Oregon is a beach paradise with 363 miles of public beach from scenic rocky cliffs to miles of sandy coast. One of the wonderful things about the Oregon coast is all of the public access to the beaches.
Oregon is a true gem for people who want to find secluded beaches for hiking, beach combing and wildlife watching. Because there are numerous beaches and relatively small populations down most of the Oregon coast, you can find great beaches and have them all to yourself for an afternoon with minimal effort and searching.
The wildlife watching on the Oregon coast is world class. Whales, sea lions, sea birds and a numerous land animals can be seen along the coast including elk, deer, hawks, osprey and much more. This is a good place to have binoculars. If you keep an eye out, you will find many informative plaques and signs along the beach accesses that will tell you about the wildlife and sea animals that live in the area that you might get a chance to see. Also, if you find an information center or ranger office and get talk to one of the rangers, many times you can get gather collection of great information on the local wildlife that are around in that particular season.
The Oregon coast also offers a few towns that cater to tourists. You will find souvenirs, art studios, restaurants, and beach view hotels. There are also large stretches of undeveloped coast where you will only find light houses, or large stretches where you will mostly find local ports with boat docks, bait shops and small local restaurants.
The waters off the Oregon coast are cold. These beaches are not for wading and swimming without a good wet suit. The water temperatures usually hover around 50 degrees Fahrenheit, which is pretty chilly for a swimming. There are a few spots for surfing and kite boarding, but most of the recreation on the Oregon coast is in boats or on the shore.
The weather on the Oregon coast can be a bit windy and foggy at times, especially in the winter months, November though March. In the summer, the weather can be a moderate 70 degrees Fahrenheit with a cool ocean breeze, while the surrounding areas further inland are in the 90s and 100s. Many people fall in love with the coast on a summer trip, buy a vacation home, and get a little disappointed when they spend a little more time in the winter wind and fog. Some stretches of the coast can see more wind and fog than others. There are few areas along the southern part of the Oregon coast that are quite notorious for wind. Many of the places in these areas have wind in their name such as “windy cove”, “windy point”, etc.
The Oregon coast has a little of everything, but it has the most for the people in search of unpopulated beaches and abundant wildlife.