Lincoln City lies along the Oregon Coast west of Salem and southwest of Portland. Its mild weather and stunningly beautiful location between the beaches of the Pacific Ocean and the Oregon Coast Range of mountains make it popular with tourists. The many outdoor activities in the area include hiking, boating, fishing, wildlife observation, and water sports. It’s also a great place to go shopping for antiques and gifts, peruse exhibits at museums, and check out local arts and crafts. Here are some of the best locations for vacation rentals in and around Lincoln City.
1. Lincoln City
Lincoln City faces 7 miles of wide sand beaches, where you can explore tide pools, build sand castles, or go beachcombing for shells, agates, driftwood, and glass floats. Popular water sports include surfing and kite boarding. Known as the kite capital of the world for its steady sea breezes, the city hosts the annual Summer Kite Festival and Fall Kite Festival. It’s also renowned for the abundance of its antique, collectible, and gift shops. You can take a cooking class at the Culinary Center or learn to blow glass at the Jennifer Sears Glass Art Studio. The North Lincoln County Historical Museum offers a fascinating look at local Native American and pioneer history.
2. Neotsu
The community of Neotsu adjoins Lincoln City on the north. Vacation rentals have convenient access to Devil’s Lake, a small, quiet body of water just a few miles inland from the coast. Devil’s Lake State Recreation Area is great for activities such as hiking, cycling, fishing, and kayaking. It’s also a good location for observing wildlife such as deer, elk, raccoons, herons, and bald eagles. Road’s End State Recreation Site is a beautiful beach near Devil’s Lake. At low tide, you can walk around Road’s End Point and discover a secret cove.
3. Neskowin
The town of Neskowin is a few miles up the coast from Lincoln City. Neskowin Beach State Recreation Site has a long, wide sand beach where you can go canoeing, kayaking, and fishing. Several trails lead inland to a verdant rainforest of Sitka spruce, western hemlocks, red alders, and Douglas firs. At low tide, you can see the Neskowin Ghost Forest, the 2000-year-old remains of a submerged Sitka spruce forest that coastal storms exposed. You can also see Proposal Rock, an offshore island bristling with evergreens.
4. Pacific City
Pacific City lies along the Three Capes Scenic Route north of Lincoln City. Its nearby forests encourage outdoor activities such as hiking, cycling, and horseback riding. The adventurous members of your family can try to hang gliding or paragliding. Along the beautiful beach, you can go crabbing, be clamming, or surf fishing. Offshore, you can often catch sight of otters, seals, sea lions, porpoises, and gray whales. At the giant nearby sand dune, popular activities include sand dune climbing and sand boarding.
5. Tierra Del Mar
The town of Tierra Del Mar is 20 miles north of Lincoln City along with a lovely 2-mile stretch of beach. You can stroll or ride a horse along the wide sandy beach to Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area, with its crashing surf and towering offshore sea stack. Hiking trails along the cliff provide spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean and its rugged coast. Popular activities include kite flying and hang gliding.
6. Grand Ronde
Grand Ronde lies northeast of Lincoln City in a forested area on the western slopes of the Oregon Coast Range. The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde own the community, where they operate two casinos and the Chachalu Tribal Museum and Cultural Center. Nearby is the Fort Yamhill State Heritage Area, where you can learn some early history of the Oregon Territory.
7. Depoe Bay
Depoe Bay is a coastal town south of Lincoln City with a small harbor and a long sea wall that runs along the downtown area. At restaurants overlooking the water, you can view the magnificent Pacific Ocean while you dine on salmon, Halibut, and Dungeness crab. The town hosts the Depoe Bay Whale Watching Center, a state park dedicated to assisting visitors who wish to observe the annual whale migration. The center has exhibits that provide information about the whales and binoculars for viewing the passing gray whales, humpback whales, sperm whales, blue whales, and orca.
8. Otter Rock
The town of Otter Rock lies just south of Depoe Bay. Its offshore rocks, a section of the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge, are popular with kayakers, who ply the waters to observe the protected cormorants, brown pelicans, and other marine birds. The wave conditions near a pinnacle called Gull Rock make the town a world-renowned destination for surfers. Nearby is Devil’s Punchbowl State Natural Area, where ocean waves violently churn in a natural bowl in the rock. To the south, Beverly Beach State Park has a long expanse of sandy beach as well as trails for hiking and cycling.
9. North Newport
Vacation Rentals in the portion of the city of Newport north of Yaquina Bay have easy access to Nye Beach, a historic central district full of shops and galleries that are set on a sea cliff. The beach below is great for clamming, crabbing, beachcombing, and tide pool exploration. Yaquina Head Lighthouse, the tallest lighthouse in Oregon, sits on Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area. You can tour the lighthouse and view fascinating exhibits in the interpretive center. Slightly inland, Big Creek Park has boardwalks and trails that take you through beautiful spruce forests and marshlands.
10. South Newport
The area of Newport south of Yaquina Bay hosts some of Oregon’s premier tourist attractions. The main building of the world-class Oregon Coast Aquarium has displays highlighting the coastal ecosystems and a number of temporary exhibits. In the Passages of the Deep exhibit, you walk through transparent tubes surrounded by sea creatures such as sharks, rays, rockfish, and salmon. The aquarium also has the largest seabird aviary in North America and an outdoor exhibit featuring sea lions, seals, otters, and a giant Pacific octopus. The nearby Hatfield Marine Science Center has live marine animals and other exhibits that focus on various aspects of the Pacific Coast environment.