Planning a trip?

Oregon's South Coast is your destination. Check out these wonderful Bay Area activities.

-- Please Select -- Join the country singers Wind through the Umpqua Discovery Center Discuss literature with locals Take a watercolor workshop at the Coos Art Museum Roller skate: Life's just better on wheels Head downtown to the bowl Reach high speed in the cradle Funnel through the tunnel Catch live action Jump into the local surf 11 Pack up your disc 12 Help beautify local beaches 13 Too tired to roll? Try shopping 14 Grab your permit, shovel, a bucket and your best friend 15 Pick up a souvenir 16 Trek to an island 17 Build your own castle 18 Head down to the boardwalk 19 Put on a wet suit 20 Poke your toes into soft sand 21 Visit the Umpqua River Lighthouse above Winchester Bay 22 Lend a hand to the community 23 Take in a baseball ballgame at a historic park 24 Don't leave home without your board 25 Skip rocks at Laverne Park 26 Run the training grounds of Olympian Steve Prefontaine 27 Float with butterflies 27 Shop at a farmers market 29 See how to shuck oysters 30 Grab your cowboy hat 31 Join the club 32 Take eye and ear protection 33 Bait your hook 34 Visit an island on the Pacific Coast 35 Slow down in Langlois 36 Take an early-morning dip 37 Tour gardens 38 Listen to music at the beach 39 Hike the dike 40 Join an old-fashioned picnic 41 Cash in with your catch 42 Explore maritime history 43 Tour animal rehab facility 44 Compare the beauty of dahlias 45 Gather with fellow birdwatchers 46 Search for a mystery ship 47 Explore the dunes 48 Sample BBQ Salmon 49 Take a walk in Florence 50 Sift hands full of black sand 51 Watch sea lions all along the coast 52 Feel the wind and rain 53 Make your way to Shore Acres 54 Listen to the sea lions bark at Simpson Reef Overlook 55 Observe tidepools 56 Taste what blackberries are really about 57 Enjoy traditionally prepared salmon while you listen to tribal storytellers 58 Celebrate in Gardiner for the Fourth of July 59 Mingle at Mingus Park in Coos Bay 60 Watch the parade at Bay Area Fun Festival 61 Taste cranberry delights 62 Check out the charm of a local fishing community 63 See what the local Lions Clubs are up to 64 Let Bandon's thespians entertain you. 65 Learn local history 66 See a coastal lake 67 Have your catch canned 68 Travel the same path as early explorers 69 Compete in a local derby 70 Plan your hike with online information 71 Sand offers challenging hiking options 72 Share cool coastal nights with many car enthusiasts 73 Race around the bay 74 Celebrate North Bend's 102nd birthday 75 Take in foreign films 76 Stand in awe of old-growth trees 77 Entertain your entire family with fiddle music 78 Get into the spirit of the Curry County Fair 79 Go fly a kite 80 Take a scenic drive to Brookings 81 See musicians live 82 Ride into the sunset 83 Feel the ocean spray 84 Olio the night away 85 Rock & roll awhile 86 Walk amid the tall trees 87 Search for a starfish 88 See a live show 89 Swim at your own risk 90 Brush up on your oil painting skills 91 Have an armchair adventure 92 Rent a lookout 93 Paddle the South Slough 94 Take a refreshing detour 95 Hike an estuary 96 Golf your day away 97 Roam through a rare Myrtlewood Grove 98 Hit a bucket of balls 99 Tour the local talent 100 Watch birds 101 Visualize art of the sea 102 Shoot beautiful photographs

The Oregon Coast

You'll love it here! Coos Bay, North Bend and Charleston are known as Oregon's Bay Area. With the largest natural harbor between Seattle and San Francisco, Coos Bay is a major shipping and manufacturing center. Until the recent lumber shortages, it was also the largest timber shipping port in the world. North Bend, along with Coos Bay, forms the largest urban area on the Oregon Coast. Travelers on US 101 will see foreign vessels coming into the docks, massive wood chip piles for paper production and formerly bustling lumber mills. Charleston, nine miles west on Cape Arago Highway, is an old waterfront fishing village. It is also a premier sports fishing harbor, and one of the state's busiest commercial fishing ports.

Recreation is also a favorite pastime in the bay area. Three spectacular state parks offer many diversions to visitors. Sunset Bay State Park, located southwest of Charleston on the Cape Arago Hwy., has a small, protected bay surrounded by picturesque cliffs. It is suitable for swimming, which is unusual for the Oregon coast. Divers, surfers and boaters also enjoy the warm bay waters. Year round camping is available, as well as hiking. Watching the sunset over the ocean from the cliff side trail, which connects the three parks, is a popular activity. The park is near one of the three golf courses in the Bay area.

Shore Acres State Park is the former grand estate of pioneer lumberman and shipbuilder Louis J. Simpson. Simpson built a luxurious summer home on a scenic bluff high above the Pacific Ocean, which was later destroyed by fire in 1921. Currently, the park's attractions include beautiful gardens featuring trees, shrubs and flowering plants from around the world. The garden features year round displays of scenic and floral beauty, in addition to the annual "Holiday Lights at Shore Acres" event in December. A fully enclosed observation building was constructed on the site of Simpson's home, offering magnificent views of towering waves, rugged cliffs and glimpses of migrating whales from December through June.

Located on a 134 acre narrow coastal promontory jutting half a mile into the ocean, Cape Arago State Park offers wild vistas of the pounding sea, as well as of Oregon's sea stacks. Picnic tables are scattered about the bluffs, and hiking trails lead to numerous tide pools along the beach. This park is also a good place to view marine mammals such as seals, sea lions and whales.

Tour a myrtle wood factory and see craftspeople make wooden bowls, ornamental clocks, spoons, and many more items out of this dense, fine grained wood. The House of Myrtle wood just off US 101 in Coos Bay has a large gift shop with many myrtle wood items, as well as other Oregon products such as gourmet foods.

Explore the southern Oregon coast, and discover Oregon's Bay Area.  

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