Help with Oregon/Washington Coast

[light-castle]

We would like to vacation somewhere on the Oregon/Washington coast this summer with our 6 yr old & 10 month old. We live in SD, so flights are hard to find, but can fly into Eugene, OR easily. We've vacationed in Crescent City CA before & loved the pebbly, rocky coast. Any ideas of where would be simliar to that kind of coast?

In Oregon the closest beach cities to Eugene would be Yachats & Florence.

We've never been to Washington, so not familiar with that area at all.

We'd like a house to rent right on the beach...anyone have any advice?

Thanks,
Jennifer

[bluestarfish18]

As a former SD resident to a former Oregon/Washington resident, I'd be glad to give you the names of a few places to stay.

If you fly into Portland, Eugene is only a hours south on I-5, and the drive is kinda pretty. That might save you some $$.

Last time we did the coast trip (when DD was conceived), we stayed in Newport at the Elizabeth Street Inn (http://www.elizabethstreetinn.com/). Right on the water, stairs to the beach, firepits, good restaurant, and close yet far enough from the touristy wharf area. Be sure to grab a kite for those windy afternoons.

Head north, and stay the Cannery Pier Hotel (http://www.cannerypierhotel.com/) in Astoria. This is defiantely not a kid-friendly place. More for couples, but cute non the less. The rooms are gorgeous and the bathrooms made me want to move in. Be sure to check out the Goonies house, Kindergarden Cop school and the Astoria Needle.

As for renting a house, check out VRBO (http://www.vrbo.com/).

Hope that helps, let me know if you need any more help...I miss the NW, almost as much as I miss SD!

[bigpassport]

I used to live in Oregon and have some experience with the Coast. (1) Is there a reason you want to fly into Eugene vs. Portland? Seems to me flights into Portland would be cheaper. (2) I second PP's suggestion to look for a house on VRBO.com. (3) I'm not sure where the coast is pebbly. I know at Canon Beach (Haystack Rock) the beach is sandy. (4) I think the 6 y.o. would like the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport...also the Sea Lion Caves and tidepooling are fun activities for LO's.

[light-castle]

Just really liked the southern Oregon/northern Cal coast...loved Crescent City!

[kijip]

Well, we live in Washington but go to Oregon to get away from Washington's pebbly rocky coastal beaches. :) If that is what you want, I recommend Neah Bay (though not the easiest to get too 2+ hours out of Seattle, you would need to rent a car) or Ocean Shores, WA. Again, it's a drive from either Seattle or Portland. The Oregon coast is more accessible to people flying into Portland. IMO, the Oregon Coast is a lot nicer than the WA Coast. Eugene flights are almost always going to be more expensive.

[zag95]

I live in Portland and there are some great beaches to stay at- most of them are more sandy......

WE have a 2 yr old DD, so we are always looking for kid friendly places! And we go to the beach because it is about a 1.5 hr drive away, depending on how far south we go. Typically we go to the Central or North Coast to stay.

I also agree with PP that flying in to Portland would be much less expensive than Eugene!

Here are some good choices:

Newport - Cool things to see with kids- Oregon Aquarium is here- good beaches, Yaquina Head lighthouse would be a good day trip- they have a tidepool area to explore; Yaquina Bay lighthouse is nice too! A bayfront pier to walk and see the huge seals parked on the docks eating fish! Mo's is a classic family friendly restaurant offering seafood as well as kid friendly choices.

We like to stay at places that have a pool, as another activity to do! Some nice places are: The Elizabeth St. Inn, The Whaler Motel (a little less expensive but they have also houses that you can rent, plus a pool to access!), the Hallmark Resort.

Traveling North- to Lincoln City- it is about 25 miles north- so staying here would allow you to go down to the Aquarium, etc for day trips etc. Lincoln City is very touristy- but there are a lot of lodging options- plus you can always drive to Newport or up the coast a bit. There are a lot of nice things here too! For kids- there are great beaches- if it's raining- there are movie theaters, the factory outlets, they also have a community pool!

Both Lincoln City and Newport are larger towns.

For a sleepier beach experience, Pacific City is one of our favorites! We love to stay at Shorepine Village (www.shorepinevillagerentals.com (http://www.shorepinevillagerentals.com)) which is a little housing community just on the other side of the dune- they have a ramp up to the top, and bike paths, great for walks and using a stroller. If you walk earlier in the morning you can see deer. Things to do- climb the dune, walk on the beach, watch the dory boats come in, it's about a 14 mile drive North of Lincoln City- and about a 20 mile drive south of Tillamook (home of the delicious Tillamook Cheese Factory!- great ice cream, cheese and you can watch how they make it!) Other great house rentals are: www.kiwandacoastalrentals.com (http://www.kiwandacoastalrentals.com) which has some houses right on the beach.

