18 Fun Things to Do in Yachats, Oregon
Surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and the Siuslaw National Forest, the small town of Yachats (unexpectedly pronounced YAH-hots) is a perfect home base for adventures on the central Oregon Coast. Besides being only minutes away from the crashing waves of Cape Perpetua, you can also find plenty to explore in town from scenic parks to delicious food. Here are the things you won’t want to miss when visiting Yachats, Oregon.
Sea thrift blooms along the 804 Trail in spring
1. Walk along the 804 trail
Distance: 1.7 miles out and back
Elevation: Minimal
Difficulty: Easy
Pass required: None
Dog friendly: Yes, leashed dogs are welcome on the trail.
Amenities: Restrooms at Smelt Sands State Recreation Site and Yachats State Recreation Area.
ADA access: The trail is unpaved but some sections are flat, wide, and even.
Bench on the 804 Trail
The stunning 804 Trail is a small stretch of the Oregon Coast Trail that follows the Yachats coastline. Although right in town, this short hike from Yachats State Park to Tillicum Beach offers a great introduction to the rocky shores of the central Oregon Coast. At high tide, waves crash against the rocks next to the trail. Low tide reveals excellent tidepool life. You can get down to the rocks at various points along the trail to see the clams and sea stars up close, but proceed with caution and watch for waves while you’re there. Frequent benches along the way encourage a relaxed pace with time to watch for whales and birds.
Clams and sea stars cling to the rocks at Smelt Sands State Recreation Site
2. Low tide at Smelt Sands State Recreation Site
Pass required: None
Dog friendly: Yes, leashed dogs are welcome in the park.
Amenities: Restrooms and benches.
ADA access: Potentially. The trail from the parking lot is unpaved but flat and even. There are great views from the trail but getting down to the beach at low tide means navigating steep and uneven terrain.
Almost anywhere on Yachat’s rocky shoreline is a great choice for seeing intertidal life. Summer is especially good for tide pooling since the ocean tends to be calmer and the lowest tides happen during daylight hours. The lower the tide, the better for spotting intertidal critters. Negative numbers on a tide table are ideal. Smelt Sands Recreation Site is located around the halfway point on the 804 Trail and has beach access. The sands of the beach are exposed at low tide and are limited to small pockets between large rocks. Look for gooseneck barnacles, anemones, clams, and sea stars in tidepools and clinging to rocky walls.
An intriguing hole in the basalt at Yachats State Recreation Area
3. Yachats State Recreation Area
Pass required: None
Dog friendly: Yes, leashed dogs are welcome in the park.
Amenities: Restrooms and benches.
ADA access: Yes, if you stick to views from above.
Yachats State Recreation Area has the feeling of a mini-Cape Perpetua thanks to the captivating rock formations that form its coast. Basalt plateaus extend out into the water where surging waves cover them only to recede as graceful rivulets over the rough stone. In the center of this basalt shore is a broken staircase to nowhere, a reminder of the power of these waves. My favorite feature is a circular hole in the rugged stone that acts like a viewing window for the waves rushing over the smooth cobbles below. At low tide, you can explore the rocks near the water to find anemones in the tidepools. At high tide, there is a fenced viewpoint that is the perfect spot to watch for whales during the day or see the sun setting in the evening. All the while, you’re only about a block or two from the restaurants of Yachats.
The celestial snail from Bread & Roses Bakery
4. Try the pastries at Bread & Roses Bakery
Bread & Roses Bakery is a well-known Oregon Coast destination that lives up to the hype. Expect to see a line there on weekend days during the summer. If you’re in town from Thursday - Sunday, stop by and try out the tempting selection of croissants, danishes, turnovers, muffins, and bread. The celestial snail in particular is worth the stop, with its lovely combination of fresh berries, tangy lemon curd, and rich pastry shell made in-house. Besides sweets, I went around opening time and got a fresh loaf of bread still warm from the oven. Bread & Roses doesn’t have on-site seating so take your breakfast to go, perhaps a couple of blocks away to Yachats Community Park.
