From Bend and the Cascades Gran Fondo I made my way through Eugene and west to the Oregon coast. Destination: Yachats. (Sounds like ‘Yah-hahts’) It’s a pretty drive – and a long drive. You’re on two lane roads the whole way and you’re never really going to be able to get going too fast. The drive up on 101 from Florence to Yachats is very scenic. It reminded me a bit of driving the coast near Big Sur.

Why Yachats as opposed to some other Oregon coastal destination? On more than one occasion I’d asked people from Portland where they’d recommend I go on the coast. Yachats got the nod more than once. So I wanted to check it out.

There’s not a lot to Yachats. It’s a small town with a few restaurants and businesses and plenty of homes scattered up the coast. I did not stay in a hotel but rather had arranged a home stay.

This worked out pretty well. They had plenty of suggestions for the best food and drink. First of all, you have to get up and get your morning coffee at the Green Salmon. This place was hopping in the morning. Be prepared to stand in line. Secondly, get yourself to the Drift Inn for at least one meal while you’re there. The two places are a block or so apart and it was funny that the person that took my order in the morning was working behind the bar at the Drift Inn later that day. Interestingly he was dressed like a woman in the morning and a guy in the evening.

The coastline here is beautiful. The photo of the gull here was taken in Yachats State Park which is essentially part of the town. The other photos were taken at the Cape Perpetua scenic area. I got a day pass there and hiked up into the hills. You can see a photo of the trail at one point. The other photos were taken from the trail.

You read about cycling the Oregon coast and it sounds like it’d be fun and scenic, but now having driven a chunk of 101 – the route that you’d have to go – I’d have to say the traffic looks like it would be daunting. It is marked as a bike route and there are definitely sections of it that have a wide shoulder. But there are also long stretches along the area I drove where it’s just two busy lanes with no shoulder. Unless you were with a pretty good group I’m thinking it would be a stressful ride.

The weather in Yachats seemed to be a perpetual 68 degrees. I slept with the window cracked open a bit and it never seemed to get that chilly at night either. If you’re looking for a quiet scenic spot to cool your heals for awhile, Yachats is hard to beat.