Oregon Coast

Issue #006 - The Oregon Coast

​The Oregon Coast is easy to explore. Highway 101 follows the shoreline most of the way. Make this trip from north to south and you will find the drive much easier. Fly into Portland, drive down the coast and then return to Portland up the Interstate. If you are driving up from California, drive both north and south on the coast. You may prefer to drive north on Highway 97, east of the Cascade Range, with a stop at Crater Lake along the way. Make a stop at the Columbia River Gorge to photograph the waterfalls, then head west into Portland, out to the coast, and then south for at least a one-week drive down the coast.

Driving north along this coast makes it more difficult to see the ocean, and you’ll always be turning left, into oncoming traffic. Quick decisions to stop and check out something you spot on the beach will be much safer if you are already heading in a southerly direction. Compare the pros and cons of renting a motor home to staying in motels and eating in restaurants. Having a kitchen in the back of your motor home means that you can buy the fresh salmon, local clams, crabs, homemade blackberry pies and all the other goodies you’ll discover along your way. In the summer, you can pick wild blackberries along the back roads.

After a long day of exploring, hiking, and photographing, you will want a good meal, a hot shower, and a comfortable bed. If you do your traveling in a motor home, you can be out there, ready for the sunrises, the sunsets, and the best light. With an RV, you can be even closer to the best photography. Oregon has some of the cleanest, best-planned campgrounds in the nation and most are located in the perfect places for photographers.