Clear blue skies. A crisp ocean breeze. Amazing coastal scenery in a laid-back atmosphere. My recent road trip down the Oregon coast was the perfect antidote to a challenging summer of Covid lockdowns, fires, and smoke in the Bay Area. Over 4 days, our little group got our fill of the great outdoors, plenty of seafood, and lots of fun experiences along the way.
Embarking on a road trip along the Oregon coast was the perfect 2020 summer vacation. The initial drive from SF was doable on a Friday afternoon, most of the stops and activities were outdoors, and there were plenty of housing options for maximum social distancing. The icing on the cake was that the entire trip took just a bit longer than a typical long weekend.
In this post, I’ll share our epic 4-day itinerary – basically the trip exactly as we did it. I hope it’s a good starting point if you’re looking to do a similar trip. Our group planned the trip on the fly and still had plenty of things to keep us busy each day. Even with that, there were so many more things we wish we had the time to see.
The “Pre-Drive”
We drove out from SF on a Friday afternoon, around 3:30pm to avoid the worst of rush hour traffic. We took Interstate 5 with one quick In-N-Out stop for dinner and arrived at our hotel in Eugene, Oregon, just before midnight.
An afternoon drive has a key advantage – you don’t use up a good amount of your first day. If you’re looking to do a more leisurely drive and get in at a more reasonable hour, I recommend heading out after lunch on Friday. You’ll still have daylight for some of the trickier mountain pass driving around the California-Oregon border. We picked Eugene because it was right off the interstate and a good launching point for our drive out to the coast the next day.
Day 1 Itinerary
After some well-deserved shut-eye, we started our first day relatively late, grabbing some coffee along the way to the coast. Our first stop was Tillamook Creamery, a 2.5-hour drive from Eugene. Although there was a good number of visitors there, the Creamery did a great job enforcing their mask policy and the folks there were respectful about space. We did a self-guided tour to learn about their cheese production process, picked up some cheese blocks and cheese curds at the gift shop, and ordered some food and ice cream to-go from their cafeteria. The grilled cheese and fried cheese curds were excellent.
After our late lunch, we took a mini clockwise loop from Tillamook Creamery, driving back inland to see Munson Creek Falls, which was accessible by car and only a short walk from the parking lot to the waterfall viewpoint. We enjoyed the Pacific Northwest greenery and spotted some banana slugs during the stroll. Next we ventured back out to the coast to Cape Lookout State Park, taking our first proper ocean view stop of the trip and enjoying some fresh ocean air from a great vantage point high up.
Racing against sunset, we drove to our next stop, Cape Meares Lighthouse – the shortest lighthouse on the Oregon coast. Small but mighty, it prevented ships from getting dashed against rocks in the olden days. Just as the sun began to set, we crossed the parking lot to see the Octopus Tree, a giant Sitka spruce with many trunks. One theory says that the Native Americans shaped this tree for ritual purposes. Whatever its origin, the Octopus Tree certainly lives up to its name.
We finished Day 1 by driving north along Highway 101 back to the Tillamook area, staying at a family suite in Rockaway Beach. My dinner consisted of an oyster po’ boy from Offshore Grill, plus some wine and more Tillamook ice cream.
Day 1 Links
- Tillamook Creamery
- Munson Creek Falls
- Cape Lookout State Park
- Cape Meares Lighthouse
- Octopus Tree
- Offshore Grill
Day 2 Itinerary
The next morning, we continued our southbound drive on Highway 101 for Day 2. The weather was gorgeous, with the sun out and a nice breeze keeping smoke from the recent wildfires at bay. We grabbed lunch at Kyllo’s Seafood Grill in Lincoln City, ordering a bunch of yummy seafood to-go and picnicking on the beach right by the restaurant.
After lunch, we continued our drive and stopped at Depoe Bay Scenic View Area, which included some lookouts nestled in a more residential area of town. The view of Depoe Bay, the world’s smallest navigable harbor, was incredible on this beautiful day. Natural rock formations punctuated the teal blue waters, and there were plenty of sea birds and other wildlife in view.
