5 days on the Oregon coast

Hi there. We will be in Oregon for two weeks in late August and are devoting about 5 days to the entire coast.

We%26#39;d like to minimize changing accommodations to two locations - one location for the northern coast and one for central/south. We would use these lodgings to base out of for day trips to various towns along the coast.

We are thinking of basing out of Yachats for the central area but are not sure about the north.

Is this a good strategy? Any specific suggestions and opinions would be welcome. Thanks in advance for your help.

P.S. Anybody have any experience with cooking schools along the coast, specifically in Cannon Beach?

Thanks!

Chuck

5 days on the Oregon coast

I like the idea of minimizing checking in/out of hotels/motels and all that entails, and think 2 and 3 days should be fine for the north and central coasts. But, it won%26#39;t allow much, if any time for the south coast. So, I%26#39;m curious about the rest of your 2-week itinerary...

Good choice with Yachats. And based on that, I%26#39;d suggest Cannon Beach or Manzanita would be good as a north coast base. The problem with all of them might be finding accommodations at this late date. So, you should be firming up plans and making reservations ASAP.

There is a small kitchen shop/';cooking school'; in Cannon Beach: http://www.evoo.biz/ . My wife and I have attended several ';classes'; there, and enjoy them very much. Just understand that they%26#39;re more demonstration than hands-on. The end-result meals might be the best in town.

5 days on the Oregon coast

There is the EVOO cooking school in Cannon Beach, there is also a cooking school in Astoria, about 30 minutes from Cannon Beach. :)

Most places during the summer have a minimum stay- somtimes two days, but often times longer and since it is August, reservations are harder to come by, even this early. It also depends on where you are driving in from/going home to because the time it takes to drive on 101 in the summer can take a very long time, especially driving thru Lincoln City- just for example- to get from Cannon Beach to Tillamook is easily an hour and that is with no stops to take pictures and no motorhomes.

Yachats is a wonderful town, with lots of beaches, a lighthouses, and sand dunes to explore. Do you want ocean front/ocean view and how many people/budget are you wanting? Manzanita is generally cheaper than Cannon Beach and is a good location- nice beach.

I have not been to the cooking schools in Cannon Beach, because I have a culinary degree, but the EVO school looks nice-nice website.

Yachats is a tiny town and a good choice, but does not have ';a lighthouses, and sand dunes to explore.'; There is a very small lighthouse there, but it is privately owned and not open to visitors. There is a rocky coastline plus a small river; the beach is to the north of town a bit.

Newport is a much larger town located about 30-35 minutes north of Yachats and it *does* have two lighthouses, both of which are open for tours. You might also be interested in a boat tour of the bay, the aquarium and Marine Science Center, and the bayfront where you can see sea lions ';up close!';

The sand dunes, called Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, are located along a 40 mile stretch south of Florence.

Cannon Beach is just about the only town which has a two night minimum stay, except for a few B%26amp;B%26#39;s along the coast. Do make your lodging reservations ASAP, as the coast is extremely busy in summer.

We can assist with finding lodging for you if you wish - what is your budget?

I%26#39;m loving reading all of this because my family will be spending five nights in Yachats the first week of July. So keep all those suggestions coming. Very much looking forward to it.

(P.S.) We rented a vacation house a little ways from the water for the five nights and, cost wise, it%26#39;s so much cheaper than hotels. Not to mention easier because we%26#39;ve got a brood of kids. Maybe you can find something that isn%26#39;t booked...we used VRBO.com to find it ... I think. Plus, there%26#39;s this site, which has very detailed information about the rentals.

Ha! Doh! I forgot the link. Here it is:

http://www.ocean-odyssey.com/

Thanks for all the great suggestions. It sounds like we could go straight from Portland to Cannon Beach or Manzanita and use that as a base for the northern coast. Is Astoria worthwhile?

For the southern coast a friend has told us not to miss Patrick%26#39;s Point in Southern Oregon and Jedediah Smith Redwood Forest in northern California. Is anyone familiar with accommodations in these areas?

Thanks again for all your help.

I know there%26#39;s a Patrick%26#39;s Point State Park in Trinidad CA (in the redwood area). I don%26#39;t know of a similarly named park in Oregon but maybe someone else will chime in.

The only Patrick%26#39;s Point SP I know of is indeed in Trinidad, CA, just north of Eureka. It%26#39;s pretty, but they charge $6 entry fee, and you can see some beautiful *free* views and walk to the beach just south of Trinidad.

Trinidad has a variety of lodging although it is a teeny town of about 300 people. Eureka has tons of motels %26amp; hotels.

Jed Smith is located just east of Crescent City, CA. There is a patch of redwoods that Hwy 199 goes through. It%26#39;s actually the very north end of Redwood National Park, which stretches about 50 miles south of Crescent City.

Crescent City has all kinds of lodging and some other interesting attractions such as a unique lighthouse, the jetty, marina, old cemetery . . .

Yes, Astoria is worth a visit, it is just about 30 minutes from Cannon Beach. I would check out the Maritime Museum, Fort Clatsop, ride the riverfront trolley and sample some of the wonderful food in the restaurants in Astoria. We were in Astoria a few days ago and enjoyed meals at The Ship Inn, T Paul%26#39;s Urban Cafe, Bridgewater Bistro and the Columbian Cafe. www.oldoregon.com is a nice website for Astoria. Have fun! :)