Art and Eats in Bandon

December 20, 2022 by Leave a Comment

Bandon has a cute, very walkable downtown in their Old Town district, located in a marina area just off of Oregon Coast Highway Highway 101 S. You can easily see where to pull of from 101 thanks to two Old Town arches you can see right from the highway. You can find street parking and there are several free visitor lots as well. One of the compelling reasons to stay or at least stop and wander here in the Old Town District is that you can find a good mix of art and eats in Bandon beyond just the usual handful of small local stores for souvenirs and local crafts, and it’s super walkable. Also the art is FREE to enjoy! Here are my favorite picks.
Bandon Art and Eats: Annual Port of Bandon Boardwalk Art Show Bandon Art and Eats: Annual Port of Bandon Boardwalk Art Show Bandon Art and Eats: Annual Port of Bandon Boardwalk Art Show Bandon Art and Eats: Washed Ashore Gallery, not only creating striking sea life sculptures created from ocean debris, but volunteers help to gather the material via beach cleanup efforts and hope to raise awareness globally about pollution in the ocean and to spark positive changes Bandon Art and Eats: Washed Ashore Gallery, not only creating striking sea life sculptures created from ocean debris, but volunteers help to gather the material via beach cleanup efforts and hope to raise awareness globally about pollution in the ocean and to spark positive changes

Art in Bandon

There is a unique, family-friendly, interactive and educational and FREE art gallery that you can find in Bandon- the Washed Ashore Gallery. This is one of two galleries they have (the other is in Coos Bay), and the specialty here is “art to save the sea” by teaching environmental issues in an engaging way through the arts. The efforts of non-profit Washed Ashore, include not only creating striking sea life sculptures created from ocean debris, but volunteers help to gather the material via beach cleanup efforts and create curriculum to help educate and inspire, and provide volunteer opportunities to get involved in the art creation. Founded in 2010, they hope to raise awareness globally about pollution in the ocean and to spark positive changes. You may have even seen some examples of their art in other locations as part of commissions or traveling exhibitions.
Bandon Art and Eats: Washed Ashore Gallery, not only creating striking sea life sculptures created from ocean debris, but volunteers help to gather the material via beach cleanup efforts and hope to raise awareness globally about pollution in the ocean and to spark positive changes Bandon Art and Eats: Washed Ashore Gallery, not only creating striking sea life sculptures created from ocean debris, but volunteers help to gather the material via beach cleanup efforts and hope to raise awareness globally about pollution in the ocean and to spark positive changes Bandon Art and Eats: Washed Ashore Gallery, not only creating striking sea life sculptures created from ocean debris, but volunteers help to gather the material via beach cleanup efforts and hope to raise awareness globally about pollution in the ocean and to spark positive changes Bandon Art and Eats: Washed Ashore Gallery, not only creating striking sea life sculptures created from ocean debris, but volunteers help to gather the material via beach cleanup efforts and hope to raise awareness globally about pollution in the ocean and to spark positive changes

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Easy Guide to Samuel Boardman Scenic Corridor

November 3, 2022 by 4 Comments

The Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor is an iconic area of the Oregon Coast and is a state park that you can travel to between Bandon and Brookings offering miles of rock formations among lush green forests with cliff overlooks, sea stacks and arch formations, and quiet beaches. And, it’s all free- no park pass needed. You can make this a day trip as it is just a 2 hour drive between these two seaside towns, but expect to add on a few hours with the many scenic stops and hikes available before and within Samuel Boardman State Park. Even if you do not want to do much hiking, it is still worth a visit as most viewpoints are easy accessible right along the corridor that you can park and do very short walks to viewpoints. Here’s my guide to Samuel H Boardman Scenic Corridor based on my day trip. This was a leisurely drive from after sleeping in and breakfast and first walking Circle in the Sands, to a lunch to go, no hike more then 30 minutes roundtrip, and then returning back to Bandon with a stop at Prehistoric Gardens, all in time for watching sunset at Coquille Point.
Guide to Samuel H Boardman Scenic Corridor: Secret Beach Guide to Samuel H Boardman Scenic Corridor: Secret Beach

I covered Circle in the Sands and the sunset views at Coquille Point already at the linked posts, so this post will focus on my take on a guide to the Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor iconic views, whimsy nostalgia of the Prehistoric Gardens experience, along with a lunch with a famous hot dog!

Don’t worry whether the weather is sunny which will look beautiful with blue skies and blue seas in your views, or if it is a gloomy grey day that is also IMHO atmospheric: I think all weather conditions make the scenic viewpoints look special. I recommend driving from north to south for the trip so you are always pulling to the right side into the viewpoints.
Guide to Samuel H Boardman Scenic Corridor: Secret Beach Guide to Samuel H Boardman Scenic Corridor: Natural Bridges

A Famous Oregon Coast Hot Dog

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Sunset at Coquille Point

July 26, 2022 by 5 Comments

I covered how breathtaking the scenery is of the sea and sand and sea stacks and reflections in my last post focusing on the area close to Face Rock Scenic Viewpoint. Coquille Point is not that far away – we walked here from our Sunset Oceanfront Lodging in less then 10 minutes. Despite the small distance the view here is very different, and I would recommend a sunset at Coquille Point as among the most beautiful in the Oregon Coast.
Coquille Point in Bandon

Coquille Point is similar to Face Rock Viewpoint in that it is an area of an elevated cliff area that looks down to a beach with sea stacks. But the feel is remarkably changed because the rock formations here are much larger with a few smaller stacks scattered. One of the formations is nicknamed Table Rock because of its large flat surface. The path down to this area from the bluff is stunning with wildflowers and a perfectly placed bench.
Coquille Point in Bandon looking at path towards Table Rock Coquille Point in Bandon looking at path towards Table Rock

