August 1, 2015.
The town of Waldport was base camp for a few days on the Oregon coast. Waldport is two days drive south from Seattle with an overnight stay in Portland.
A VRBO beach house met our needs because it was comfortable for two people; provided ocean views; had wifi and a 50 Inch Smart TV; and was just a few blocks off the beach.
Google maps has Oregon beaches and towns visited during this trip.
Arrival in Waldport was rainy, cold, dismal and uninviting with forecasts calling for more of the same which was not expected since this was the first week in August. Fortunately, weather reports were wrong and conditions improved nicely over the next few days.
Seal Rock
Seal Rock had sea stacks located close to the shore or connected to the shore and it's just a few miles north of Waldport. Seal Rock provided an introduction to the wild Oregon coast. Access from Highway 101 was easy. Temperatures ranged from the 50's to the 80's.
Oregon Coast Aquarium at Newport
North of Waldport is the city of Newport with its amazing, must see Aquarium. Check out this video:
Dunes National Seashore
The north end of Dunes Seashore is 30 minutes south of Waldport. Dunes National Seashore is big. Unless you know exactly where you're going the first stop may well be the lighthouse at Umpqua.
From the lighthouse, we got directions to an area called Lake Hall, which is known only to locals. A path around the lake went past a waterfall and up a 200 foot dune with a view of the Pacific.
High Dunes Wind and Sand
A word of caution regarding the high dunes of Dunes National Seashore. Eye protection is important here because sand on top of a 300 foot dune is different from sand on the beach. While ocean beach sand is coarse, high dune sand can be powdery fine and without eye protection the 20 to 30 mph winds can push finely ground sand into the eyes and really mess things up. Wear close fitting glasses or goggles while trekking on top of these dunes.
Three Arches
Three Arches are sea stacks near the town of Oceanside.
The beach here is littered with agates washed down from nearby hills and deposited on the beach.
The beach here also had cute fuzzy pooches running wild by Three Arches.
Cannon Beach
Cannon Beach is a cozy coastal town that is a popular destination. Just offshore is Haystack one of the largest seastacks on the Oregon coast. At low tide, you can walk to the base; but climbing is not allowed.