Our next stop was Devil’s Punchbowl State Natural Area at Otter Rock. The Devil’s Punchbowl is a large bowl-like rock formation that churns and foams water entering from the crashing waves. It was super cool seeing some of the action from above, but we eventually made it down to the bowl itself, which is accessible from Otter Crest Beach during low tide. As we stood inside the bowl, we watched the water come in, a shimmering blue against the orange-tinted rock.
Starting Day 2, we camped the rest of the trip to maximize social distancing and also enjoy the great outdoors. Our first campsite was located inland of Newport, in a small neighborhood called Eddyville. We stayed at a peaceful campsite tucked away next to a river. After setting up our tents, the group cooked dinner, made s’mores, and had a relaxing time in nature.
While there were plenty of state park camping options along the way, I’d opted to book our campsites through Hipcamp, a website that offers camping on private land. Through Hipcamp, we got to enjoy campsites with much more solitude and space. If you’re interested, use my Hipcamp referral link to get $10 off your first campsite booking.
Day 2 Links
- Kyllo’s Seafood Grill
- Depoe Bay Scenic View Area
- Devil’s Punchbowl State Natural Area
- Otter Crest Beach
Day 3 Itinerary
After packing up camp, we started Day 3 with a drive back to the coast. For lunch, we picked another seafood restaurant, this time visiting South Beach Fish Market, a roadside food joint with a deli-style counter and plenty of outdoor seating. The crab sandwich and clam chowder I ordered were incredibly fresh and tasty. I even ordered an oyster shooter to wash down the meal.
Most of our Day 3 activities took place at the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area, an awesome spot with some very unique ocean sights and features. The Devil’s Churn is a huge rock chasm that was formed from ocean waves slowly cutting inland. A quick walk from the parking lot, this area was perfect for capturing pictures of crashing waves, which looked like geyser eruptions coming from the rocks. We even spotted a whale hanging out a bit further from the coast, shooting water from its blowhole.
Next we drove up the mountain roads to Cape Perpetua Lookout, which had some of the most incredible views of the Oregon coast. You could see miles down the coastline and take in the sparkling water and pulsing waves. Before heading out from the lookout, we made a final stop at Thor’s Well, a 20-foot hole in the rocks where waves could shoot water up to 20 feet high.
After a pit stop at BJ’s Ice Cream, which turned out to be my favorite ice cream place on the trip, we made it to our Hipcamp at a cranberry and sheep farm in Bandon. We were promptly greeted by a friendly German Shepherd, who accompanied us as we set up camp, cooked dinner, enjoyed post-dinner cocktails, and started a fire to roast marshmallows. Our canine friend eventually left for the evening, and we didn’t see or talk to another soul the entire time we camped – pure bliss in the great outdoors.
Day 3 Links
Day 4 Itinerary
It was hard to believe we’d reached the final day of our trip. For lunch, we stopped at Tony’s Crab Shack in Bandon. The lobster in my lobster roll tasted freshly caught – not surprising considering the Port of Bandon is a popular spot for fishing and crabbing.
After lunch, we enjoyed more ice cream as we walked along the pier, watching the folks there lowering their crab traps into the water. Since it was a long journey back home, we started our drive for California in the early afternoon.
We still managed to make some stops along the way, taking a couple of quick detours in the Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor to spot Arch Rock and Natural Bridges, two very massive and impressive natural rock formations shaped like their namesakes. From there, it was a long but very scenic drive down Highway 101, passing by more coastal views, then gradually redwood forests, and finally back to the Bay Area.
It would be totally doable to spend a fifth day exploring the Samuel H. Boardman area. You could then drive down the next morning and enjoy all the views during daylight hours.
Day 4 Links
Closing Thoughts
And that’s our trip to the Oregon coast! Most of our stops were not crowded with people, which was a must-have in the age of Covid. We enjoyed some beautiful ocean scenery, lots of outdoor time, and plenty of fresh seafood and ice cream. What more could we ask for with a quick road trip getaway?
To help with your planning, I’ll share a Google Map I put together of all our stops on this trip. If you found this post helpful, feel free to pass it along to others!
Here’s a link to the entire drive routed to Google Maps, to give you a general sense of the road trip.
I had a lot of fun!
Haha! Yes Teddy definitely had the best views on the drive!