Picturesque beaches on the rugged Pacific coast, dreamy fishing villages with whaling charm, culinary highlights at the food trucks of Portland - enough reasons for an extended road trip through the "green" state of Oregon. Discover the best highlights and sights of Oregon with our travel report.
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Location
Info about the trip
US state
Oregon
Year of travel
2018
Last update
04.2020
Table of contents
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Chapter 01 - Bandon Beach
The typical character of Oregon: wide beaches and lots of seafaring romance
The further north we follow the coast from San Francisco, the more the landscape changes visibly. The area becomes more and more rugged, rocky, wild - that's more or less how we imagined the Oregon Coast. But as it will soon turn out, Oregon's nature will impress us even more than we ever thought!
As we say goodbye to NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, a large full moon greets us in the violet-blue morning sky of Smith River. We follow Highway 101 and finally cross the border into Oregon at Brookings. But we don't really get going at first: around every bend, a new beach, a new bay, a new photo motif awaits us, all of which seem to outdo each other and encourage us to stop again and again.
The nearby wildfires obscure our good view of bays like Gold Beach in the first section - but from Bandon Beach, an endless wide sandy beach, the air finally clears. Nothing but sand and the Pacific as far as the eye can see. The historic old town of Bandon Beach exudes pure old fishing and seafaring romance. The numerous boutiques and art galleries, as well as locally prepared sweet treats and seafood specialities, invite us to take another break, while fishing boats and yachts rock comfortably in the sun at the town's small harbour.
After this beautiful Oregon start, Highway 101 leads us away from the coast and inland. A less exciting stretch of road follows. Coos Bay, Winchester Bay, Reedsport with its huge dune landscape, Florence ... all places we quickly leave behind because there is simply not much to see.
Chapter 02 - Cape Perpetua
The sea, as powerful as Thor's hammer! 
Now Oregon really begins to unfold its full splendour, mile after mile. On the rugged coast, the wind whips up huge waves that break thunderously against the rocks. Heceta Head Lighthouse above the cliffs seems to rise above the forces of nature.
Just a few miles further, at Cape Perpetua, we venture down to the water's edge to feel the power of the sea up close. Here lies the famous cliff "Thor's Well", a kind of cave that clearly amplifies the sound of the breaking waves. With a loud thunder, the water slaps ashore and a powerful spray wets our faces.
Chapter 03 - Newport
Whales right off the Oregon beach
We reach Newport, a small town with 10,000 inhabitants, situated directly on Yaquina Bay. As we pass the grand old arched bridge, our attention falls on the Historic Bayfront. Spontaneously, we decide to check into a cosy motel in neighbouring Agate Beach. This gives us enough time to watch the fishermen at work on the Oceanfront. After all, Newport is very famous for its crabs! But not only the fishermen seem to be doing well here, but also the sea lions. Like at Pier 39 in San Francisco, the fat mammals bask in the sun or splash around in the water.
We start the next morning with a long walk on Agate Beach, which we only have to share with a dozen seagulls early on. Otherwise, there is no one to be seen far and wide. Before we continue our drive north, we make a detour to Yaquina Head Lighthouse, which lies directly above Agate Beach. Once there, we can't believe our eyes: less than 50 metres from the beach, we see a humpback whale swimming back and forth between the rocks, while countless sea lions are floating in the water like lazy buoys.
Never before have we been able to observe such a large whale from land - as it turns out, this will not be the last whale either. Along the Oregon Coast we repeatedly discover humpback whales, which cannot be overlooked with their huge fountains, for example at the "Rocky Creek State Scenic Viewpoint". Here we count 20 of these animals!
Chapter 04 - Cannon Beach
At Cannon Beach Oregon shows its most beautiful side
Again and again we pass through very cute charming whaling towns, like Depot Bay, Lincoln City or Pacific City. After Tillamook and Bay City we finally reach Cannon Beach. It is a small town with numerous cafés and boutiques that invite you to stroll around. In a pub we let the sun warm us with a craft beer while "Mr. Crackles", the pub's house seagull, keeps us company.
From here it is a stone's throw down to Cannon Beach, which awaits us with a beautiful motif: Haystack Rock. These three huge rocks look very lost on this wide sandy beach and probably attract so many visitors for this very reason.
