This botanical garden has become a traditional stop while traveling along highway 101. It's a…read moreperfect place to get out and stretch your legs or use the facilities. The walk to the Cobra Lilies, aka Pitcher Plants isn't long at all, maybe a quarter mile round trip. It's a beautiful walk through trees to a boardwalk through the Darlingtonia garden. We've never been when they're in bloom, but they are definitely something interesting to see any time of year. I would highly recommend!

If you are headed to Honeyman or Heceta, this reserve is just one minute off the side of Highway…read more101 between those two parks. Darlingtonia is the only Oregon State Park dedicated to protecting one single species: the Darlingtonia. The only plant in this species is the Cobra Lily, which is the only pitcher plant native to Oregon. (In other words, this state park exists to protect the cobra lilies that grow here.) The reserve is small, but definitely worth checking out. A short accessible boardwalk crosses a bog filled with several hundred, if not a few thousand, cobra lilies. The 'pitcher' part of the plant, which is the part that resembles a cobra, is visible year round. In spring, it puts up yellow and purple flowers. Many of these flowers dry in place, and are still somewhat visible in winter. Even without the flowers in bloom, the pitchers themselves are neat and pretty to look at. There is no fee to visit Darlingtonia. The small parking area only has room for about ten cars or so, but it takes less than fifteen minutes to walk through.

Beautiful views! This beach makes you earn the views lots of switchbacks. No dogs during snowy…read moreplover season. Nice spot for a picnic

Oregon Dunes Overlook and Day Use Area is a great place to get a view of the sand dunes and hike to…read morethe beach without any ATV noise nearby. A fully paved half mile trail leads to a wooden overlook of the dunes. From there, it's an unpaved mile through the sand dunes to the beach. Usually, from the beach, you can hike a couple of miles south to Tahkenitch, but currently, there is no access to Tahkenitch due to erosion from a recent King Wave. I hiked along the beach for a while anyway, and was stunned to see not only the amount of seashells I might have seen along the California coast thirty five years ago-- but really cool rocks, including some that looked like agates and jasper. Even though one might think there isn't much life out on the desert like dunes, I actually found plenty. There were lots of coyote and deer tracks, succulents, ladybugs, beetles, and even some February flowers that almost looked like orange poppies. Once I hiked far enough down the beach, I even caught a glimpse of some snowy plovers flying by me. Hiking through sand is a little bit harder than it looks, so, the hike back up the dune to the platform was the hardest part of this endeavor. Parking was either $5 or free-- I can't remember since I have a pass, and it's definitely free with a pass. There is a restroom in the parking lot, but it's either closed for the season, or only unlocked very limited hours.

This section of the park is belong to the Neptune State Park. It located at mile marker 169 of…read morePacific Coast Highway 101. It has pull out circular driveway which made parking easy. The best part of the area to visit is to walk down cross sandy ditch towards the rock if you can reach it. On the far side of the rock you can see some seal take refuge there. They are stretching out their body for sun tan. It is to see what they doing on the rock. The most interesting of the park is walk on the rock and see the trap water that have sea life in it. This happens on the low tide and all this shallow sea life still attach to the rock. Some of them just move in to the trap pool of the rock. We saw a lot of green anemones and star fish. The come in different shape and color. I like to touch the tentacles of the anemone. They are suck to finger. Some of the sea crab trap in it and become their meal.

Great place to check out the tide pools, sometimes you can catch the seals sunning on the beach…read more Great view point on the central coast.

Such a stunner this one! Oregon has a great coastline but this one comes with a side of light…read morehouse. Devils elbow state park isn't just a fun name it's a beautiful location to have picnic and enjoy the sandy shoreline.

