The South Oregon Coast

Highlight of the Week:
Spring Activities

The 26th Annual America's Wild Rivers Coast Wine, Art & Music Festival is May 18 & 19, 2013 at the Event Center on the Beach, Hwy 101, Gold Beach, Sat 11 am - 7 pm, Sun Noon - 5 pm. The wine fest is sponsored by the Gold Beach Chamber of Commerce. There will be 15+ Regional Wineries....more information.

Redfish Rocks on the Docks. Saturday, May 18, 1PM - 7PM. The purpose of this event is to provide the Port Orford fishing fleet and south coast community with the opportunity to learn about the research happening at Redfish Rock. More information...

Tall Ship Days- Lady Washington & Hawaiian Chieftain - Coos Bay Docks, May 1 - May 15, 2013. Dockside tours, Battle Sails, Educational Tours and passage are available for the annual Tall Ship days. Both the Lady Washington and The Hawaiian Chieftain will be heading to Coos Bay for this event. Please note that tide conditions sometimes affect arrival dates and times. Purchase tickets by visiting historicalseaport.org or by calling 1-800-200-LADY(5239)

During the winter, storms will collide into the coast. This is the time to stay away from the ocean, right? Wrong! This is a great time to visit. Hotel rooms are plentiful and at a price that is a small fraction of the summer rates. Rooms with ocean and / or river views are readily available, some with fireplaces.

The beaches are natural, uncrowded, undeveloped and wide open. A crowded day at the beach is seeing another person. Take a stroll watch and osprey dive into the water and take her catch back to the nest. Or marvel at the group of pelicans as they travel along the shore. Select a hotel and watch the sun set slowly into the Pacific. To the north, in the area of the dunes, there is an unbroken stretch of sand. Further to the south, the beach is broken up by high cliffs cutting off the beach into sections some of which are miles long, while others are hidden into coves or a 'Secret Beach'.

Each town has a wide selection of hotels, motels, B&B's, vacation rentals to meet any need or budget. This website includes a comprehensive list of available lodging.

There are at least 32 public camping spots and many more private facilities. Camp along the beach with views of the Pacific Ocean while others are located further inland or up one of the many Wild and Scenic Rivers. There is RV camping for all levels, some with full hookups and all amenities. Other RV sites are more isolated with privacy in the forest. On the north, there are campgrounds that cater to ATV dunebuggy quad riding.

Explore the Wild Rivers of the great Pacific Northwest. See the famous Rogue River, along with the lesser known but beautiful Chetco, Sixes, Umpqua, Klamath, and Elk rivers with their legendary Salmon fishing. Take a quick trip out to the Pacific Ocean for amazing bottom fishing. Or sit back and ride a jet boat and watch the eagles, river otters, salmon and perhaps a bear.

The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area starts at Coos Bay and heads north through Reedsport. It is magnificent, massive and can only be found here. The best way to see it is by renting an ATV. Never been on a dune buggy before? Let the experts show you how and then have a great time.

Participate in outdoor activities like boating, kayaking, surfing, windsurfing, nature walks, and hiking along the coast trail or in the Siskiyou National Forest / Kalmiopsis Wilderness.

Hikes are available for everyone. There are short easy hikes to amazing viewpoints, as well as ones that can challenge even the most experienced. Several of the hikes listed include downloadable free files for GPS units or for Google Earth, to make finding your way even easier. Links are included for free GPS maps. Links are at the end of the description for many hikes.

Driving the coast means that you must travel on US Route 101, as there are not any other roads. The land is sandwiched between the ocean and the mountains. There are a few roads that travel over the mountains, but no other ones that parallel the ocean for any significant distance. This portion of US Route 101 is removed from large urban areas and has open roads with easy, pleasurable travel that makes driving fun again. Travel at a leisurely pace and plan on stopping frequently to take in the spectacular views. For more information, see our "Getting Here" guide.

Bicyclists will find less automobile traffic, wide shoulders and lots of places to see, plenty of campsites and an abundance of bike friendly hotels and restaurants. Much of US Highway 101 hugs the ocean, offering amazing sights and views from the road while bicycling.