Oregon Pacific Coast Daytrip #1

For the first real blog entry on Travelling Baz I thought I'd kick off with the daytrip I put together for visiting some of the sights which line Oregon's coastline with the Pacific Ocean.

As I was staying in Hillsboro, Oregon that's where my day started off, and from there I jumped on Highway 26 West heading to West coast of America, which then becomes known as Sunset Highway a little closer to the coast.  While heading towards the town of Seaside you pass through Clatsop State Forest and skiff the South edge of Saddle Mountain State Park.

When Sunset Highway (26) reaches Highway 101 I swung North towards the town of Seaside and continued right on through to Fort Stevens State Park which not only gives you the chance to enjoy the beach views out onto the Pacific, but also the mouth of the Columbia River to the East and not to mention Fort Stevens itself.

Beach at Fort Stevens State Park

After spending some time wandering around the beach I then drove South through the park to where the Peter Iredale shipwreck lies embedded in the beach.

Peter Iredale Shipwreck

During the drive South from the Peter Iredale Shipwreck it was approaching lunchtime and with the signs for the Pirates Cove restaurant beckoning it was time for a munch.

Send More Delicious Tourists

After lunch I discovered that some of the original places I had planned to visit were no-go's due to the locations being blocked by private roads etc (that's half the fun of trying to put together daytrips such as this one).  Undeterred I plotted a course South to Ecola State Park which houses Indian Beach, Cannon Beach and several other interesting sights.

Indian Beach at Ecola State Park

Indian Beach didn't disappoint, and the views which are possible to capture from both the North (on cliffside overlooking the beach) and to the South (from the rocks which seperate the main section of the beach to the next section further South).

Indian Beach (view from North cliff overlook)

A short drive inside the confines of the Ecola State Park brought me to the North end of Crescent Beach (and Cannon Beach further to the South), which again you can get a great vantage point of from the cliffs at the North end from which to shoot from.

Crescent Beach (from North cliffs)

After spending some time enjoying the surroundings of Ecola State Park it was back out onto Highway 101 and once again I was heading South, this time in the direction of Cannon Beach and then Hug Point Beach a little further South rounded off the days adventures.

Abandoned Spade at Hug Point Beach

Two of my highlights of the daytrip were the Peter Iredale shipwreck and also finding a random cluster of stones which were lying in the shape of an animals pawprint, I like to refer to such shots as "Natures Footprint" as the sea tides have left the stones in that way for us to find.

Natures Footprint

I hope you enjoyed this first trip entry to my new blog, more coming soon from my adventures.

Total Time for Daytrip = 11 hours 55 minutes (door to door)

Total Distance Travelled During Daytrip = 208 Miles