The Best Coast is the Oregon Coast
No you can't change my mind
When I was a kid with a bowl cut living in Puerto Rico, I played on sandy beaches with my boogieboard and ate calzones bigger than my head. Many years later, I was driving 6 hours from my home city of Phoenix to San Diego, spending just as much time looking for parking at the beachfront so my friends and I could laze about on the soft sand, where I’d declare, “I could never live here. I’d never get anything done.”
A brief cross country move to Massachusetts brought us to exploring quaint New England coastal towns and charming cottages on pebbled seasides. We visited public beaches where you paid for parking and carved out space in the crowds and watched droves of people lounging and splashing in tepid waters. Once, an in-law allowed us to use her permit to access the exclusive Gooseberry beach in Newport, RI. The placid water gently lapped on the beach and we sweated in the sun.
But I love the Oregon coast for everything it is not.
The beaches here aren’t typically the lounging type. There are, of course, perfect days in the summer where if you plan ahead and beat the traffic you can set up a tent and some beach toys and work on your tan. You’ll likely still need to bring some layers. But there are no massive crowds, no fighting for space on the sand as there is plenty of room to spread out.
Instead of the flatness of New England, the Oregon coastline features rugged cliffs covered in tall pines, monolithic rock formations jutting out of the water, and the occasional sparkling waterfall trickling down from coastal forests. The surrounding rugged terrain beckons you to explore - one of my favorite beaches, Short Sands, is accessed only by a 1 mile hike through enchantingly lush forest.
The water is cold and frothy and is the definition of “don’t turn your back on the ocean”. A lot of days it’s gloomy, or rainy, or both, and the wind whips through your hair and around your layers of fleece/puffer coat/waterproof jacket. The most magnificent views are afforded to you after a hike, but don’t stray too far from the path or you’ll fall off a cliff. The Oregon coast makes you work to enjoy it.
The absolute best thing it is not? Private.
Thanks to a landmark 1960’s ruling, all of the Oregon coast is publicly owned. And most of the time (unless you’re visiting, say, Oregon’s tallest lighthouse which requires a small parking fee), it’s free to access. No parking fees, no empty fancy beach houses staking claim of their own stretches of sand, no exclusive permits passed through generations of the same family. The Oregon coast is meant to be enjoyed by anybody and everybody.
This summer we took our kids to the coast a couple of times. Day trips are great, but to really make a go of it I recommend planning ahead and booking a short stay so you can explore along the coastline. We booked many months before a visit to Manzanita in May for Jake’s birthday, and even though it was gloomy and rainy we still had a great time. The first illo is from that trip.
We took another short trip,in August, during a good sunny stretch. This time we got to set up a small bonfire on the beach in Newport, roast some marshmallows, and watch the beautiful sunset. I wanted to capture the moment just before my son, Jun, leapt from a washed up tree onto the sand below, backlit by the setting sun.
The last illustration was super fun to make. I’ve been really enjoying working with gouache and was excited to capture all the colors of the fishing buoys in Lincoln City. (The pink and the green? Ughhh, so good.)
I’m grateful for all these little moments. Art is wonderful because it encourages you to see the beauty in things, which is important when it feels like the world is falling apart. I’m gonna give my kids an extra squeeze today and think about our next beach trip.
Take care/Ingat!
Maryanna
