Hello America!: Oregon Sunset Bay State Park

Sunset Bay - Oregon

The drive from Red Bluff in Northern California to our next site took us up I 5, past Shasta Lake (great spot for a houseboat vacation) up through beautiful mountain scenery and past Mt Shasta - (the highest peak in California). Like most great mountains, on a clear day, you can see Mt Shasta long before you actually arrive at it! White capped and impressive, we were fortunate to see it minus its' cloud cover.

Mt Shasta on a clear day from I 5

I found it interesting that after passing through dense woods and mountainous terrain, and then

climbing and passing by Mt Shasta, the landscape changed dramatically to a level, treeless area that stretched on for miles.

landscape just North of Mt Shasta

This leg of the trip consumed most of the day to cover the 350 miles to our campsite at Sunset Bay State Park. Located just South of Coos Bay, Oregon, SBSP is located right on the Pacific Ocean, the campgrounds are within walking distance of the water and offers several ocean bluff hiking trails amid the towering conifer forest. Our first night we drove up to the town of Coos Bay for a good seafood supper at Shark Bites Café ( crab cake for me, halibut for Cindy), then a brief walk down the street - they have a restored 1925 Art Deco Movie Theater - the Egyptian, which is worth stopping in to see. Still showing movies and offering plays.

Just a short drive Southward from our campsite, Shore Acres is sitting on a bluff above the crashing waters with an unexpected scene - a formal English Garden!

Second site at SBSP site 7

just a few hundred yards from our campsite - Sunset Bay

dramatic views along the coast

Shore Acres - formal garden!

Seaside beauty

Crashing waves as tide rolls in

We hiked around, looked at seals and sea lions and decided to continue our tour of the Oregon coast by heading southward after reading a brochure we picked up at the park kiosk . It turned out to be a great decision. At Bandon, located 20+ miles down US 101, we found a great beach and an awesome dockside restaurant - Tony's Crab Shack. Tony's was that enjoyable that we drove back a few days later to enjoy again!

Bandon beach - bird rookery on rocks

Bandon beach - notice size of driftwood

yellow flowered shrub is Gorse - extremely invasive!!!!

Bandon beach rocks - huge!

this would be great for a beach chair

Bandon on a sunny day

Tony's Crab Shack - really good seafood

Then the weather turned from cloudy and cool to rainy and hail! I awoke to find the entire park covered in white- pea sized hail everywhere. This was not included in the plan! Our original site, site 5 flooded and we could not enter/exit the rig without stepping in several inches of water. We checked with the Park Host to locate an available site and in about 10 minutes we were able to stow items well enough and disconnect power and water be able to move to the neighboring site which sat a bit higher for the rest of our stay.

Our stay at SBSP was half over and there was more to see and do. Monday we headed up the coast towards several more lighthouses, Oregon Dunes National Rec Area and finished with a dinner at the Hill Top in North Bend (recommended by Cindy's cousin Sue). The drive coved about 180 miles round trip and brought us to visit Umpqua River Lighthouse (also a Oregon State Park, the light is still active and run by the Coast Guard) and Heceta Head Lighthouse (awesome location and there is a B&B in the former Lightkeepers Residence) . We checked out several Oregon State Parks in the area as well.

something to pay attention to!

many logging operations

just South of Coos Bay on Oregon 42

This is heavy logging country and they are huge compared to eastern standards - some truck loads are full with 5 logs!

Umpqua Light House flashes red and white - still active

walk to Heceta Lighthouse is 1/2 mile

view from Heceta Light

this does a nice job in explaining how the lens works!

Cindy and I at Heceta Light

Our last day at SBSP was sunny and slightly warmer. We decided to drive back to Bandon for another Tony's Crab Shack lunch, grab some WIFI at the Bandon Library (and check out the used books for sale), back to the beach for a bit and then on down the coast to the oldest town on the Oregon Coast - Port Orford. Cape Blanco SP is located just North of the town and also Cape Blanco Lighthouse. We would consider staying at the State Park if we return to the area. Nice sites. All in all a great area to explore in 4-5 days.

beach at Cape Blanco SP

access road down bluff to beach at Cape Blanco SP

Cape Blanco Lighthouse in distance

This being our first visit to Oregon, we had to comment on an often observed commercial activity

this goes well with the "Need Weed" billboards!

We wrapped up pur visit and headed out to stop for a day at Cindy's cousin Sue's place. This was a one day stop, but we did manage to get in a tour of the Wildlife Safari Park at Winston, Oregon courtesy of Sue and her annual pass! Thanks Sue!