Friday, July 01, 2011
Oregon Coast Highway
The Pacific Coast National Scenic Byway offers incomparable coastal scenery as it winds along the Pacific up and down the coast of Oregon. From Astoria in the north to Brookings in the south, highway 101 often hugs the rocky cliffs although there are also stretches of highway without views. Allow more time for this route than you'd think with a casual look at a map. For example it only takes about 4-5 hours to travel from Southern Oregon to Portland via Interstate 5, but it can take as log as twelve hours to travel from Astoria to Brookings along the coast, depending on traffic and conditions and your driving tendencies. But this drive is not to be missed - in my opinion the Oregon Coast from Yachats to Brookings offers the world's best coastal scenery - largely unspoiled and appearing much as it has for the past millennia. Spruce and Fir forests to one side and crashing surf to the other make this an unforgettable journey. Be sure to take some of the amazing short hikes at Oregon State Parks or highway 101 scenic waysides. Devil Churn at Cape Perpetua and Indian Sands near Brookings are both short but spectacular coast hikes.
