A Coast with the Most

When the kids wanted to go on a "wild west" road trip and end up on the Pacific Coast, We had no idea what to expect from the Pacific Coast. We had already seen the Atlantic a few times and the Gulf when the kids were little, so it was only natural they wanted to see the West Coast.

So, how do you plan a trip and know very little about where you're going? Google "where to go on the Pacific coast that locals enjoy" and lo and behold, the internet brought us to the coast of Oregon. And a most epic trip through it.

If you're heading west, we strongly encourage route 20, a good podcast or playlist and plenty of road-worthy snacks.

Route 20 across the middle of Oregon

We've already shared our destination recommendation of the Historic Central Hotel in Burns, but please visit and tell them we sent you.

Oregon has it all. And we've been to almost all of the 48 lower states. (Just missing Nevada and Mississippi for some reason.) Back to Oregon… it has it all.

• Mountains

• High plains

• Volcanic landscapes

• Epic coastlines

Speaking of epic coastlines, we bring you to our Destination Recommendation: Yachats (pronounced Yah-hots).

(above image from https://www.yachatsoregon.org/ )

Yachats is a small village right on the coastline of about 900 people. We spent 4 days exploring Cape Hetaeras Head and Cape Perpetua, hiking all over the transverse between moss-covered forests (affectionally called "Muppet trees" by the twins) and the beaches. We sipped coffee at the Bread & Roses café and frequented the local grocery store gorging ourselves on fresh strawberries, raspberries and grapes at every chance we could get.

We recommend staying at any one of the rentals along the coast. We opted for Airbnb with direct access to the beach but there's lots of options all up and down the coast. We walked beaches, watched bald eagles, hiked the Hobbit trail and listened to the waves crash.

In close proximity to Yachats are these must-see destinations:

• Heceta Head Lighthouse

• The dunes in Florence, OR

• The Sea Lion Caves near Florence

• The Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport

And pretty much everything along the epic coastline drive of Route 1.

So if you're like us and crave epic journeys and few crowds, take a trip to the coast of Oregon and make sure the sleepy village of Yachats is along the way.