Need Suggestions for Coast trip-Scenery, short hikes, beach

Hi! Wow, it%26#39;s been a while since I%26#39;ve posted on here. Maybe I%26#39;ve broken my TA addiction! :) Maybe this will restart it. :)

My family is planning a trip down the Oregon coast and northern part of California coast in a couple weeks. We will have about 7 days to cover most of the coast. Due to time constraints, we realize we won%26#39;t be able to see and do everything. We are most interested this trip in seeing and enjoying the best scenery and beaches. We are not particularly interested in doing all the ';tourist'; things, though we will probably go to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. We would also like to do short short hikes or strolls. We would like some suggestions of your favorite not-to miss spots to visit along the coast. What are the best beaches, hikes, etc. that we shouldn%26#39;t miss.

We will be camping at various state parks down the coast. We will be leaving on the trip from McMInnville and heading to the coast, working our way down to the Crescent City area. We are also trying to decide where on the coast to begin the trip-possible Three Capes Loop (camping at Cape Lookout) or possibly Lincoln City. The family members on the trip will be my mother (in her 50s), my husband and myself, and my brother and sister-all adults between 20 and 35, and my parents%26#39; foster child, who is 6 years old, very energetic, and at times rather wild and unpredictable. She has never been to the coast or to the beach.

Need Suggestions for Coast trip-Scenery, short hikes, beach

I always recommend that folks going to the coast look at the mile-by-mile guide published by Oregon Coast Magazine. Their online site is www.VisitTheOregonCoast.com. The guide in really helpful in getting oriented and helps you prepare for turnoffs, etc along the way because ';OOOPS'; is a bad thing if you have to turn left across traffic on the coast road.It also lists hiking spots of various difficulty along the way.

I agree that the Aquarium is a good idea, espcially with a 6-year old in tow. Other fun outings might be a dune buggy ride of some description at Dunes NRA in Florence, visiting any of the lighthouses would be fun, the Whale Watching Center in Depoe Bay would be interesting, and if you%26#39;re lucky you might see some of the whales in the Bay ';up close and personal';, looking for agates along the beach can be fun but be sure to know the tide schedule, and investigating the tide pools is always fascinating. If you have the interest or the time, you could all enjoy making your own glass float ( or Christmas ornament) at one of the studios in Lincoln City.

Take a pair of binoculars for the little girl so that she can see the birds and seals on the rocks in the surf- she will LOVE it.

Need Suggestions for Coast trip-Scenery, short hikes, beach

http://sanddunesfrontier.com/home.htm

http://www.roguejets.com/

I have not doubt the 6 year old will love these experiences. My grandson did...and so did all ages inbetween.

Cannon Beach and Seaside are nice areas to spend time in. Seaside is alot of fun for young children, there is a carousel mall there, small aquarium, a prom for walking, you can rent bikes or surreys. www.seasideor.com is a nice website for this area.

Enjoy your time with your family! :)

The latest issue of Portland Monthly has a feature on great trails in Oregon. It lists one of my favorites, Cascade Head, which is a 7-mile round trip from the trail head on 101. But you could pick up the trail just uphill from the boat/riverhouse in Cascade Head Ranch, making it somewhere between 2 %26amp; 3 miles. I think the view from the Head is one of the best on the Oregon coast. And if you can figure out how to get out to the beach on the spit below, you%26#39;ll feel like you%26#39;re the only people on the planet. Cool place.

Cape Perpetua, a couple of miles south of Yachats, has great short hikes, including to tidepools and the blowhole...and on other forest trails you can go just as far from the visitor center as you wish. Great views of the ocean and possible whale spotting from the visitor center and the outlook (which sits on the side of the mountain and was used for spotting Japanese subs in WWII).

Good tidepooling and beach walking on both sides of Heceta Head (including the Hobbit Trail).

Sorry it%26#39;s taken me a few days to reply. Thanks for all the great suggestions-really appreciate it! I%26#39;d love any more that anyone has!

