oregon’s northern coast has it all… beaches, camping, kite surfing, wine tasting and more…
Just a couple of hours northwest of Portland, Oregon is Seaside. Its wide open beaches, long Boardwalk and Proximity to Portland make it one of the more popular beach towns on the coast for families and kids. We were reminded of Atlantic city and Santa Cruz as we walked along the boardwalk and Broadway street. If you enjoy a paved morning walk/jog along the beach Boardwalk, people watching and massive public beach space, seaside is the spot for you (or if you are a teenager looking for a place to roam with your friends).
Our next stop was Manzanita beach. It’s a very cute little beach town with huge beaches and the Nehalem Bay state park a mile away. We decided to pitch a tent at the state park and stay a few nights to enjoy nature and relax by the campfire. When the wind picked up in the afternoons, I dropped my husband off at the beach in Manzanita. This allowed him to kitesurf about a mile downwind back to our campgrounds.
During our stay at Manzanita, we wandered into the Nehalem Bay winery. My husband and I were lucky enough to have Ray, the gray bearded eclectic owner (normally traveling) pour us all of his wine as he talked about his orphanage in cambodia. We loved his wine and style so much that we ordered a case to share with our friends back home.
Our plan was for a slow trip down the coast back home, enjoying the scenery along the way. However, our neighbor let us know that our Cocoa Kitty was practically howling for us, so we changed plans. We made it home just a few days later, stopping only to kitesurf in Lincoln city again, catch some live outdoor music in Mt. Shasta, visit my uncle in Northern California, and take more money from the casinos along the way. Oregon was so good to us that we are already planning our return.
After spending nearly three weeks exploring Oregon, the place we are most excited to return is probably the Nehalem Bay State Park in Manzanita. No mosquitos, lots of wind and waves, cute town, and great beaches and campgrounds. What’s your favorite place in Oregon?
***If you’d like to see PART ONE and PART TWO of our trip, be sure to click the links.***
Muy Bueno!
🙂
Very pretty imagery! I would love to get up to Oregon one day. PS I love Liane Moriarty too !!
Thanks! The landscape is amazing.
PS -Which Liane Moriarty is your favorite!?
Beautiful place! The water is gorgeous!! Whenever I go to Oregon, I love going to Dutch Brothers!!! They sell the best coffee/drinks there!!!
Tonee
https://infoellablog.wordpress.com
We didn’t make it to Dutch Brothers. Will def have to check it out next time! Where in Oregon do you visit? Any other recommendations?
I absolutely love Oregon and your pictures bring back so many fond memories of travelling through the state. Absolutely breathtaking!
We love it also! Do you have any favorite places we should check out next time??
Great article! Our son is up in Eugene at UofO so we’ve been there, and PDX of course. The pictures of the Northern Coast are stunning. Thanks for sharing! We live in California and have some gorgeous coastline, but it is so pristine where you were. You might like our wine country blog: http://www.topochinesvino.com. Check it out and follow us if you like what you see.
We are also on the California Coast…but the southern part! The whole coastline is amazing! We did the drive up from San Diego to San Francisco last year– AMAZING! We can’t wait to do it again. Will def check out your blog…we just recently did a bunch of wine tasting in Lodi (will be up on the blog shortly).
Oregon is such a lovely place, good to know you enjoyed your stay there! I am loving the travel photos as well. It’s such a relaxing place to be in!
Thank you so much! We had so much fun during our visit… and taking photos! The landscape is absolutely amazing. It was hard to limit our photos! LOL! 🙂
This part of Oregon is very beautiful. That beach would be my favorite part!
The beaches are amazing… empty and virtually untouched! Being a California girl, it was a unique experience! I can’t wait to go back!
Been hearing a lot about Portland recently and this just tops it. 🙂
We went to Portland also (and posted about it) but the coast was or favorite. ?
I’ve only been here for a short day but you’re right, I could come back only for the wind! The Nehalem Bay State Park is something I’ll write down on my list.
We can NOT wait to get back to Nehalem Bay State Park. Its gorgeous.
Wow! Such a great scenery! Would love to visit it someday!
I hope you make it. It is definitely gorgeous and underrated.