Southern Oregon Coast

We continue to travel down the beautiful coast of Oregon. We camped 6 days outside of Coos Bay at Sunset Bay State Park. The area is called Cape Arago and is full of preserved areas that are spectacular to see. There is Ocean Acres, what is left of an estate now owned by the park system. Lovely flower gardens surrounded by forest and coastal views. This area is connected to Cape Arago overlook and beach with one of the most researched tide pools in Oregon. Explored sea anemones, sea stars, and sea urchins in large numbers at low tide. Hiking trails connect the campground to all of these areas, in thick rain forest.
While in the Coos Bay area we also enjoyed the South Slough Research Reserve. A very nice visitor’s center with loads of information. We had one of our most enjoyable hikes out to the slough area, an estuary where we saw many species of birds. New to me was a Wilson ’s warbler, Chestnut Backed chickadees, and a Bewick’s wren. Everywhere we looked were Great Blue herons fishing. The hike took us through thick forest to the marshy estuary. Estuaries are when ocean water and fresh water meet and form a unique environment for many species. Coos Bay and the campground itself where a bit uninspiring. The camp sites were very close set and camp fires everywhere set us to coughing and we were fogged in most of the time.

100 miles south of Coos Bay is the lovely area of Brookings. The weather here is known for mild temps, even in winter. Harris State Park is on a bluff, keeping campfires from bothering us. The beach is quintessential Oregon with waves crashing on rocks, while sea lions call out.
We are less than 10 miles from the California coast, and will head that way tomorrow. We would love to return to this gorgeous coast sometime.
Our goal is to be in Tucson by Sept 24 or 25th. 10 days sooner than planned. My mother seems to be failing and needs our attention.

North and Central Oregon coast

Can't begin to describe how beautiful the coast of Oregon is. We enjoy spectacular coastal views every day. Long stretches of beach, pounding surf, and sun. Mostly we have sunny days now, some fog, drizzle, but then the sun comes back out. There is one state park after another, so most of the coast is protected from development. Feels a bit like stepping back. Lots of Marine history of shipwrecks, etc. We are presently at Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. Large dunes with grasses, very popular with the ATV crowd, but much of it protected also. Oregon is way ahead of the rest of the country in protecting its natural resources. All of the state parks in Oregon have electric hookups and water, the sites tend to be rather cramped, but in lovely settings. Unique to Oregon are the yurts in each campground. Nice cottage type structures with hardwood floors, electricity, and heaters. We have included a photo of one. We camped four nights at Nehalem Bay State Park, with 6 miles of flat beach to walk on. Our site was just over the dunes, and we could hear the surf at night. Crabbing is big here, we camped one night right on a dock where we bought crabs freshly cooked and yummy! We especially loved being right on the water! Amazingly the old growth forests grow right up to the dunes, our last 4 nights were in a dune Forest Service Campground where we took a 5 mile hike through the dunes to get to a deserted beach. Unfortunately the water is a bit too chilly to swim in. We are now camping just outside of Coos Bay at Sunset Beach State Park. IT is connected to other lovely settings all along beautiful coastal trails. Views of California and Stellar sea lions in large numbers on the rocks off the coast and tide pools full of life are a major draw. Now that labor day has come and gone, it is much quieter. We hope the weather holds up!