Yachats Brewing
5. Have lunch or dinner at Yachats Brewing
Although a small town, Yachats has a surprisingly good restaurant scene. My favorite spot is Yachats Brewing which comes through with both delicious food and beer. Expect creative dishes with tons of flavor like lion’s mane cakes and kimchi kraut. The tap list has a little of everything from NW-style IPAs to stouts to ciders and meads.
If you’re staying for a while, there are plenty of other great choices. Try out Luna Sea Fish House to have fish and chips while listening to live music. For a special occasion, expect a fine dining experience at Ona Restaurant. For a crowd-pleasing brunch, head to Drift Inn and check out their huge menu as well as the colorful umbrellas hanging from the ceiling. If you’re lucky enough to visit on a nice day, consider a beer on the patio overlooking Yachats Bay at Yachats Underground Pub & Grub.
Eurasian cave bear skeleton at Styx, Stones n’ Bones
6. Styx, Stones n’ Bones
I don’t often get excited about shopping while being this close to the Pacific Ocean, but Styx, Stones n’ Bones is an exception. The shop has about every rock, mineral, and crystal imaginable, as well as fossils of long-extinct creatures with magical-sounding Latin names. Make sure to look for the Eurasian cave bear skeleton in the corner surrounded by geodes as large as the shop’s golden retriever, Zoose. You may also find a cat napping in a box of amethysts as you browse. Need more rocks? Head down the road to check out Planet Yachats, the 1000-person town’s second rock shop.
The unofficial greeter of Styx, Stones n’ Bones
Green Salmon Coffee Co.
7. Stroll through town and visit the shops
Much of the charm of Yachats is its walkable downtown that never gets too far away from the ocean. You can stop in for coffee and a bagel at Green Salmon Coffee Co., shop for souvenirs at Yachats Mercantile and Just Local, pick up a new or used paperback at Books and More, and have ice cream at Toppers Ice Cream and Candy all within a few blocks. If you’re visiting on a Sunday from mid-May until October, stop by the Yachats Farmers Market for fresh produce, snacks, and local art.
Gerdemann Botanical Preserve
8. Ya’Xaik Trail
Distance: 1-mile loop
Elevation: 150 feet
Difficulty: Easy
Pass required: None
Dog friendly: Mostly. Leashed dogs are welcome on the Ya’Xaik Trail but not in the Gerdemann Botanical Preserve. A sign just before the preserve will point toward an alternate route for dog walkers.
ADA access: No
The Ya’Xaik trail is one of the newer hiking trails on the Oregon Coast. It winds through the dense coastal forest on the east side of Yachats and is easy to combine with the nearby 804 Trail if, like me, you find yourself missing the water. The trail’s name comes from the Alsea language in honor of the people who lived in the area before the arrival of Euroamerican settlers. The language has sadly been lost and the trail’s name is pronounced yah-khik by best approximation. Interpretive information along the Ya’Xaik Trail commemorates the history of the area’s native people.
To find the trailhead, look for the turn onto Diversity Drive from Highway 101 at the north end of town. You will enter the parking lot for an apartment complex. Don’t be discouraged by this unpromising entrance, things get better. Continue until the end of the parking lot and you’ll reach a few designated parking spots for hikers. The trailhead is next to these parking spots. The trail is well-maintained with many stairs along the way. Towards the end of the hike, you’ll reach a gate that marks the entrance to the Gerdemann Botanical Preserve, a privately-owned garden that allows access to the public. The garden has many unusual plants along its thickly-vegetated trails. In late spring and early summer, look for rhododendrons blooming.
After the garden, you’ll walk past some shops including a few art galleries. From here, you’ll need to walk about 0.2 miles along the side of Highway 101 to return to the parking area, which is the one downside of this hike.
