Birds, Beer & Treasure: 3 Unusual Oregon Coast Spring Activities

The Oregon Coast offers a variety of unusual spring activities sure to captivate and enchant. This year, partake in one of these three remarkable activities and uncover the flavor and diversity of west coast life.

April and May offer some of the best migratory bird watching you’ll see in North America. We’re not talking about a few feathered friends, but pods of pelicans, convocations of eagles, and volts of vultures. The entire coastline teems with a myriad of aviary amigos. During breeding season, they’re also sporting their most colorful plumage.

Birding is a combination of sleuthing, analytical skills, and intimate interaction with nature. You don’t need a license and you see these spectacular creatures in their natural habitat. It’s the perfect activity to get away from the hustle and bustle for a few hours or even a weekend.

The Birding & Blues Festival in Pacific City is your go-to event if you want to learn about birding and birds. You can hook up with an experienced birder, watch presentations, or enjoy great blues music. You can also tour area capes, or venture out on a field or kayak trip. The festival runs April 29th through May 1st.

Later in May, bring your dog and venture into Newport for the 10th Annual Brewer’s Memorial Ale Fest on May 21st. This dog-friendly event pays homage to the Rogue’s Brewery’s founding dog; Brewer. It’s the largest dog-beer festival in the world. Last year 3,200 people and 810 dogs attended.

You’re able to sample over 50 microbrews on tap and listen to live music, but your pooch never sit on the sidelines. This fun, interactive dog festival includes doggie musical chairs, dog dances, and your pooch can vie for top prize in the celebrity dog look-alike contest. No one can say the Oregon Coast is boring!

Did you know you can search for treasure on the Oregon Coast too? Florence is now part of the world geocaching network. If you don’t know what geocaching is, think treasure hunting using GPS. You set out to find a set of coordinates and hidden treasure. You never know what’s inside until you find it, and if you take something out you must leave something of greater value!

Geocaches vary from easy-to-find to complex, with clues or puzzles to solve to locate the treasure. In the Florence area, you could scale sand dunes, peer over ocean cliffs or wander down miles of sandy beaches pursuing the elusive geocache. You might ramble through Florence’s historic Old Town or explore a hidden trail around a coastal lake. Some geocaches are also underwater, so the diverse tidal pools along the coast are fair game too.

The Florence area has 36 caches, but you only need to find 24 to “officially” complete the tour. Beginner geocachers can visit the Adventure Center to garner tips and tricks for success.

When you’re in the area, you’ll want to stay in comfortable accommodations. We offer beachfront condos with all the amenities in nearby Depoe Bay. The Oregon Coast is your destination for remarkable spring adventures.

Thanksgiving Tradition #1 – Finders Keepers

Lincoln City, Finders Keepers

Since 1997, Finders Keepers has drawn tens of thousands of tourist to the beaches of Lincoln City in a quest to find glass floats hidden along the 7-1/2 miles of beach stretching from Siletz Bay to the Roads End area.  These glass floats were created by local and national artists and are individually numbered and signed.

During the Thanksgiving holiday, a special glass drop of 100 art pieces is set to occur starting November 27th. Guest staying in our Lincoln City vacation condos are ideally located near one of the convenient beach access points where the search for one of these brilliantly-colored glass floats can begin.

Some of the best spots to search are north of the access point towards Cascade Head.  Hand-crafted floats can be found between the tide line and the beach embankment.  Floats are often hidden behind or inside driftwood or in between the long shafts of brush grass that line the embankment.  Floats will never be found in or on the cliffs.

Whether or not you are able to find a glass float, the fun, and excitement of searching for and potentially finding one of these unique pieces of art has quickly become a tradition for many who visit the Oregon Coast and Lincoln City during the Thanksgiving holiday.

For more information about Finder Keepers and the artists who create the floats, please visit www.oregoncoast.org/finders-keepers

Thanksgiving: Not Just a Day in the Year, but the Start of the Holiday Season

For many, Thanksgiving is not just a day in the 365 that make up the calendar year.  It is instead the start of a wonderful, and often busy, holiday season that ends with the ringing in of a New Year.

Along the Oregon Coast, many families and friends have started the tradition of celebrating Thanksgiving with not only the iconic family dinner and subsequent football game on TV but also with beautiful views of a sunset over the water and long walks along Lincoln City’s seven miles of beach. 

Over the next couple of weeks, we are going to post ideas and suggestions of things to do and see that may one day become your family’s Thanksgiving tradition and the beginning to a memorable holiday season.

Spring is in Full Bloom at the Oregon Coast!

Come celebrate spring on the Oregon Coast!

Take advantage of our great rates and beautiful units and while you are at the beach, take some time to relax, unwind and enjoy the Spring activities in full bloom.  Lincoln City is having its annual Community Days April 22-26th. There are activities to keep all ages entertained. Several of the activities are centrally located and within a short drive of our Lincoln City Vacation Rentals.

This Monday stop by the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology in Otis to enjoy a Former Sitka Center artist-in-residence, Annette Bauer, as she teams up with fellow Cirque du Soleil bandmate Joshua Geisler for a free concert of musical exploration. The concert starts at 6 pm and the address is 56605 Sitka Drive. For more information feel free to call them at 541-994-5485.

If you are staying in one of our Depoe Bay vacation rentals take a scenic drive to Newport on Thursday night for the “Anton in Show Business” featured at the Newport Performing Arts Center.

 

Lincoln City Kite Festival

Looking for fun things to do on the Oregon Coast this fall? Check out the annual fall Lincoln City Kite Festival on October 5-6.

Join the adult’s or kid’s kite making workshops (the kid’s workshop is free!), watch the big show kites, win raffle prizes, enjoy a parade and more.

Need a place to stay? Enjoy the Kite Festival along with the many amenities of our beautiful oceanfront condos in Lincoln City, OR.