kirkcha said:
Looking for any recommendations on places not to miss in the Olympic National Park and the Oregon Coast. Will have one or two day trips from Tacoma WA to Olympic and then one day/night in Gearhart OR and one day/night at the Heceta lighthouse in OR. Looking to plan a couple other days on the southern OR coast. I like to do a lot of long exposed water so any waterfall and beach recommendations would be great. Also any lodging suggestions on the southern OR coast would help.
Any help is appreciated.
Thanks, Kirk
I grew up on the borders of the Olympic National Forest, just driving around the Olympic Peninsula with time for stopping is a two day event.
A lot depends on what you want to see. It can also depend on the day of the week. The highway can be busy with logging trucks on weekdays and sightseers on Weekends, and they are no fun. The rain forest is a obvious place of beauty. Things have probably changed enough since I used to work summers at Humptulips that I can't give detailed advice.
I would recommend not trying to see too much in two days. I'd drive from Tacoma to Port Angeles or to the Sol Duc Hot springs (Reservations may be gone by now) the first day, and plan for a couple of side trips. Then on to the Hoh Rain Forest the 2nd day, stopping at the rain forest and further South, you can hiking down to one of the Ocean beaches or drive further south to points where you can drive to a beach without hiking down a steep trail.
I'd spend the second night in Westport, or on down to Long Beach / Ilwaco. That would be a really ambitious trip if you wanted to spend much time taking photos. The Lewis and Clark Center near Ilwaco has, as I recall, a huge vista and spectacular view, but a little hiking is required.
Expect gray mornings along the beaches, often its gray all day. If you are very lucky, there might be clear enough weather to see the miles and miles of beach. Long beach can be pretty spectacular, but it is usually crowded. They have a huge kite festival every summer which is amazing.
As you move South of Tillamook, Oregon, there seems to be less of the gray weather. Be sure to reserve a place to stay on the Oregon Coast. Many places are expensive, you can always find cheaper places, but the ocean takes its toll on motels, and some of the cheap ones are just plain bad.
There are many things you can do along the way, lots of charter boats for ocean fishing, and perhaps even charter boats for ling cod on the Columbia. As there are fewer fish, they keep changing catch limits and minimum sizes. Your catch can be processed, vacuum packed, frozen and shipped, or you can exchange it for canned fish. Long gone are the days when I could go out of Westport and catch my limit of three big King Salmon. Any bottom fish like Halibut were thrown back. Now, Halibut is probably protected. During the 1930's depression, the fishermen often caught Halibut along with Salmon. They gave the Halibut to the locals who spent the entire depression eating halibut. Dad used to buy small whole Fresh halibut for dinner every Friday for 19 cents a pound. At well over $15 a pound now, I can't afford it but rarely.
