UPDATED: Many Northwesterners still reply "where?," when Bandon comes up in conversations about Oregon Coast destinations. While golfers are tuned in to the world-class Bandon Dunes golf resort, the town of 3,000 named Bandon By The Sea is a six-hour drive south of Seattle, and also a good bit farther from Portland than more popular coastal destinations to the north such as Seaside, Cannon Beach, Lincoln City, Newport and Florence. That's just fine: there's more room for me and my family on the long, deep, sea stack-filled beach in Bandon. It's on what to me is the most scenic stretch of the 320-mile long Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge. Access is off Beach Loop Drive in Bandon.

Simply put, Bandon's beach is not to be missed; and if you don't stay at least a couple of nights in a place on the bluffs above, well, you're just.....really.....blowing it. Hole up in a nice oceanfront efficiency unit with your sweetie (and as many as two kids); maybe try out a larger ocean view/beach bluff rental or stay in Old Town, in a nice guesthouse suite along the Coquille River. And get set for some deep chilling. That's a double-edged admonition. It's pretty cool and often quite windy in Bandon, even on sunny summer days, so bring your fleece pullovers. The great candy store named Cranberry Sweets is still there, the book store too, but the local Bandon Cheese factory and their famous curds are gone; some folks have not yet forgiven corporate parent Tillamook Cheese for the shut-down (see full comment string, here). Bandon Cheese was a great place to visit and the eight jobs mattered in the tough local economy. Additionally, the brand's integrity may indeed have been diluted by Tillamook, although they make some pretty good mass market cheeses.

However, as a Bandon visitor who always rents a place with cooking quarters, I'd be much more concerned if the one truly good local seafood market closed. Thankfully there are no signs of that. The retail market and processing plant of Bandon Pacific Seafoods down at the west end of First Street on the riverfront is the go-to place for fresh fish and seafood, and tasty smoked and packaged goodies. My choice is achingly fresh picked Dungeness crab meat. Make sure to ask for fresh, not previously frozen. I got to taste-test the two there recently, and the difference was huge. They also sell whole cooked Dungeness crabs, if you like making a mess.

I took these pix the day we rolled in to town; naturally we went straight down to the beach after check-in. From the north on Route 101, turn right on 11th St.; it takes you to Beach Loop Drive. You can either drive across Beach Loop Drive right to the end of 11th and park at the Coquille Point overlook, then walk down to the beach (a good idea); or turn left on Beach Loop and cruise a bit until you find a public parking space, and then head down the first public stairway you can find. They're scattered about. Give yourself at least an hour or two to become immersed in the magic.

I'd been to Bandon four times already, my family thrice. So we were looking for some new places to go in addition to the beach. I can make several recommendations as a result. One is to visit the New River Area Of Critical Environmental Concern, south of town. The New River has grown greatly since floods in the 1890s. It runs north, parallel to the Pacific and separated from it only by a wide ridge of dune and beach. Lots of birding here, boating, fishing, and good family-friendly hiking. Follow easy directions here. More background on New River ACEC's habitats and wildlife here. Make sure you check in at the educational/visitors center first, for a trail map and orientation. It's a great place, with lichens and other doo-dads to view under microscopes. The ranger, a fellow from Virginia who had formely worked as a structural engineer, was very knowledgeable. We hiked the entire three-mile loop route, going counter-clockwise from the visitors center, on the Storm Ranch loop trail network. Make sure to take the short branch off the loop to the first river overlook. From there, I took this shot below, looking north up the river.

Though you can't quite see it, the ocean is just a long stone's throw away, up top over the dunes. Later on the loop circuit, make sure to stop at the boat ramp, where there's a picnic table and a different perspective, looking south (below), from the river's banks.

The ranch near New River, the Bandon beach, and (naturally) a shady Californian figured into a historic drug bust in 1977, when WW II-vintage "Duck" boat-vehicles stored at the ranch were used to transport nearly $17 million worth of high-grade pot pressed into so-called "Thai Sticks" from a Panamanian-registered ship lurking offshore near the mouth of the river to the beach in town. The story is detailed here in the online annals of The Oregon State Sherriff's Association. I can almost see the scene unfolding as part of movie (fictional, of course) about sinister doings in this sleepy, easy-to-miss coastal region several miles west of the main through-route (Route 101), and south of Bandon.

Another new discovery for us, again south of Bandon a few miles, was Cape Blanco, where 40 mph winds weed out the wimps fast. There's an historic home well worth touring (it was closed the Monday we came by). It's Hughes House, a late Victorian structure dating to 1898, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A gravel road leads from the house down to to the Sixes River; but after that, get back up on the main road in to Cape Blanco (which is well-marked off Route 101) and go to the end. Just to the left of a gate around the Coast Guard's Cape Blanco lighthouse complex is a short trail leading down to the great beach, where the winds are considerably dimished on the sheltered south side of the Cape.

Here's a shot I took of the path and the beach.

A distant rock formation out in the ocean includes one that looked to me an awful lot like popular images of a whale and tail. Or would that be two-thirds of a Pepperidge Farm Goldfish cracker?

Coming back up from the beach, the Cape Blanco lighthouse falls into view, along with an awful lot of wild onion in the foreground (it's easily mistaken for yarrow - a copy editing and naturalists' tip of the hat to my son Max).

You can tour the Cape Blanco lighthouse.

On the way back to Bandon from Cape Blanco, you'll pass (again) through the small town of Langlois. If it's a clear day, do yourself a big favor and drive east about three miles up Langlois Mountain Road off Route 101, into the high ranch country overlooking the Pacific. The views are pretty colossal. We drove past a place up there on some nice acerage, called The Langlois Mountain Retreat. It's mainly for groups of 14 to 20 at $500/night, but apparently the cabin or other components can sometimes be rented out by smaller groups at lower cost.

Next: Port Orford Heads and Pistol River state parks.

TECHNORATI TAGS: OREGON, OREGON COAST, TOURISM, VACATION, BANDON, LODGINGS, NEW RIVER, CAPE BLANCO, SIXES RIVER, LANGLOIS, BANDON DUNES GOLF, CRANBERRY SWEETS, BANDON CHEESE, TILLAMOOK CHEESE, DUNGENESS CRAB

Posted by Matt Rosenberg at August 4, 2006 09:32 PM