Day 59 - (09/15) Winchester Bay, OR

Today was a combination of exploring and travelling.  We didn't have to check out of the state park until 1pm, so we started by taking a second look at the beach, jetty and bay hidden by fog yesterday.  

Carol's bear is bewildered by our plan for the day.

Here's a fresh look at the tree tunnel to the beach.

South Beach without fog

South Beach is wide, long and very clean.

Gull in flight and fog bank on the horizon.

US-101 crosses this bridge at entrance to Yaquina Bay in Newport

After confirming that the Pacific Ocean and the beach were really there, we hooked-up and headed south.  US-101 gave us wonderful views of the coast.  Constant winds off the ocean have styled the trees and brush; they look like teased hairdos. 

Wind-swept cedars.

Natural wonders appear all along the route.  We saw this Spouting Horn at Crooks Creek.  The tide was out; there was no plume action.

Description of the Spouting Horn

This converging channel causes the spout.

It started to rain when we were at the spouting horn.  Carol spotted this 18" mushroom during the climb up from the shoreline.

Huge mushroom hidden in the underbrush.

We tried to stop at Cape Perpetua and Devil's Churn but had to skip them.  The parking area was very small and the two RV spaces were occupied.  We parked at the Cape Perpetua Visitor Center for lunch.


Many wonderful sights appeared as we continued south.  We captured some and missed many because of intermittent rain or no place to pull off the road.  Here are a few.

Central Oregon coast from US-101

Central Oregon coast from US-101

We camped at Tugman State Park a few miles south of Winchester Bay.  It's a beautiful campground with large, private sites.  We had water and electric service.  The site was cleaned and raked before we arrived.  They had rest rooms, showers, a dump station and a recycling center.  All for $20 per day.

Site C-1 at Tugman State Park

After getting set up, we drove to the Umpqua Lighthouse State Park campground to see what we missed (it was full when we called earlier in the day).  Thank you Umpqua campers ... Tugman is much nicer and less expensive.


We had dinner at Bedrock on the Bay in Winchester Bay.  Their clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl was excellent.


Winchester Bay is a fishing community.  It was interesting to drive around the marina, through the small business district and past some of the residences.


Map Tracks
Start:  South Beach State Park - Newport, Oregon
South on US-101 to Winchester Bay
End:  80 miles @ Tugman State Park - Winchester Bay, Oregon