Oregon Coast

If the Oregon Coast is calling your family for a spring road trip, Newport is a good answer. Just two and a half hours from Portland, this friendly fishing town of 10,000 is rich in ways to enjoy the wild creatures of the Pacific Ocean. Strolling along the waterfront, you’ll hear the raucous barking of the sea lions before you see them lolling about on the sunny docks. Stand above and watch them roll their plump, sleek bodies into the water.

This scenic city is home to two lighthouses — including the tallest in Oregon. Oregon’s lighthouses can provide exciting history lessons that are worth exploring. As the seasons change, surf and sand often seem to merge into a golden, sun-burnished moment along the coast. The rocky headland called “Yaquina” (pronounced “Yuh-quinn-uh”), marked for miles by a towering white sentinel on the central Oregon coastline, is a wonder. Once a lonely outpost above rocky cliffs, Yaquina Headland and Lighthouse are anything but lonely on crisp, clear days as tourists wander across some of the most accessible tidepools in the area.