Oregon Travel Guide

The Umpqua River Light stands on the north bank of the Umpqua River mouth at Winchester Bay on the southern Oregon coast, first lit in 1894 as the first lighthouse built on the Pacific coast of Oregon and one of the few West Coast lights still using its original first-order Fresnel lens. The existing 65-foot red-and-white cylindrical tower was rebuilt in 1907, automated, and emits a distinctive alternating red and white flash. The surrounding Umpqua Lighthouse State Park offers camping and trails adjacent to Winchester Bay and Pacific beaches, making it an excellent base for whale watching, seabird viewing, and sunset ocean vistas. A museum operated by the historical society displays keeper family artifacts and U.S. Life-Saving Service history. Combining maritime heritage, wild coastline, and forest ecology, it is a classic stop on an Oregon Coast road trip.

The Heceta Head Lighthouse stands on the central Oregon coast, built in 1894 and rising 56 feet, making it one of the most photographed and famous lighthouses on the Oregon coast. Perched on a 205-foot cliff, its light reaches 21 miles out to sea and once guided countless ships safely through the treacherous waters of the Pacific coast. Built in Renaissance Revival style, its red roof and white tower stand out against the foggy coastline. The adjacent keeper's house has been converted into a charming bed-and-breakfast inn offering a unique stay. From the lighthouse visitors overlook Cape Creek Bridge and the vast Pacific, with dramatic coastal scenery along the way, making it one of the most classic stops on Oregon Coast Highway 101.

Indian Beach is nestled within Ecola State Park on the northern Oregon coast, one of the most secluded and magnificent beaches of the Pacific Northwest coastline. Accessible only via a short descending trail from the park parking area, its relative inaccessibility preserves a pristine wilderness feel. The beach is embraced by towering sea cliffs where black volcanic sandstone meets fine beach sand, with the famous Haystack Rock rising from the sea in the distance, a 72-meter sea stack that is one of the Oregon coast's most recognizable geological landmarks. Named after 19th-century Native American vessels that met trouble here, the beach is now a prime destination for hiking, birdwatching, and landscape photography. From the sand, Pacific waves continuously pound reefs and sea stacks, salt-laden sea breeze fills the air, and gulls and cormorants nest on the cliff walls. At low tide, tide pools reveal starfish, anemones, and barnacles, while migration season offers chances to spot gray whales near shore. Combining spectacular coastal geology, rich ecology, and human history, it is the essence of Oregon coast exploration.

Cannon Beach is an Oregon coast village best known for Haystack Rock — a 72-metre sea stack rising off the shore, its base a protected tide-pool teeming with anemones and starfish at low tide. A long, walkable beach of driftwood and bonfires meets a compact town of galleries, bookshops and cafés. Misty, artistic and unhurried, it is the Pacific Northwest's postcard of coastal calm, where the rock watches over every sunset.