Opportunities to take beautiful
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Taking pictures of Oregon is a very enjoyable pastime due to this State's wealth of exquisite natural beauty. Photographs of majestic snow-capped mountain peaks, scenic Oregon lakes and rivers, beautiful waterfalls and more can be captured by any photographer in this place. However, a visit to the State of Oregon would be incomplete without seeing and photographing it's gorgeous coastline.
What's your favorite spot on the Oregon coast? Click here to share your story with visitors to this site.
This ocean scene featuring a natural sea arch is found
along the southern coast of Oregon near Gold Beach.
The beautiful and rugged shoreline of Boiler Bay
on the central coast of Oregon.
Nearly every mile driven along U.S. Highway 101 on the Oregon coast brings new sights and awesome vistas to the traveler. From north to south you will find many spectacular locations to take beautiful beach pictures. Some of these beaches are wide and sandy - others feature unique offshore rocks or tall forested cliffs. Many have secluded coves and sea caves. There are dozens of viewpoints where you can pull over and try to capture that perfect ocean photograph to complete your "pictures of Oregon" photo album.
Fogarty Beach is one of my wife's favorite places to visit.
It is located just south of Lincoln City.
Another view of Fogarty Beach. This photo was taken in the
early morning hours and shows Fogarty Creek which flows
into the ocean at this picturesque location.
Bandon, Oregon
is one place to go if you want to view lots of large offshore rocks (there are other great spots as well). The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area is north of Bandon near Florence, Oregon. It is a 47 mile long stretch of large coastal sand dunes - some over 500 feet high! Jessie M. Honeyman State Park is also located here and features large sand dunes which slope down to several freshwater lakes. The entire area is encircled with miles of beautiful forest.
Large offshore rocks frame the view along the Bandon shoreline.
North of Florence is Devil's Punchbowl State Park where this unique rock formation is found. Sea water fills up the "punchbowl" as the waves hit the shoreline, then the level drops quickly as the ocean tide pulls back to sea.
Not too far north of Florence is Sea Lion Caves, one of the largest sea caves in the world. It is a great location to take pictures of Oregon sea lions. Continuing north on the central Oregon coast brings you to Yachats. This is the perfect place to climb over shoreline rocks and search for sea anemones and starfish - especially at low tide. Further north is the town of Newport, Oregon. It is the home of the Oregon Coast Aquarium, and it also features an Old Town section which includes a wax museum.
Another look at Boiler Bay. It is located between Newport and Lincoln City.
Don't forget to stop and take pictures of
Oregon lighthouses
along the way. Two of the best on the central coast are Heceta Head Lighthouse (just north of Florence) and Yaquina Head Lighthouse (two miles north of Newport). The scenery between Florence and Newport is absolutely stunning with the highway cutting through the Siuslaw National Forest. You can capture some beautiful scenic photos through this area.
The Siuslaw National Forest extends right to the ocean along the central Oregon coast. Heceta Head Lighthouse can be seen in this photograph in the distance. The house to the right of it is a caretaker's house.
Depoe Bay is worth a stop (north of Newport). It has the world's smallest harbor and features several unique arts and crafts stores along the waterfront. It is also a great place to watch huge waves crash against shoreline rocks. Just a mile or two before you enter Depoe Bay is a secluded cove known as Little Whale Cove. I've never seen any whales here but I have encountered lots of sea lions basking on the rocks. It is a great place to photograph sea lions - especially if you have a zoom lens.
This area is known as Little Whale Cove. There are dozens of sea lions
lounging on the rocks (the lower center portion of the photograph).
It is a great place to get pictures of Oregon sea lions.
Closer view of the lounging sea lions at Little Whale Cove.
One more look at Little Whale Cove. If you blink, you'll miss seeing it. Watch carefully as you approach Depoe Bay from the south. There is no official viewpoint - you just have to pull over wherever you can and walk a short distance to find this spot. However, it is well worth it if you want to capture some interesting and unique pictures of Oregon sea lions.
North of Depoe Bay is Lincoln City, Oregon. It has a wide sandy beach which stretches for miles and is very popular with kite fliers. It also features a large number of excellent Oregon coast hotels and motels where you can stay. Above Lincoln City is the town of Tillamook, home of the world famous Tillamook cheese factory (my personal favorite!). The factory is definitely worth a visit - you can watch through large glass windows while they make the cheese.
The beach at Lincoln City, Oregon is the perfect place
to fly kites and capture beach sunsets with your camera.
One of many beautiful roadside beaches seen along
the drive toward Tillamook on Three Capes Highway.
This tall seaside cliff is partially obscured by fog. This beautiful spot is found on Three Capes Highway near Cape Meares State Park - yet another great place to get some unique pictures of Oregon.
Continuing north toward Astoria brings beautiful and popular Cannon Beach and the resort town of Seaside, Oregon. At the extreme southern end of the Oregon coast are two other interesting and beautiful towns to visit - Gold Beach and Brookings. The weather is much milder at Brookings than it is further north in Bandon. I haven't spent too much time at either end of the coast yet (although I would like to). Most of our visits to the Oregon coast have been concentrated between Bandon and Lincoln City. The entire length of the Oregon coastline offers a wealth of great vacation spots. And your "pictures of Oregon" photo album wouldn't be complete without shots of this scenic area.
These large offshore rock formations are seen on the drive between Brookings and Gold Beach (along the southern coastline).
Please visit more of my Oregon pages:
Oregon main page
Pictures of majestic Mount Hood
Pictures of scenic Bandon, Oregon
Pictures of Portland, Oregon
Oregon lighthouse photographs
Pictures of Oregon waterfalls
Also, check out my page about Seattle:
Seattle skyline photographs
What's Your Favorite Spot On The Oregon Coast?
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