Where to stay along the coast??

We are going to cut down on our time at Crater Lake to spend more time on the coast. Now the question is where do we want to stay? I put this in the Bandon forum because it is one of the towns we are considering. The others are Port Oreford and Yachats.

We%26#39;ll be driving quite a distance the day we will arrive on the coast, but want to stay in one place for two nights rather than move around.

Have checked out reviews on this site and have ideas of places. Doesn%26#39;t have to be a budget place, but not $300 a night either. Want an ocean view and access. Interested in lighthouses, photography, hiking.

We are open to staying in a different town than the ones listed if it%26#39;d be better. I know I am all over the place with this, but any advice is appreciated.

We%26#39;ll be there July 3 and 4 so trying to figure out what we want and get something booked as I am sure that is a popular beach holiday. I grew up in FL and 4th of July was crazy at the beach.

Where to stay along the coast??

S. OR beaches are not like FL beaches on the 4th, by any means. The only real ';crowds'; (and I use that word loosely) were in the Seaside and Cannon Beach areas. In FL you swim and sunbathe. Here, you hope for sun and walk the hundreds of miles of scenic beaches - again, very unlike FL.

Where to stay along the coast??

bandon.

prime is around face rock. that is the real ';bandon beach';. you%26#39;ll wear out your camera. probably a little late to rent a house, but give it a shot. you want ocean front, unobstructed, not ocean view. otherwise, sunset motel, vern brown addition (i think it is called). maybe the old gorman motel (i think it is called ';bandon beach motel'; now. but, beware, they advertise that they have two buildings. you want to be on coquille point, not a block away on beach loop). a weaker sister would be the windermere motel, a great place before it was modernized.

lighthouses at bandon, across the coquille river, cape blanco and a small one on an island off the cape arago highway (inaccessible) south of charleston which is south of coos bay. further south to shore acres state park and cape argo itself, with several secluded beaches along the way. excellent hiking in the area. eagles. sea lions. tide pools. you%26#39;ll probably have to go to coos bay for fireworks, anyway.

that said, the best fireworks we%26#39;ve ever seen are in brookings. fourth of july the way the fourth of july was meant to be. way crowded, though.

second best? stanley, idaho.

worst: reno, nevada. cheap. cheap. cheap.

Bandon will probably be the best choice to fit your wants. There a few places out on Beach Loop where you%26#39;ll have a view and beach access. For the 4th it might be a little expensive and busy. I would check availability ASAP.

Port Orford is pretty much a no nothing. You blink and you miss it. Not much in lodging or site seeing other than the wayside at Battle Rock.

Yachats I don%26#39;t remember any places there with beach access. Several with nice views. Some of the places on the South end of town are near the river outlet which does have some beach but not much.

As for fireworks I%26#39;m not any help when it comes to Bandon. I pretty sure they have them but I don%26#39;t know where they fire them off. I would imagine most likely over the bay so there won%26#39;t be any beach watching. A long time ago we went to fireworks in Port Orford but you could hardly see them through the fog. Yachats is pretty small and not sure if they have a show or if everyone heads up to Newport or down to Florence. Someone else may know if they have them in Yachats.

The Gorman... Smile. Unless management and ownership changed, unsmiling, daunting, dour folks. But the setting on the bluff is fabulous, so ask for a ocean view room. But, it%26#39;s old, do not expect much! Once you drive and see the coast, the Bandon motel won%26#39;t be that critical.

I know your itinerary, but I%26#39;d give Bandon, which I like, one night and two in Yachats or Newport.

Actually Yachats has the two motels I, and others, have long suggested, Fireside and Overleaf, next to each other, which are on a slight rise overlooking the beach and beautiful shoreline, rocks, etc. Plus the miles long walking trails that crosses in front of them...

Newport has a good fireworks show based, I believe still, off the small boat harbor on the south side of Yacquina Bay.

Thanks all for the help. Glad to hear we won%26#39;t have too many people to share the beaches with on the 4th. I am going to talk with my sister later tonight and figure out where we want to stay, but I am thinking Bandon at this point. Location wise I think it%26#39;ll be better for the tavel plan. The plan has changed a lot since we decided we were going to Oregon, but hopefully we can get reservations and just start counting the days until the trip!

By the way...I saw a recent (March 09) review for the Gorman or Bandon Beach Motel (new name) and it said there was new management, new paint and a fresher, nicer place in general. The review was quite favorable actually. I looked at the website and they do have a wonderful location as someone stated earlier in a post. It%26#39;s on the list of possible places now. Thanks!

Yachats has a nice fireworks display. They stage it from Yachats State Park just north of the mouth of the river, so they can be seen both from the north and the south.

In addition to the Fireside and the unbeatable Overleaf, the Adobe is oceanfront as well, but none of the three are truly beachfront. There are small ';pocket beaches'; along this stretch, but the nearest ';real'; beach is 3/4 mile walk north along the Historic 804 Trail.

Yachats would be a GREAT location to explore some of Oregon%26#39;s best lighthouse. Yaquina Bay and Yaquina Head lighthouses are about 30 minutes north, and the most photographed lighthouse on the west coast, Heceta Head, is about 20 minutes south.

There is also an abundance of hiking at the nearby Cape Perpetua Scenic Area, not to mention some of the best tidepools along the entire coast.

Dengay, I am prepared to bow to your knowledge. What is the difference between beachfront and oceanfront? Are we differentiating between sandy beaches and rocky shores? If so, I agree that Fireside and Overleaf are the latter, which incidentally is one reason I prefer their location, much more dramatic tidal and storm action than sandy beaches.

Bit late to jump in here, but since I live just north of Yachats . . .

To get true ';beachfront'; with long empty sandy beaches, you%26#39;ll need to go a bit north of Yachats, 3-4 miles or so. Yachats does have ';oceanfront'; lodging with waves crashing upon rocks. There are walking trails along most of the oceanfront areas, but no beach in town except near the little river there.

I have a full list of the Yachats motels, but unfortunately it%26#39;s not on this laptop and I%26#39;d not be able to send it out until this next Tues.

As far as fireworks, Dengay is right about the Yachats fireworks right there in town. Also, Yachats has a July 4th ';La De Da'; parade that is a wonderful, fun, free-for-all non-professional, everybody welcome parade! A total kick to see :-)

Also . . . drum roll here, please . . . with Yachats you get a two-for-one fireworks display because Waldport (the town located just 8 miles north) has their fireworks on July 3rd! They shoot them out over the Alsea Bay.

As far as crowds, yes, every place you go will be busy. The Yachats/Waldport crowds tend to be pretty well behaved, and many families go to the beach and have BBQ%26#39;s during the day. You will not find very many, if any, loud drunken parties.

Good photo opps all around Yachats, Waldport, Newport, everything from two lighthouses, a covered bridge, Cook%26#39;s Chasm, the blowhole in Yachats, Alsea Bay, tons of wildlife (the critter kind, LOL) . . . well, you get the idea ;-)

Bandon is my favorite place on the Oregon coast. Check out Sunset Hotel or Windamere.

Voyaging,

I learned on our first trip to Hawaii that there is indeed a difference between oceanfront and beachfront. As the word indicates, ';beachfront'; means there is a sandy beach adjcent. Oceanfront on the other hand, means just that, therefore it would%26#39;t be false advertising to to say a facility is oceanfront, like the Overleaf, Fireside and Adobe, and NOT find a useable beach.