I love the Mile-by-mile guide. I actually have taken it out the the coast with us several times when we%26#39;ve been going on day trips. I%26#39;ve been looking at it for this trip. It%26#39;s definitely going with us on the trip, too!

I think we will try to visit a lighthouse-probably the Yaquina Head one, since there are the tide-pooling area, sea lions (don%26#39;t know if they%26#39;re always there?) and the visitors center. And I think we%26#39;ll do the Aquarium. The dunes sound fun to play on. We might try that-I%26#39;m sure it would be great for the 6-yr old to burn off energy! :)

I like the Whale Watch center idea-my sister would like to see a whale (might be a hopeful wish that goes unfulfilled-hard to tell the whale where to be when!)-so that might be a good option. At least the rangers can help her look. I%26#39;d love to see a whale in the bay there. We went whale watching a couple months ago and saw a migration whale-very time-consuming, but exciting experience!

I think we will try to go check out tide pools once or twice-nearly everyone in the group would like to I%26#39;m thinking at Yaquina Head (as mentioned above) or at Cape Perpetua.

I love Seaside, and want to explore more of Cannon Beach. I don%26#39;t know if we%26#39;ll go that far north on this trip. If not, definitely another. It will probably take us 2 trips to cover the whole coastline.

I love the Cascade Head trail idea! I%26#39;ve heard of it before, but never hiked it. A friend highly recommended it, too. I%26#39;ve been wanting to do it for a while. If we do that trail, we%26#39;ll probably do the shorter route. My mom has a heel/tendon problem that gets sore after a while, so she probably couldn%26#39;t do the longer one. Is it really hard to figure out how to get to the beach on the spit?

Cape Perpetua sounds nice. We%26#39;ll have to stop there and check out the trails and tide pools. I didn%26#39;t know that there was a blowhole there.

We%26#39;re thinking of checking out Sea Lion Caves (not sure if the admission price is worth it???). So the beaches near Heceta Head would certainly be close. My husband is quite intrigued by the ';hobbit trail';. What is it?

We will definitely take binoculars-thanks for the suggestion.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/63435548@N00/3369088793/

http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_123.php

The Hobbit Trail isn%26#39;t quite what it used to be. There used to be two trails from the highway down to the beach that merged into one...an easy well maintained trail and the wilder ';Hobbity'; trail through grooves in the ground with thick foliage turning the trail almost into a tunnel in parts. Today, it%26#39;s only the bottom portion that still looks like that. Some say the grooves were made by generations of native Americans. Some say it is the product of erosion. And others say it was the Hobbits.

I%26#39;ve let lots of hikes here and neve seen a hobbit, but maybe next time. You can reach the trail by parking in the Washburne SP day use lot and hiking 1 1/4 miles south on the beach; or by parking on the highway just north of Heceta Head Lighthouse and hiking down the 1/4 mile trail. From the highway you can also continue up to the lighthouse (a more difficult stretch) or continue on the Valley and China Creek Trails on the inland side of the highway, through a beautiful rain forest to the campground and back across highyway to your car. The total loop is about 5 miles (not including the lighthouse).

saltwatertides.com/dynamic.dir/oregonsites.h鈥?/a>

Be sure to check tide tables when planning any tidepool activities. Not only will many pools not be accessible in high tides, they can be very dangerous. The surf has been known to go right up to the entrance to the Hobbit Trail and made crossing the beach impossible. That would not be a good time to get caught midway along the surf in a rising high tide.

Oregonpoppa,

Thanks for all the additional great info. The hobbit trail sounds fascinating. I really think we will try to stop and hike it if we have time. It looks very pretty. I think my family would love it.

Thanks for the reminder about the tides. I%26#39;ll have to go get out my copy of this year%26#39;s tide table and take it with us. My mom, who grew up living on the coast (Klamath, CA), has always made sure that we all were aware of the dangers and hazards of the ocean. Still, this trip with the foster girl might prove challenging, as she doesn%26#39;t always listen or obey very well.