bit of a quick, steep hike to the beach. You can skip this and instead, just keep driving down to the beach where there is a small parking lot area with a bathroom. Several people were in the water, but be warned, the water is extremely cold (mid-50s ℉; water temperature along the Oregon Coast is generally cooler than the air temperature).
Oregon Redwoods Trail is the place to go for seeing giant redwoods. When you put this destination into Google Maps, it stops ~10 minutes away from the actual trail. You’ll have to keep driving on a single lane road that is unpaved. Be sure to drive with caution (and slowly), since it can be difficult to see oncoming traffic due to sharp turns and blindspots.
When you get to a fork in the road, remember to take the left. And after a few more minutes, you’ll get to the parking area that has a park restroom.
The hike is ~1 hour roundtrip, and in order to see the redwoods, you have to take the longer, a bit steeper trail (again, take the path on the left when you see a fork in the trail).
I would say the Oregon Redwoods Trail is off the beaten path, so would recommend it if you want a quiet, peaceful hike. And if you’re lucky, you may also see an elk, like we did.
Globe Trotter 