On our way to Newport, we decided to take the scenic route to Oregon coast via 101. We were…read moreenjoying the nice coastal view but didn't have the chance to stop because it was getting late for us to reach our destination. Until we saw a lighthouse from a distance and decided to check it out. We took a turn and saw lots of cars parked near the bridge where we were at. From the parking lot, we were greeted by an amazing view of the beach and a lovely structure perched on top of a hill. We found out that this structure used to be the lighthouse keeper's house which is now into converted into a bed and breakfast. Unfortunately, the lighthouse is nowhere to be seen. We were told that we needed to hike up a half mile to reach it. As I have mentioned earlier, it was starting to get dark so we ditched the idea. I hope someday, I'll be able to go back to stay in this B&B and hike up to the lighthouse.

Wonderful stop along highway 101 between Florence and Yachats. Instead of going up to the Cape…read morePerpetua Visitors Center, we stopped at the small lot by the information placards and wooden bridge right off the highway. The parking area can only hold about 4 vehicles. It's about a half mile to spouting horn from the little parking area. The trail is a loop and takes you right back to the bridge. There are plenty of photo opportunities along the trail. The trail is paved and well-maintained. There are no restrooms along this trail. If you need a restroom, you will need to go up to the the visitors center. Come during high tide for the most dramatic spouts and splashes. Highly recommend.

Did not come at high tide, however it was still a wonderful stop. The weather was beautiful but a…read moretad windy.

Beautiful small park but nothing about the 'splodin' whale. Not even a plaque or nuthin'. Give the…read morepeople what they are here for -- a true homage to the event. Pretty views to the sand dunes and bridge

This park is named after the November 1970 incident of an exploding whale (although not the site of…read morethe original event). This is a calm park with a sandy beach and a small trail. Dogs are allowed.

I love the Suislaw National Forest; it's one of my favorites in Oregon. And this wilderness area is…read morethe best thing about it. It's easily accessed by taking the Coast Hiking Trail to the junction with either the Gwynn Creek or Cummins Creek trails. Either one will take you through the only stand of old growth Sitka spruce in the entire Oregon wilderness system --a truly incredible sight, especially if you know what a typical adult spruce should look like. These are unbelievable 10-foot-wide beasts! There's also a convenient primitive campground near the end of the forest road (there will be another trailhead marker nearby), which is manageable even in wintertime; I was there just after Christmas, and it was fine with the right gear.

Many waterfalls and swimming holes along this amazing and shaded trail…read more Love mossy rocks? How about lush ferns? How do you feel about cascading water? Do you enjoy dipping your feet into cold water on a hot summer day? Or how about swimming among giant redwood trees? If any of this sounds appealing you need to visit Sweet Creek Falls. We came in the middle of summer and it was the perfect way to spend an afternoon hiking, meditating, and swimming. There are 11 waterfalls ranging in size and close to 2.5 miles all together of shaded trails to explore, rustic bridges included. This was definitely one of the highlights of our trip to Oregon last summer. Know before you go: Parking lots at each trailhead. Super stinky bathroom located only at Homestead Trailhead. Dog friendly. And most importantly FREE! *Don't be surprised to see topless women swimming. We all have breasts and it's a beautiful thing to be free especially in a place like this. If this bothers you just look away. *Don't use Yelp directions as they'll take you to the wrong place. Use Google instead. I've reported this several times but like nearly everything I report Yelp ignores it. And Happy Earth Day! If you haven't discovered what nature can do for your soul I highly recommend getting away from the daily grind, turning your phone off, and just enjoying what places like this can do for you. It's truly magical.

Awesome trail with multiple waterfalls. Trails were nice and clear of debris and branches. A few…read morespots with bigger rocks, roots, and water. Gorgeous scenery! There are so many photo opportunities. Many different bridges along the trail allow you to walk over the water. There is a part of the trail where you have to walk through a small stream. I wasn't wearing the proper gear and didn't want wet shoes and socks, so we headed back at that point and headed towards the upper parking lot. The upper trail still had snow on the ground, and the parking area was pretty soggy. Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our time here. We would love to come back again during a drier season. Highly recommend!