Mitsou the cat at Earthworks Gallery
9. Visit an art gallery
If you hike the Ya’Xaik Trail through the Gerdemann Botanical Preserve, you’ll walk past a trio of art galleries on your way back to the car: Earthworks, Wave, and Touchstone Galleries. Even if you don’t pass by as part of a hike, the art galleries in Yachats are fun stops with a variety of offerings like paintings, photography, glasswork, ceramics, and jewelry, often by local artists. You can find an appealing mix of products and prices here, including some pieces that would make good thank-you gifts for your pet sitter. If you’re lucky, you may meet Mitsou the cat who kindly showed me around Earthworks Gallery during my visit.
Mitsou is a welcoming store greeter
Elderberry along the boardwalk trails in Yachats Community Park
10. Yachats Community Park & Wetlands
While most of the parks in Yachats are on its dramatic rocky coastline, Yachats Community Park is a tucked-away spot in the center of town with boardwalk trails through a wetland area. Instead of ocean waves, expect to hear songbird calls from all directions. Benches along the trail are perfect for watching the park’s impressive variety of birds like herons, ducks, hawks, goldfinches, robins, spotted towhees, Steller’s jays, and redwing blackbirds. You can also find many native plant species here, including some massive Sitka spruce trees. If you’re missing the ocean, it’s only about a block or two to the west, and the trails at the community park are an easy add-on to the coastal 804 Trail. For those traveling with kids, look for the playground at the southeast corner of the park next to the picnic shelter.
Yachats Ocean Road State Natural Site
11. Yachats Ocean Road State Natural Site
Pass required: None
Dog friendly: Yes
Amenities: Benches, picnic area
ADA access: The beach and views of the bay are easily visible from the road, although getting down to the beach is a bit of a scramble.
Yachats Ocean Road State Natural Site is a stretch of coastline on the south side of Yachats Bay. It is a place you will only find if you go looking for it, as parking is limited to a few roadside spots in a low-profile residential neighborhood. The rocks on the beach are great places to find tidepool life at low tide, but this beach also has the most sand of any of those in town. Across the bay, you’ll see views of Yachats and the Yachats State Recreation Site. To the east, look for the Yachats River emptying into the ocean.
Devil’s Churn
12. Devil’s Churn
Pass required: Northwest Forest Pass required, $5/day. There are a few 15-minute spots that you can use without a fee if you just want to have a quick look at the viewpoint.
Dog friendly: Yes, leashed dogs are welcome on the trails.
Amenities: Restrooms
ADA access: The viewpoint is accessible. Park in the upper parking lot.
Just south of Yachats, you can find some of the most dramatic geologic features on the Oregon Coast. The first of these is Devil’s Churn, a long, narrow chasm where the waves of the Pacific pound against walls of eroded basalt. The Devil’s Churn is most impressive during high tide when the waves are at their most powerful. You can admire Devil’s Churn from above at the overlook next to the parking lot or take the short (about 0.25-mile) trail down to the walls of the churn. You may see sea stars clinging to these walls despite the crashing waves, a testament to the strength of their grippy appendages.
Cape Perpetua Lookout viewpoint
13. Drive or hike up to the Cape Perpetua Lookout
Pass required: Northwest Forest Pass, $5/day.
Dog friendly: Yes, leashed dogs are allowed on the trails.
Amenities: Restrooms and picnic tables.
ADA access: Limited. There are uneven areas and some steeper grades on the trail out to the viewpoint and stone shelter. See here for details.
The Cape Perpetua Lookout is the highest overlook you can drive to on the Oregon Coast and the views from its 800-foot elevation are spectacular. Looking south, you’ll see the craggy coastline of the Cape Perpetua Marine Reserve and the tall headlands made of Yachats Basalt. If you look closely, you can see Devil’s Churn and even Thor’s Well from here, looking deceptively tiny. With the ocean visible for miles around, the lookout is a great place to watch for whales.
