CENTRAL COAST
We were living right on the coast in Reedsport, OR so we had to at least do a little exploring up the coast. We were pretty lax with the plans. We knew we at least wanted to head up to Newport (70 miles North of Reedsport) but had things in mind we could do all the way up to Astoria (200 miles North of Reedsport). We always keep all the camping equipment in the Element so we if we found a spot to stay, we would have been okay, however, we ended up making it as far at Newport and decided to head back that night.
06.09.2017
We took off that morning on a rare but sunny Oregon coast day with the following to do:
Hobbit Beach & Haceta Head
Cape Perpetua (Thor’s Well)
Devil’s Churn
Devil’s Punchbowl
Cobble Beach & Yaquina Head
Aquarium Village (Newport)
Hobbit Beach & Haceta Head: We started the morning off at Hobbit Beach with a little hiking. The trailhead is a pull off off the coastal highway and is accurate on Google Maps. Cross the street and there you go. We started off with the .5 mi trail to the beach and then came back and did the 1.5 mi trail to Haceta Head and the lighthouse over there. The views at Haceta Head are fantastic. Haceta Head is also accessible without hiking there.
Hobbit Beach
Haceta Head
Haceta Head Light
Cape Perpetua (Thor’s Well): This is a hidden gem. I’m not sure if it’s actually hidden but there are no signs for “Thor’s Well” but again, Google Maps is very accurate for finding these locations. There is a clear parking area on the left side if you’re heading North a couple miles South of Yachats. There are a lot of cool places to check out here, however, my favorite is Thor’s Well. When you head down toward it, there is a warning sign about heading over there at high tide. We actually hit this spot twice. The first time was right at sunset and there were tons of photographers lined up trying to get the perfect shot. This time there weren’t any. I guess it just wasn’t as attractive without the sunset. I still thought the photo came out pretty good! Just don’t get sucked in.
Thor's Well
Devil’s Churn was not quite as interesting to me as Thor’s Well but it is another cool area. It’s just North of Thor’s Well and it’s a carved inlet with incredible sounds of waves crashing inside of it. It’s another area that could be dangerous if you’re not careful, especially when there are big waves. Another spot you definitely don’t want to get sucked in at!
Devil's Churn
Yachats Brewing is a fantastic little spot with beer and kombucha on tap and delicious food as well. I got a pasta dish that they don’t have on the menu anymore! Definitely stop in here. It’s worth it.
Yachats Brewing
Devil’s Punchbowl: There’s a parking area here and many things to do if you so choose. There are several beaches around. There is hiking. We didn’t do much at this spot other than watch the surfers from the overlook and check out the Punchbowl. We would have hiked down to get inside the Punchbowl if we didn’t have so much planned for the day. I wouldn’t want to hike down there during high tide!
Devil's Punchbowl
Cobble Beach & Yaquina Head: Time for some more hiking. We didn’t want to pay to get in so we got lucky that there were about 5 spots a half mile from the entrance station. While here I knew I wanted to go to Cobble Beach. We walked around quite a few areas in here. Fortunately there is a trail system and nobody at the entrance stopped us and tried to make us pay when we walked in. There are a lot of trails in here. We took the trails down to Cobble Beach to enjoy the Yaquina Head Lighthouse and the rocky, Cobble Beach.
Cobble Beach
Rogue Public House: I felt like we couldn’t be in Oregon without going to Rogue. We went to the Public House so we could get food and beer. I won’t say too much about it except good beer, poor food. The Google rating at the time was 3.7, which is pretty low to me but I didn’t even read the reviews cause I knew we wanted to come anyway. I still haven’t read them but I’m guessing most complaints would be about the food. Leslie’s pulled pork sandwich looked like something that would be served in a middle school cafeteria. Come if your thirsty. Go somewhere else if you’re hungry.
Rogue Brewery
Aquarium Village: I don’t know what the heck you’re supposed to do when you get here but we had to at least park the car and get out.
I’m sure there is plenty more to do along the coast of Oregon but that is where our plans brought us before heading home.
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