We think 7 days is the perfect amount of time to visit the Oregon Coast. It will allow you to visit all three regions: the Northern, Central, and Southern Coast.

If you have less time, we recommend just doing one or two regions.

If you have more time, we recommend making a big road trip of it by visiting other parks in the PNW, including Olympic, Mount Rainier, and the Columbia River Gorge. Our Oregon Coast guide and these three parks are all included in our Pacific Northwest Bundle

With more time, you can also continue south into California’s Redwoods and HWY 1.

No. We wrote this guide assuming most people will start in Portland in the north and work their way down the coast, but you can just as easily start in the south and work your way up.

You can use this guide year-round, but May through early October is what we recommend because that is when you are most likely to have sunny weather (though expect to get rained on at least once on your trip!)

This is also when most businesses keep regular, longer hours.

We recommend sites and activities based on our own experiences and recommendations from other travelers. We also consult with area experts who have visited the park several times.

Our loyalty is to you. We pay for all our own travel so that we can give our honest, unbiased opinions. 

We travel with our 4 kids (who are now teens) and our retired parents, so we get a lot of perspectives.

We try to add lots of variety, including hikes, drives, good places to eat, and activities.  We usually give backup options for longer hikes and activities that cost.

We are of the mindset that you have a plan, so you can be flexible.  

We lay out what we believe are the best activities for your time and money, but we all have different preferences. 

Because each activity listed has a star rating, approximate time frame, and cost, you’ll easily be able to adjust to best suit your group’s interests. 

We surveyed our customers and they reported that our guides saved them 10-20 hours of trip planning research, on average. 

Although much of the information included in this guide can be found with significant research, this guide combines what you need to know into one place and it is from a source committed to giving you the best information.

This guide cost us over $15,000 to create when you combine travel expenses, map creation, and formatting. In addition, we have spent hundreds of hours visiting this area and doing additional research at home.

Many of our travelers enjoy the confirmation that they have already created a good plan and may even find a thing or two to add to it.

Other travelers may find that our plan is similar to what they had already pieced together on their own.  

If you’ve already spent hours planning, you may not find maximum value in this guide.

Yes! We travel with our 4 children and both sets of our retired parents.  Although not every activity is for everyone, there are always backup suggestions.

We write these guides so all the work you should need to do is obtain your lodging, transportation, food, and reservations.  We include maps, the time needed to complete drives and activities, and lodging recommendations. We put boxes throughout the guide indicating it’s an item that you will need to take care of before you leave. We also give links to websites we think you should check before you leave (Ex: Olympic National Parks website)

You will need a car to visit the Oregon Coast. 

Yes. We give approximate time frames that are needed to complete an activity.  The schedule is generally not so packed that you have to be a quick traveler.  But if you know you generally need more time, you can make adjustments. If you are quick, there are suggestions for additional activities

This is a digital download, so it will be EMAILED to you. That way, you can have access immediately and have the option to download it to any device you want. 

Many travelers, including us, prefer to print the itinerary and take it with us as we travel.

The itinerary is available immediately upon purchase, right on this webpage. You will also receive an email within 30 minutes with download links in case you need to revisit the links and download the items later. If you don’t receive your email, check your junk mail folder. If it’s not there, contact mattandcheryl@wereintherockies.com, and we’ll be in touch with you within 1 business day. Also, the guides will be available in your account if you choose to establish one (we highly encourage it). 

YES! Olympic & Mount Rainier National Parks, and the Columbia River Gorge, are amazing places to add to your trip. 

National parks constantly change, including timed-entry requirements, construction, fires, and closures. To keep you updated on the most current things going on, we have a Parks Updates page that we update every week with important information. We recommend you look at this as soon as you begin planning your trip, as well as a few days before you leave.

Guides are automatically updated to the latest version when you create an account. 

In addition to that, we also send an email notification out when a guide is updated. Just make sure to stay subscribed to our email list so we can reach you. 

Because the download is a PDF file, you can do it on any device: computer, iPhone, Android, tablet, etc.

Stuff like this happens. We get it. 

If you created an account, just log in again and download your guides.

If you didn’t create an account or forgot your password, just email us, and we can resend your links. 

For step-by-step instructions (including pictures), check out our Help With Downloads page.

If you still need help, reach out to us at mattandcheryl@wereintherockies.com. We’ll get back to you within one business day to help. We’re even happy to jump on a phone call with you if needed. 

Although you can visit the Oregon Coast year-round, this guide works best from June through early September.

Yes!! We update our guides as needed, but write the concepts to intentionally be as timeless as possible. We encourage you to purchase the guide as soon as you know you will be traveling. It will help you determine which areas to stay and how many days to obtain lodging. Upon purchase, you’ll be guided to create an account on our website. If we update the guide, it will automatically show in your account. Your purchase includes free lifetime updates.

It is not required, but is HIGHLY recommended. We encourage you to create an account when purchasing the guides because you’ll have access to the links at any time.

You will have access to the updated guide through your account (another reason to create an account) for life. We generally send an email announcement when we do an update as well.

We put approximate price ranges on all our activities so you know what to expect. We also have plenty of free activities in our guides.

Lodging along the Oregon Coast is similar to what you would pay in other touristy areas. 

Camping is a great option if you are looking to save money.

The great thing about the Oregon Coast is you don’t have to be a hiker to enjoy it. 

Although plenty of beaches require a sometimes steep, short walk to reach them, we always list the difficulty level and have plenty of options for easy walks to the beach.

Yes.  It would be very easy to download this itinerary and head out the door. The Oregon Coast does not require any park timed-entry reservations and many of the activities often have room for travelers booking that day.

We believe that once you buy a guide, you should have it for life.

That way, if you choose to visit a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th time, you always have our most current version. 

You can access the most current version by going into your account.

If you didn’t create an account, just send an email to mattandcheryl@wereintherockies.com, and we’ll send you links to download the most current guide. 

If you aren’t sure which guides to get, email us at mattandcheryl@wereintherockies.com and tell us where you want to go. A real human will get back to you within one business day.