We usually go to the beach 5x per year- we almost always stay at Pacific City, at least 1x- it's peaceful! But they have a few little restarants, etc.

Another good one is Rockaway Beach or Manzanita, which are both north of Tillamook- Rockaway has a lot of cute little houses to rent.....Manzanita is more spendy- but they have a nice city park, great for kids- and a cute little main drag with restaurants and coffee shops.

If you are going more on the North Coast, Gearhart is a good option- it is close to Seaside (about 2-3 miles north), but is very quiet- great beaches, a nice park for kids, etc. They have a nice resort, www.gearhartresort.com (http://www.gearhartresort.com), which has condos that are ocean front (many of them are) and have kitchens, etc. They have nice views and you can see what the units look like! From Gearhart you can explore down to Cannon Beach, and up to Astoria- including Fort Clatsop and Fort Stevens St. Parks! Fun stuff- there is also a nice maritime museum in Astoria to see.

In Washington- we stayed in Long Beach, WA. We stayed at the Lighthouse Resort, which was pretty reasonable for ocean front- it looks out over the sea grass- very pretty! Long Beach Peninsula has some fun kid friendly things- visiting Leadbetter POint State Park is nice- neat birds; we went to a lighthouse near Ilwaco, WA- there are some neat general stores, cranberry bogs to see, a boardwalk, etc.

My suggestion would be the VRBO, or google a city or area, and then click on vacation rentals. Usually there are several rentals in the towns I mentioned- you can also get some great information from the visitor bureaus, which highlight family friendly activities!

Please let me know if you have questions!

Have fun planning!:bighand:

[light-castle]

Thanks so much for all the great information!

A couple of things, we like a pebbly, rocky coast due to the fact my little boy MUST have stones to throw in the water. We don't really do many activities, just sit on the beach, cook in our vacation home, etc. And we like places that are "off the beaten path". Not into crowds at all...

I'll check out the links you all posted. Thanks so much!

No one has stayed near Florence or Yachats?

Jennifer

[zag95]

Hi Jennifer-
Haven't stayed at Yachats....

Quieter beach towns may include-
Gold Beach (located on Rogue river in S. Oregon)
Oceanside Oregon might have few more rocks for the throwers...... it's about 10 miles away from Tillamook- (Oceanside/Netarts)- there is crabbing, etc and more rock laden beaches (not totally rocky- but more rocks- and there is a tunnel you can walk thru to go to the other side- might be cool for your 6 yr old!


This might be a useful website for you!
http://nwcoast.com/city/default.asp?florence

Also try www.tripadvisor.com (http://www.tripadvisor.com) and see if post the question you posted on this board- maybe you'll find the optimal place you are looking for!
Love the Long Beach Peninsula, in Washington-

If you are really looking for rocky- you may want to look further up the Washington Coast-to La Push, WA. I have not stayed there, but have driven thru.....

Then again, maybe Yachats will work??

I don't think you can go wrong anywhere on the Oregon coast :) (but then again, I'm a little biased as a born and bred Oregonian!!)

[zag95]

I have stayed in Florence, but do not remember that you could see the beach- the town is more removed from the beach, as I recall.

[tmphilo]

I stayed in Florence years ago, but it was at a campground. Sorry that doesn't help too much. Florence does have all of the sand dunes which are pretty nice (at least in the summer - no rain). This last fall we stayed in Newport, but used www.oregonbeachvacations.com and found a great house to rent. They rent homes all up and down the Oregon Coast. Certain times during the year they seem to send out e-mails for rent 2 nights get the 3rd free.

[alirebco]

subbing to thread b/c we're thinking of going to the oregon coast soon!

[bluestar2]

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[bluestar2]

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[Reyadawnbringer]

I am late to this, but I agree with PP who mentioned Long Beach Peninsula in Washington. We went there one year when i was a teenager with my family (two younger kids) and we ALL loved it. We also did the Newport beach one year and the kite flying was awesome. I have such fond memories of those trips... makes me miss the Pacific NW.

I also agree that you should just try flying in to Portland, much cheaper and easier IMO. Good luck!