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Sunrise and Moonset at Face Rock Viewpoint

July 5, 2022 by Leave a Comment

Every year, I plan one trip to the Oregon Coast where it coincides with minus tides, which is when the tide tables are measured in the negative two feet. This gives us the bonus of also adding really excellent tide pooling to our seaside adventures. I’ve shared some incredible spots in the past with the tide pools of Haystack Rock and the Neskowin Ghost Forest being revealed. This year the timing of the Strawberry Supermoon also coincided with minus tide (in this case -2.5 feet in Bandon). This meant a juxtaposition of a 8.26 feet high tide, so a 12 foot swing high to low tide in the span of seven hours. We would be able to enjoy low tides, sunrise and moonset at Face Rock Viewpoint with the iconic sea stacks here.
Sunrise at Face Rock Viewpoint in Bandon, Oregon as dawn approaches Sunrise at Face Rock Viewpoint in Bandon, Oregon as dawn approaches

Where To Stay

Waking up for sunrise is early in Daylight Savings Time in June – sunrise is around 5:30 in the morning. Add to that if we wanted to see the full moon, we needed to be up earlier then that before the sun’s rays brought too much light to the sky. A supermoon is called so because the moon is at its closest orbit to earth, so can appear larger and brighter then other full moons – the best time to see this is when it is rising or setting closer to the horizon. You will have to wait until it gets quite late and dark enough to see the moon during the summer long days, or you might want to use blue hour – the time before sunrise, where you can capture the mood when the blue color spectrum is most prominent, about when the Sun is between 4-8° below the horizon.

In Bandon we decided to stay at Sunset Oceanfront Lodging since it was the closest to Face Rock Viewpoint, so close that we could just look out the window and see it right there. This multi-generation family-owned business offers some oceanfront views with balconies, a small fridge and microwave helped us with managing food (in particular cold beverages in the morning) and restaurant leftovers, and that view and easy walking access sold us. I mean look at the view from our balcony towards Face Rock and towards Coquille Point! We stayed in the Vern Brown Addition, so there were stairs that led directly to the beach from there.
Sunset Oceanfront Lodging standard King Room at the Vern Brown Addition Sunset Oceanfront Lodging standard King Room at the Vern Brown Addition, view towards Face Rock from our balcony Sunset Oceanfront Lodging standard King Room at the Vern Brown Addition, view towards Elephant Rock and Coquille Point from our balcony

In our room there was a broom and dustpan to manage the sand that inevitably gets tracked in, very thoughtful. Some of the rooms offered a fireplace also. Depending on which part of the motel you stay in, the rooms may be pet-friendly though our unit at the Vern Addition was not. Sunset Motel does offer a pool and hot tub, though we didn’t use it.

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Circles in the Sand at the Oregon Coast

June 29, 2022 by 2 Comments

I always like to plan one of the trips to the Oregon Coast, only a few hours away from Portland, during the minus tides (low tides so low that it is measured negatively on the tide charts), and last year a photographer we talked to briefly while visiting the Neskowin Ghost Forest I posted about last year shared recommended Bandon for the minus tides. This year the Strawberry Supermoon also coincided with minus tide (in this case -2.5 feet in Bandon) and having it juxtaposition a 8.26 feet high tide, and a 12 foot swing high to low in the span of seven hours, sealed the deal for our Bandon trip. We visited the area for 4 days (staying 3 nights), which also gave us time to experience other southern Oregon coast activities. I will share a few posts on that, and this first one starts out with Circles in the Sand at the Oregon Coast.
Circles in the Sand at the Oregon Coast - looking down at the labyrinth from Face Point Scenic Viewpoint in Bandon draw from June 16 2022 Circles in the Sand at the Oregon Coast - looking down at the labyrinth from Face Point Scenic Viewpoint in Bandon draw from June 17 2022

Bandon, Oregon Coast

Did you know about Circles in the Sand on the Oregon Coast? Usually drawn at Face Rock Scenic Viewpoint in Bandon Oregon, this free labyrinth was inspired by founder Denny Dyke’s walking meditations. Now in its 8th season in 2022, each labyrinth or what they also call “dreamfield” are available only until the tide comes in. Each labyrinth is unique, drawn freehand and organically. I was able to visit the two different days of June 16 and 17th. They are created by Face Rock Scenic Viewpoint. Here’s a glimpse of some of the sand art.
Circles in the Sand at the Oregon Coast at Face Point Scenic Viewpoint in Bandon, draw from June 16 2022 Circles in the Sand at the Oregon Coast at Face Point Scenic Viewpoint in Bandon, draw from June 17 2022 Circles in the Sand at the Oregon Coast at Face Point Scenic Viewpoint in Bandon, draw from June 17 2022

I particularly enjoyed taking photos of some of the sand art with Face Rock and the Cat and Kittens rock formations in the background. Can you see the face – it is an upturned face of an Indian princess, so goes the legend, with her hair flowing on the left side downward. To the right some call those scatterings of rocks together the Cat and Kittens, which were with the princess when she became trapped by the sea.
Circles in the Sand at the Oregon Coast - looking down at the labyrinth from Face Point Scenic Viewpoint in Bandon, draw from June 16 2022 Circles in the Sand at the Oregon Coast - looking down at the labyrinth from Face Point Scenic Viewpoint in Bandon, draw from June 16 2022 Circles in the Sand at the Oregon Coast - looking down at the labyrinth from Face Point Scenic Viewpoint in Bandon, draw from June 16 2022 Circles in the Sand at the Oregon Coast - looking down at the labyrinth from Face Point Scenic Viewpoint in Bandon draw from June 17 2022

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