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Chapter 05 - Fort Stevens State Park
Shipwrecks at the Graveyard of the Pacific
At the northern tip of Oregon we reach Fort Stevens State Park. Here lies the shipwreck of the "Peter Iredale", which, like many other ships, ran aground in the mouth of the Columbia River in 1906. More than 3,000 ships have sunk on the stretch between Newport and Vancouver Island in the last 300 years, but remains of only 8 ships can still be seen today. The "Peter Iredale" is the best preserved - and indeed a beautiful photo motif.
Chapter 06 - Portland
Portland is an extraordinary city - and home to all the food trucks
After our tour around Olympic National Park, and visits to the volcanoes Mount Rainier and Mount St Helens, we are back in Oregon. Portland has been on our travel wish list for so long - after all, it is the mecca of food trucks (there are said to be up to 600 here), craft beer, and good taste.
True to the motto "Keep Portland weird", individualism and non-conformity are writ large here. A sense of freedom and creativity have always characterised the city and its inhabitants. At the same time, with a size comparable to metropolises like Düsseldorf, there is a provincial flair that makes Portland very charming.
We spent an entire day (from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.) criss-crossing the city. Streets that resemble a compact chessboard. Two rivers, four districts, twelve bridges. And we were right in the middle of it, from Alberta Street to the Pearl District with its shops, restaurants and bars. And by the way, the Sunday Market, where many creative people present their goods.
However, to be fair, we have to mention that Portland also has a dirty side. This reputation also precedes the metropolis in Oregon. The city is flooded with countless homeless people and drug addicts who often indulge in uncontrolled intoxication. Of course, there are many of these in other cities, but here in Portland it was extremely noticeable. Probably also because the city is relatively small.
We catch a last glimpse of the city from the Pittock Mansion. In Beaverton, a suburb of Portland, we moved into an Airbnb. It is said that Portland has the highest number of Airbnbs - not only in the USA, but in the entire world.
Chapter 07 - Mount Hood
Hiker's paradise - and setting for one of the most famous horror films
We leave Portland behind and follow the Columbia River upstream. Just over an hour later we reach Mount Hood, at 3,400 metres the highest mountain in Oregon and also a volcano. Up here is the Timberline Lodge, where Jack Nicholson once raged in the film version of the Stephen King classic "The Shining". However, because the summit is shrouded in dense fog, visibility does not extend 50 metres. Actually, Mount Hood offers numerous short and long hiking trails - but due to the fog we have to turn back and decide to continue east.
Just visible in the fog: the "Timberline Lodge", setting in Stephen King's story "The Shining".
Chapter 08 - Shaniko
The last "Living Ghosttown" in Oregon
Our fuel gauge is slowly approaching zero as we pass through a small town called Shaniko. Right at the entrance to the town we find a petrol station - but these pumps haven't seen a tanker truck for a long time. Shaniko is a "Living Ghost Town" where a few people still live, although there is not much other life in the little town. We accept the invitation of an elderly lady to visit her former home, where we discover countless relics from past eras.
We take a break in the neighbouring café and not only get the best coffee in a long time, but also the best ice cream! We feel like we're in a classic road movie, because apart from us, no visitor has passed through here for a long time. Tom, who owns this café, is all the more open-minded and talkative. He tells us something about the history of the little town and gives us the tip to take a look at the old shed opposite the abandoned hotel. The shed is full of old cars such as a Studebaker from 1919. I don't know why no one wants to look after these treasures.
Rusty vintage cars abound in Shaniko - one old shed in particular is home to over a dozen treasures
Chapter 09 - Hood River
Charming town on the Columbia River 
The last stop on our Oregon round trip before we travel on to Seattle is Hood River. This tranquil, charming little town on the Columbia River is one of Oregon's gems. It is not only teeming with surf shops, nice bakeries and souvenir shops - Hood River is also a mecca for craft beer. There are 5 microbreweries per 6,500 inhabitants, and we try them all in the evening. In the "Full Sail Brewery" we create a good basis with hearty burgers, move on via the "Double Mountain Brewery" to the "Big Horse Brew Pub". The craft beer gets into our heads faster than we expected, so we cut the pub crawl short and have a nightcap at Brian's Pourhouse. We should have stopped at this cute restaurant right away tonight, because the food on offer reads and smells promising - and above all, it would have saved us from a hangover the next morning ;)
Cheers Hood River! There are no less than five microbreweries in this small town ...
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