Oregon Coast on US-101

Route description

Start in Astoria near the mouth of the Columbia River, then follow US-101 south to Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock, a 235-foot sea stack with tide pools at its base. Puffins nest on the rock in spring and early summer, and the tide pools are best explored at low tide.

South of Cannon Beach the highway turns inland to Tillamook, a dairy town known for its cheese, where the Three Capes Scenic Route makes a slower coastal detour. US-101 then returns to the ocean through a string of beach towns to Newport, with its bayfront harbor and the arched bridge over Yaquina Bay.

North of Florence, Heceta Head Lighthouse stands on a green headland above the Pacific, with its keeper’s house nearby and sea lions below. South of Florence, the Oregon Dunes stretch for about 40 miles between the forest and the ocean, with dunes up to 500 feet high and trails leading out onto the sand.

At Bandon, walk down to the beach below the viewpoint to see Face Rock and the other sea stacks, best at low tide. The last stretch south to Brookings, near the California border, is one of the wildest on the coast. The whole Oregon shore is public, but US-101 is slow and winding in places, summer fog is common, and state park campgrounds book up early.