A short, 0.2-mile loop trail will bring you from the parking area to a viewpoint framed by a stone wall and then to a picturesque stone shelter. If you’re feeling up for an adventure, you can also hike to this viewpoint on the 7.4-mile out-and-back Amanda Trail. This trail honors the somber history of Amanda De Cuys, a blind Coos woman who was forcibly relocated in the 1860s by a strenuous march over dozens of miles of difficult terrain. A statue of Amanda on the trail remembers her life and her ordeal during the relocation. The beautiful hike that commemorates this sad history begins at Yachats Ocean Road and ends at the stone shelter at Cape Perpetua Lookout.
Thor’s Well
14. Thor’s Well and other geological curiosities at Cape Perpetua Scenic Area
Distance: 0.6-mile loop
Elevation: 100 feet
Difficulty: Easy
Pass required: NW Forest Pass, $5/day.
Dog friendly: Yes, leashed dogs are welcome on the trails.
Amenities: Restrooms at the Visitor Center.
ADA access: Look for the viewpoint at the end of a stone wall on the west side of Highway 101. There are great views of Cape Perpetua from above, including Thor’s Well and Spouting Horn.
Spouting Horn
Chances are that if you’re in Yachats, you plan to visit Cape Perpetua. Perhaps more than anywhere else on the Oregon Coast, the basalt plateau of the Cape Perpetua Marine Reserve is the best place to appreciate the scale and power of the Pacific Ocean. From the Cape Perpetua Visitor Center, the 0.6-mile Captain Cook Trail heads down to the rough basalt coast and makes a loop around its highlights. Shield volcanoes erupting locally around 30-40 million years ago formed the basalt here, known as Yachats Basalt. You can find some of the most curious features of Yachats Baslt at Cape Perpetua.
High and low tides look very different at Cape Perpetua. Low tide is perfect for seeking out the sea stars and anemones in the tidepool area, as well as seeing sea palms clinging to the wave-buffeted rocks. High tide is best for appreciating the geological oddities of the Yachats Basalt. Thor’s Well is a partially collapsed sea cave where ocean water surges up only to plunge back into the clam-encrusted well with each incoming wave. Spouting Horn shoots a fine mist of water high into the air when a wave enters a narrow eroded channel in the basalt.
Giant green anemones at Neptune State Scenic Viewpoint
15. Tidepool life at Neptune State Scenic Viewpoint
Pass required: None
Dog friendly: Yes
Amenities: Limited and varies on the access point. Look for restrooms at the Neptune South access point.
ADA access: No
While Cape Perpetua Scenic Area deservedly gets a lot of attention for its tidepools, you can find excellent intertidal areas just down the road that get a fraction of the visitors. Neptune State Scenic Viewpoint flies under the radar, likely in part because of its name, which suggests a quick stop just off the highway rather than the miles of coastline that make up its parks. There are four different access points for Neptune State Scenic Viewpoint and all are worth visiting.
One of my favorite Oregon Coast tidepool spots is at Neptune North. From the small, non-descript parking area, head down to the beach at low tide. You’ll see weird blobs of basalt scattered along the beach in both directions. Head to the rock formations to the right. You’ll see a cool arch that looks like a former sea cave. If you climb onto this rock formation, you can look down into a small canyon covered with critters like giant green anemones, clams, hermit crabs, and sea stars.
Harbor seals lounge at Strawberry Hill Wayside
16. See the seals and sea stars at Strawberry Hill Wayside
Pass required: None
Dog friendly: Yes, leashed dogs are allowed although the terrain may be difficult for them.
Amenities: No
ADA access: No
Just down the road from Neptune North beach access is Strawberry Hill Wayside, another underrated Oregon Coast gem. Although still a part of Neptune State Scenic Viewpoint, the scenery here is notably different than the park’s other access points. There are impressive cliffs to admire whenever you visit, like those of Cape Perpetua to the north, but come at low tide to see the incredible tidepools here.
