Duration: 8:30 am – 5:30 pm
Departure: Wednesday, Friday
Includes: Professional Tour Guide, Mercedes Sprinter Van, Admission, & Water
Pick up locations and schedule:
Stop #1 – 8:00 am – Valley River Inn (meet in hotel lobby)
Stop #2 – 8:15 am – Hyatt Place Eugene/Oakway Center (meet at ground floor main entrance doors)
Stop #3 – 8:30 am – 5th Street Public Market (meet at rooster fountain in center of main level courtyard)
Private Tour Pricing:
1: $1500.00 per person
2: $750.00 per person
3: $500.00 per person
4: $375.00 per person
5: $300.00 per person
6+: $250.00 per person
TOUR DESCRIPTION
A visit to the Central Oregon Coast is one of the most scenic and dramatic stretches of coastal highway 101. Blessed with sandy beaches, massive headlands, picturesque lighthouses and charming coastal villages, you will experience it all with numerous stops to take it all in!
ITINERARY:
VIEWING OF FERN RIDGE RESERVOIR
Heading west out of Eugene we pass by Fern Ridge Lake, one of the largest Wildlife Refuges in the area known for its birding and recreation. Birding around Veneta is extremely rewarding with its many accessible wildlife areas and parks. Spot Osprey, Bald Eagles, Herons and Belted Kingfishers. The lake is known for hiking the shoreline trails, renting a stand up paddle-board or kayak and paddle the reservoir and marshy creeks.
SEA LION CAVES
Sea Lion Caves is a privately owned wildlife preserve and bird sanctuary (since 1932) centrally located just 11 miles north of Florence on the beautiful and rugged Oregon Coast. Sea Lion Caves is proud to be part of the Oregon/Cape Perpetua Marine Reserve helping to protect the local marine animals and marine environment. Sea Lion Caves is America’s largest sea cave and the year-round home of the Steller sea lion, but sea lions are not always in the Cave. They are wild animals and we are not a zoo so these protected animals come and go as they please, as is their nature.
HECETA HEAD LIGHTHOUSE STATE SCENIC VIEWPOINT
Pronounced “Ha – SEE – Ta” by most, everyone agrees Heceta Head is one of the most beautiful lighthouses in the world. The Heceta Head Lighthouse and Light Keeper’s home are circa 1894. Both are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The lighthouse is a working lighthouse. From a height of 205 feet above the ocean, its “first order” Fresnel lens, casts it’s beams some 21 miles out to sea. It is the brightest light on the Oregon coast. It is said to be the most photographed lighthouse in the United States.
You will have the option to walk the short 1/2 mile trail (150 feet gain) up to the lighthouse, walk on the beach, walk under the Historic McCullough Cape Creek Bridge, or just sit and listen to the rhythmic waves and take in the sea mist of the Pacific Ocean.
TOWN OF YACHATS
Yachats is a small coastal village (pronounced YAH-hots) which name is derived from the Chinook Indian word, Yahuts, meaning “dark waters at the foot of the mountain.” The result is a rough and rugged shores where waves crash and spray unpredictably, crafting odd formations like nearby Cooks Chasm, Thor’s Well and Devil’s Churn. Tide-pooling is one of Yachats best pastimes this small community.
In Yachts you will have several dining options to enjoy lunch along with galleries, boutiques and coffee shops or maybe a little ice cream is in order! If seafood is what you came for, it does not get any fresher from several local restaurants purchasing from local fishermen taking pride in the catch of the day.
SOUTHBOUND SCENIC STOPS
With Yachats being our turn around point, you will now be even more impressed with the vistas as we make our way South to Florence. There will be several stopping opportunities for pictures, short walks, beaches and dramatic geologic formations that may include (all weather permitting):
DEVILS CHURN
CAPE PERPETUA
COOKS CHASM
THORS WELL
BOB CREEK or OCEAN BEACH
TOWN OF FLORENCE
We will visit the Historic Old Town district of this inland coastal village originally built on docks lining the Siuslaw river banks. With Florence’ long time logging and fishing history, it was positioned perfectly between the coastal forest range and the Pacific ocean, taking advantage of the easy river access. Florence and the Siuslaw river is the Northern border of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area spanning 40 miles (60 km) south along the Pacific with dunes as high as 500 feet (150 m). The Oregon Dunes are a unique area of windswept sand that is the result of millions of years of wind and rain erosion on the Oregon Coast. These are the largest expanse of coastal sand dunes in North America. The dunes provide numerous recreational opportunities including off-road vehicle use, hiking, photography, fishing, canoeing, horseback riding, and camping.
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