Font Resize
Yachats, Ore. » As a lifelong landlocked Utahn, I had big plans for the family trip to the central Oregon coast: arrive at the rented beach house, throw the car keys in a drawer and leave them there for a week.
The weather forecast -- uncommonly sunny with nary a chance of rain for the week -- played perfectly into the plan. But you know what they say about the best laid plans.
And just exactly what was I thinking when I thought my wife and my 7- and 4-year-old kids would be content to sit on the beach for a week?
The stunning scenery of the Oregon coast and the lure of local attractions served as other -- but less demanding -- motivators for getting the keys back
We found the quaint, unique town of Yachats to be a perfect base for exploring what many consider the most beautiful stretch of the entire 363-mile Oregon Coast.
According to locals, the town name is translated from the Chinook Indian word "yahuts," which means "dark water at the bottom of the mountain" or "little river with a big mouth."
Both descriptions seem accurate of the Yachats River as it flows into the Pacific Ocean. It is the proximity of steep mountains to the ocean that makes the landscape of the central Oregon coast so enticing.
"It is the power of place. There is an attraction you just can't adequately describe," said Max Glenn, a resident of Yachats who volunteers for the town's visitor center and is a former Utahn. "I have to be careful in talking about it because some people just don't understand. This is a healing place where people learn to live out of their heart."
We frequented the dining, shopping and laundromat services in Yachats -- mostly Toppers ice cream store -- and everyone we encountered made us feel like we had been visiting the town for decades.
Glenn said he sees plenty of Utahns in Yachats, and that they usually show up
The Croppers, like many people we saw on the coast, were riding their bicycles from Newport to Florence. They came to Oregon to visit family in Corvallis and decided to make the most of a short schedule to ride their favorite stretch of the coast.
"We aren't doing anything too ambitious. We started in Newport and we will go until we get tired. The rest of the family is in the van so we have a ride back," Corry Cropper said.
Cropper, who said they chose that part of the coast after enjoying it on a previous trip, had some sage advice for bicyclists and car drivers touring the coast.
"We are riding north to south figuring that people driving and looking at the coast will veer away from the coast and not towards it," he said. "We also get a better view being on the west side of the road."
Wanting to get a taste of the Oregon coast forest, we elected for a quick 2-mile, round-trip hike to a giant 500-year-old Sitka spruce tree at the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area managed by the U.S. Forest Service. Walking through the rain forest's thick vegetation, it was hard to imagine that if we climbed one of the massive trees we probably would be able to see the Pacific Ocean.
Back at our beach-side rental, we enjoyed watching gray whales from the front room. The best whale viewing and boat watching is December, January and March, but there are some "local" pods of the huge mammals which we saw -- at least parts of them -- frequently.
One morning we awoke to the barking of sea lions and during our sunset walks along the beach we were often joined by a lone harbor seal who moved along with us about 50 yards of shore. It felt like we were walking our dog.
Speaking of sea lions, we decided to check out the "famous" Sea Lion Caves attraction south of Yachats. I pulled into a big turnout on Highway 101 because the weather was clear and I wanted to take a picture of the Hecata Head Lighthouse. I walked over to the guard railing and got out the camera. Overcome by a foul stench, I wondered if a dead animal was lying on the cliffs below. Instead I spotted what must have been a hundred or so stellar sea lions crawling over each other on the rocks near the water. The kids came to check out the loud creatures and we decided we would save the money required to enter the Sea Lion Caves, mostly because we couldn't imagine what the sea lions would smell like in an enclosed area, even if it is the world's biggest sea cave.
But back to the lighthouse. There are nine of them scattered along the Oregon coast. The Hecata Head Lighthouse, about 14 miles south of Yachats, is one of the most photographed. We ended up spending parts of two days at scenic viewpoint there. It's a great place for a picnic and beach play, and there are a couple of sea caves on the north end of the beach. The old assistant light keeper's house at Hecata Head is now a bed and breakfast.
The tour of Hecata Head was informative but a little disappointing as the top of the building is closed.
Perhaps the highlight of our trip -- aside from beach fires, kite flying, tidal pool viewing and shell collecting at the beach house -- was a day trip to Newport and the Oregon Coast Aquarium. The exhibits are educational and the sea mammals are fun to watch and interact with through the viewing windows. My 7-year-old thought he was in a dream when we entered the Passages of the Deep exhibit. The walk-through tunnel aquarium includes three sections with the main feature a large tank with sharks swimming above, next to and below visitors.
We could have spent hours watching the sharks, and left the exhibit feeling we had certainly got our money's worth. But we were not done yet. Back at left entrance, we realized we were so excited to see the sea otters get their lunch that we had walked right by the Oddwater exhibit.
This innovative, colorful and educational exhibit combines some of the bizarre creatures of the sea with the works of local glass blowing artists. This stunning show runs through December.
We ended our day in Newport strolling the historic bayfront shopping and dining district. And, being in the Dungeness crab capitol of the world, we decided to partake of the bounty. After a quick tutorial and complimentary cleaning, we were on our way back to the house for a meal fit for kings.
The best sunset of the week bid us farewell. During the 15-hour drive home, all I could think about was being able to relax once I got back to Salt Lake.
Getting there » According to Google Maps, it is 920 miles to Yachats from Salt Lake City via Portland. We spread the drive out over two days for the benefit of young children. Most people fly to Portland (about $200 from Salt Lake on Delta, Alaska and United) and make the 3 1/2-hour drive, but some fly to Eugene ($300 on Delta), which is a 2-hour drive.
Where to stay » If looking for rental homes, bed and breakfasts or motels in Yachats visit www.yachats.org/lodging.html. For lodging along the Oregon Coast, visit www.traveloregon.com/Travel-Tools/Places-To-Stay.aspx.
Where to eat » There are several good eating establishments in Yachats, but we found The Drift Inn Historic Pub and Café to offer the best meal for the price; 124 Highway 101 N. (www.the-drift-inn.com ), 541-547-4477. In Newport, try the Rogue Ales Public House, 748 SW Bay Blvd. (www.rogue.com ), 541-265-3188. It is kid friendly.
