I will never forget my first vision of the Oregon coast. We were driving north through California on Highway 101, and had recently crossed the border into Oregon. The thick mist we had been driving through was suddenly pierced by a brilliant sun dipping towards the horizon. The ocean came alive, backlit waves crashing against the rocks below, and silhouetting the gulls and sea stacks. That intersection of light, color, ocean, and energy, out there on the edge of the continent, is a place I have returned to countless times in the years since. Even when I lived in northern California, just an hour inland, it was the Oregon coast I went to. For sustenance, for healing, for renewal.
The rich spirit of the Oregon coast is in her wildness and beautiful loneliness. Headland trails, hidden beaches, sunsets that drown you in their neon colors, weather that buffets and embraces. When I am walking on the beach, inhaling the deep sea air, listening to the energy of the waves, I feel the pull of something so much greater than myself yet something very much a part of me.
When I moved from northern California to Ashland, it put me in a little closer proximity to my beloved coast. When I met Charlie it came as no surprise that I had a fellow aficionado. Charlie grew up on the south Jersey and Florida coasts where long family holidays were spent diving for treasure and shell collecting. So this guy is passionate about beachcombing. He has an eye for finding cool stuff and can of course identify most of it. Ambergis? That’s whale vomit as I learned on our first coastal expedition together.
BANDON BEACH
Possibly our favorite Oregon beach is Bandon. It’s big, beautiful, accessible and a great low tide adventure. A lot of the Oregon coast is protected in state parks, so development is limited and remote, unpopulated beaches stretch the long distances between the small fishing towns scattered up and down the coast. Bandon is one of those towns, although it has grown way too fast in the years since I started going there. It has a wharf, a lighthouse, and an old town that retains an old fashioned tourist attraction by the sea vibe. Good seafood, fun shops, nice places to stay. And a beach of endless bounty to explore and experience in different moods and at different tides.
THE REAL SECRET BEACH
China beach is near the not so secret Secret beach, just north of Brookings, the southernmost Oregon coast town. You have to know exactly where to pull off after which bridge. There is a sign and trail leading from the parking space to a viewpoint. But if you deviate in the other direction, a different trail takes you down to China beach.
This beach is actually on a fragment of the Pacific Coast trail, and we figure the few people we encounter there are probably locals. For us, China beach is close enough to home to make it a day trip. We both feel the need for a coastal fix on a pretty regular basis, and if it’s not on a near future trip agenda, we can just cruise over for the day. Escaping a cold gray winter day for one filled with warm sun and sea on pretty much your own private beach is always worth the drive.
CAPE PERPETUA
North of our most visited haunts, the rugged majestic coast marches on. Cape Perpetua, home of the Haceta Head lighthouse has forest trails and sweeping views.
CAPE ARAGO
Further north, Cape Arago has it’s own lighthouse, stunning sunsets, and the Pacific Coast trail passes through a prehistoric feeling landscape.
SEALIFE
The Oregon coast has a lively cast of characters occupying its splendid ecosystem, a hardy bunch that have adapted to their extreme home in creative and beautiful ways. Sea stars, anemones, jellyfish, sea lions, pelicans, the colonies of shell creatures. And the occasional roadside alien or dragon.
