By Chuck Woodbury
EDITOR
The Oregon coast is one of the most beautiful places in America and easy to explore with an RV. The pavement is good, there’s not much traffic (except in peak tourist season) and there are many wonderful state park campgrounds (most with hookups and spacious sites for large RVs).
U.S. Highway 101 hugs the ocean shore often, and everywhere you turn there’s a state park or U.S. Forest Service campground (some a short walk from the beach). There are many attractions along the way (besides the magnificent beaches). Visit the Sea Lion Caves near Florence or the funky tourist shops in Seaside. Drop by the library in Brookings to see a sword worn by a Japanese aviator who flew a single engine plane, launched from a submarine, into the area during World War II and dropped a few bombs (with fizzling results). It was the only attack on the U.S. mainland during the war by enemy aircraft.
Visit the little town of Bandon, where brave souls gather in winter to experience the often foul weather at the “Storm Watching Capital of the Oregon Coast.” Walk to the nearby lighthouse for some wonderful photo opportunities.
In Newport, visit the incredible aquarium or indulge in great clam chowder at the legendary Mo’s, right on the wharf. Farther north, pause in Tillamook at its famous cheese factory and partake of the tasty free samples. Near the northern tip of the Oregon coast, visit a replica of Fort Clatsop, where explorers Lewis and Clark spent a soggy winter.
What I like a lot about the Oregon coast (besides its wonderful state parks and campgrounds) are the countless pullouts along the highway where you can park and then stroll to the beach. In the Lincoln City area, keep an eye out for volleyball-sized glass floats that once supported the fishing nets of Japanese fisherman, but broke loose and in most cases drifted at sea for a decade before washing up on shore. It’s rare to find one these days, but the local chamber of commerce plants a couple of thousand small reproductions each year as a publicity gimmick.
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In regards to clam chowder at Mo’s. Don’t waste your time and money as Mo’s had turned into a tourist trap and in my opinion, the chowder is not worthy of your claim and recommendation. Better chowder can be found at the Chowder Bowl at Nye Beach, Local Ocean on the bayfront and even Clearwater restaurant on the bayfront.
Thanks for the reminder of how beautiful the Oregon Coast is, offering the Rv’er great opportunities.
We spend the summer in the very places you site, ending up in Winchester Bay in Sept, then back to Canada to brace for another winter, which we’re getting today Mar 13th, with temps to dip to -20 tonight.
You mentioned Mo’s for “great clam chowder” and you are correct, we’ve been regular patrons for years. Not anymore, since they’ve opened the doors to folks with pets in tow. We find it absolutely abysmal that food establishments allow animals at the table but the thrift store down the street bans them. I suggest you ask the Thrift store why – you’ll be surprised.
We don’t eat at the same table as animals do, and I thought giving the reader who may feel the same, a heads up might help prevent an issue if they eat at Mo’s or any other food establishment that allows animals in their premises.
And for the record – we love pets of all kinds, we’ve had many, they just have their place in our home and when we travel. We don’t share our bowl, table or meals with them and they don’t sleep with us.
Chuck. The brave souls who weather the Bandon storms avidly collect the plastic that comes with them and take it to Washed Ashore, a non-profit that makes wonderful sculptures of the waste plastic. Some are small and sold on location. Some are assembled into very large sculptures that travel the world in ocean protection exhibits. Definitely worth a stop. Free and visitors can join in the sculpture construction.
If you travel the Pacific Coast, go north to south. That way you don’t have to cross over every time you want to stop at a view point. Also, you have better view from that side of the road. And if you are a bicycle touring cyclist, as I am, another reason for traveling that direction is wind blows north to south.
Dogs are allowed in restaurants in France and, as far as I know, no diseases are thereby transmitted. And the food is better than here.
Mo’s is the last place I’d go for clam chowder! Tried it once, never again. The food was terrible. None of the Mo’s locations on the coast made the top 10 list of coast eateries published in the Oregonian.
Well from a land locked Albertans point of view, the Clam Chowder at Mo’s every time we’ve had it there was very enjoyable. Quite possible we don’t know the good stuff from the best stuff, as anything we get here in land locked Alberta is far far far from the ocean to the plate.
You folks along the coast have a wonderful situation as far as scenery and great sea food goes, I hope you all appreciate it and respect it as much as my lady and I do when we have the honor or being in your neighbourhood for a short time each year.
No virus will prevent us from being your guests again in 2020 from June through Sept.