Walking the Oregon Coast

We meet this afternoon in Portland and shuttle to the northern Oregon coast at Cannon Beach. There will be time this afternoon to get the kinks out of your legs with a walk on the beach! Later, we'll get to know one another over an Oregon wine tasting before dinner together overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

After breakfast on your own we'll jump in the van for a short ride to the Ft. Clatsop National Historical Site, where Lewis & Clark spent the winter of 1805-06. Watch for bald eagles surveying the estuary from Douglas fir trees in the park! We'll stop for lunch supplies in Seaside before continuing on to our trail heads. Those walking the six miles over Tillamook head will start near Seaside. Those who prefer the medium-length walk shuttle further south and walk through Ecola State Park. And the beach walkers can just stroll the beach back to the hotel! Today's walk: 1.5, 5, or 10 km (1, 3 or 6 miles).

Grab breakfast early or take an early morning walk on the beach. We'll shuttle south this morning for a tour of the famous Tillamook Cheese Creamery. After lunch on your own at the creamery, we'll visit a local, state-of-the art dairy farm - still owned by the descendants of the original Swiss farmers! Later this afternoon, we'll drive south for a walk out Cape Lookout and back. (Anyone who prefers can shuttle on to the motel or beach!) Our hotel this evening is in Pacific City, where we'll enjoy a delicious seafood dinner together! Today's walk: 1.5-6.5 km (1-4 miles).

Cape Kiwanda, one of the most photographed headlands on the Oregon coast, is just down the beach, so we'll start with a walk there after breakfast. With our fill of surf and salt spray, we'll then shuttle south and enjoy a walk through the rain forest on Cascade Head, overlooking the Salmon River estuary. (The headland is owned by both The Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Government.) On our way south this afternoon, we'll stop in Depoe Bay for smoked salmon from the Siletz River Indians before checking into our oceanfront hotel in Newport. Dinner together this evening. Today's walk: 3, 5, or 8 km (2, 3 & 5 miles).

Newport is a fascinating fishing port, as well as marine research and tourism center. You'll have time to enjoy the waterfront along the bay this morning before our visit to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. The rest of the day is yours to spend as you wish. You have a wide choice of seafood restaurants for dinner on your own. Today's walk: up to 11 km (7 miles).

From Newport, we drive south to Cape Perpetua today, where (weather permitting) we'll drive to the top for a great view of one of the world's loveliest coastlines! Then it's off to one of our favorite coastal walks - through 15-ft. high salal brush, coastal pine trees and giant Sitka Spruce. There is a pond or two here where we've seen Harlequin and Ruddy ducks, and in the nearby hills, Roosevelt Elk. We'll end our morning walk on the beach. After lunch on your own, we'll continue our way down the coast for a walk to Heceta Head Lighthouse (you've probably seen photos of this picturesque spot!) and a visit to the Sea Lion Caves. You'll love the views from our oceanfront inn tonight and tomorrow night! Dinner on your own this evening. Today's walks: 1.5, 5, 10 km (1, 3, 6 miles) or more.

This morning we head to Florence, situated on the Siuslaw River and at the northern tip of the Dunes National Recreation Area. This is Ken Kesey country! Bring along his Sometimes a Great Notion and you'll feel right at home. Stretching more than 50 miles, the dunes comprise the longest continuous expanse of sandy shore along the Pacific coast. In May, the Pacific rhododendron blooms in the pine woods, and in September, the sun casts brilliant light off the sand and ocean. We'll walk the dunes today and talk about living and fossilized sand dunes. We'll also talk about the time the forty-one sperm whales beached here and died. (How do you get rid of that many whale carcasses? The County Sheriff decided to dynamite them! But that's another story....) We'll enjoy a final dinner together this evening. Today's walk: 3-10 km (2-6 miles).

After breakfast this morning, we'll offer suggestions if you want to see more of Oregon afoot. And we hope to see you another time, perhaps in Italy, the U.S. Southwest, or Switzerland. We'll shuttle everyone back to Portland International Airport this morning for those flying home from there (or to downtown Portland for those staying on).