Oregon Coastal Access Guide, Second Edition: A Mile by Mile Guide to Scenic and Recreational Attractions (Oregon Sea Grant) Paperback – April 15, 2008

Oh the memories this book brings back. :-) The Oregon Coast is a strange place. Giant Fir forests, huge sand dunes, tall rocky cliffs with crashing waves, some of the most plentiful and fun agate hunting in the world, fossils, clams, whales, sea lions, seals, crabs, mussels, tidal pools, giant dead driftwood trees, wild winter storms, cheese and craft beer makers, artist retreats, surfing, golfing, and grand 1930s architecture vie for your attention. All of these and more are organized very logically in this book by milestones on Coastal HIghway 101. The book starts with the northenmost point, where Oregon is separated from Washington by the massive Columbia river and ends at its southermost point, near California, where you start to see palm trees. In between these 300 or so miles there hundreds of things to experience or see.Not all the cool places are listed here (They didn't get around to mentioning Thor's Well, for instance) and places that tend to come and go (like restaurants) are not listed, but for those new to the Oregon coast or visiting, and looking for some high points with maybe a little history, geology, and anthropology thrown in (or all the best state parks and scenic overlooks), it is a very valuable resource. While Thor's Well can be easily looked up online, who else but the author of this book is going to explain in detail how to crab in Siletz bay or dig for mussels and clams, describe what the founders of The Pixie Kitchen got up to after their restaurant became so popular in downtown Lincoln City, and tell the stories of the interesting and tragic shipwrecks this rocky coast has caused. Towns, state parks, hiking trails, and cool road side-trips you can take off of Hwy 101 are also described in great detail along every mile.This is a great book to take in the car with you as you travel the amazing Oregon Coast.

We found this book to be very helpful the three times we have traveled the Oregon Coast. I love the milepost by milepost feature. It was easy to follow along as we traveled. It was very helpful to know what was coming ahead. Each evening I would read ahead in the book to help to plan our travels for the next day.I especially liked the ‘Must See’ boxes in the margins, which alerted us to special places we didn’t want to miss stopping at.I would say if you purchase just one book for Oregon Coast travel, let it be this book!

I loved the way this book is laid out. It has boxes you can highlight for places to see. The information was great. The only thing I wasn't pleased about but understand why it was done is that the book starts from the top or Oregon at the Washington/Oregon boarder and works it's way down to California. As a California resident and traveling from California to Oregon I had a hard time keeping my place in the book while we were traveling. I was traveling with a group of 5 rvs and everyone wanted to read this book. It was a great help in determining thing that were near each city. I have to say this helped make my trip not only enjoyable but complete for the amount of time I had. I recommend this book.

I drove up and down the entire Oregon coast a couple of months ago and found this guide book to be a great companion. I did not always use it to get to certain destinations, but looked up places after I arrived and really enjoyed the descriptions, tips, and historical information. Very detailed. It's obvious the author has tremendous knowledge of the area and I was thankful he shared that in his book. Highly recommend.

Recently I vacationed along the Oregon coast and this book was priceless!! It gave me hints and tips that no other book detailed. This book details each rest-stop, outlet, inlet, viewpoint, beach access, bridge, museum, trail and park you could possibly imagine and more. It also served as an incredible resource - with it, I hit sites I would have otherwise missed. It was essential when I was trying to go over my photography and recount where all I had been. Before leaving (for vacation) I bought several books - but my favorites ended up being this one and The Photographer's Guide to the Oregon Coast: Where to Find Perfect Shots and How to Take Them (Middleton, Barbee) - I took them everywhere. I cannot praise this book enough!

My friend and I used this book as a resource as we traveled up the Oregon coast. My biggest complaint would be that we were going from the south to the north, so we had to kind of read the book backward. Most of the directions to attractions were clear and it definitely gave us ideas of places to go and things to see.If it had been easier to navigate the book backward for a trip going from south to north, I would have given it 5 stars.

We are taking a trip along the Oregon Pacific Coast Highway. We are heading from the north to the south and this book enabled us to plan the trip knowing how many miles we will travel each day and where we will stop overnight. We now know what we will see, what attractions we will visit ( eg. cheese factory,air museum, hiking trails, old towns,sea lion cave and side trips ) Coming from the east coast and knowing very little about the Oregon coast, we are now very comfortable that we will a great trip and experience all that Oregon has to offer.In addition, we can reference the book mile by mile as we travel along the coast.

We have traveled the Oregon Coast several times in the last two years and found this book for the latest trip. My sister was in charge of reading the information out loud as we drove. We learned much more about the coast than in previous trips and we relied heavily on the author's recommendations on the most popular places to stop. We felt this was a great way to get the most out of our 4 day road trip and will use this book again when we return.

Great book! I've been down the coast a few times before and wish I bought this for my first trip. Lots of great suggestions and descriptions.