From the small parking area, head down the hill on the dirt path surrounded by salal. As you head down the stairs, you’ll see a striking ridge of basalt that was a volcanic feeder dike, a legacy of the lavas that erupted here around 30-40 million years ago. Look for harbor seals lounging out of rocks in the distance. Strawberry Hill is a favorite spot of theirs. You can find tidepools in any direction you explore but take care while walking on the rocks which get very slippery.
Entrance to Hobbit Beach
17. Hike to Hobbit Beach
Distance: 1 mile out and back
Elevation: 175 feet
Difficulty: Easy
Pass required: None
Dog friendly: Yes, leashed dogs are welcome on the trail.
Amenities: None
ADA access: No
Hobbit Beach is one of the more quiet and secluded beaches on the Oregon Coast, perhaps because it takes a little work to get there. The short hike from Highway 101 down to the ocean is worth the effort, particularly because of the magical entrance to the beach which looks like a tunnel made for hobbits.
There are a few ways to hike to Hobbit Beach. The shortest and easiest is to start from the Hobbit Beach Trailhead and make the 0.5-mile trek down to the beach. Look for the small, easy-to-miss parking area on the east side of Highway 101. Cross the highway to find the trailhead. You’ll walk through a dense, shaded forest of twisted pines until you reach the hobbit tunnel and the beach beyond. Once on Hobbit Beach, you can walk along the sand between colorful sandstone cliffs and the waves of the Pacific.
Heceta Head Lighthouse
18. Visit Heceta Head Lighthouse
Distance: 1 mile out and back to reach the lighthouse
Elevation gain: 150 feet
Difficulty: Easy
Pass required: Oregon State Park Pass, $5/day.
Dog friendly: Yes, leashed dogs are welcome on the trails.
Amenities: Restrooms and picnic tables.
ADA access: Mostly limited to the area around Cape Cove Beach. The trail to the lighthouse has a steep grade at times. The viewpoint on Highway 101 about 0.5 miles south of the lighthouse would be a great stop to admire the views and watch for birds.
I promise that Heceta Head Lighthouse is as far out of town as I will take you, but at only 20 minutes away, it is worth the drive. One of the most picturesque lighthouses on the Oregon Coast, Heceta Head Lighthouse stands 200 feet above the Pacific on a headland formed by Yachats Basalt. You’ll park next to Cape Cove Beach, which the surrounding cliffs protect from most of the ocean winds. Look for tidepools on either end of this beach at low tide. A short 0.5-mile hike will bring you up to the lighthouse and the incredible views from the headland. If you want a longer hike, a set of stairs just before the lighthouse leads a couple of miles out to Hobbit Beach.
Sunset at Yachats State Recreation Area
In summary, the best things to do in and around Yachats are:
Walk along the 804 Trail
Smelt Sands Beach at low tide
Yachats State Recreation Site
Try the pastries at Bread & Roses Bakery
Eat at Yachats Brewing
Styx, Stones n’ Bones
Explore the shops in town
Ya’Xaik Trail
Visit the art galleries
Yachats Community Park & Wetlands
Yachats Ocean Road State Natural Site
Devil’s Churn
Cape Perpetua Lookout
Thor’s Well and the Cape Perpetua Marine Reserve
Neptune State Scenic Viewpoint
Strawberry Hill Wayside
Hobbit Trail
Heceta Head Lighthouse
Enjoy your trip to Yachats, Oregon!
With love,
Emma
Explore nearby
Yaquina Head Oustanding Natural Area
Looking for more to do at the coast? From north to south, here are trip suggestions and travel tips for:
References
Hale, Jaime, host. “The joy of tide pooling on the Oregon Coast.” Peak Northwest, Spotify, 11 May 2023.
Muerdter, David. "A Yachats Volcano? Understanding the Geology of the Cape Perpetua Area." YouTube, uploaded by Cape Perpetua Collaborative, 19 Aug. 2020, capeperpetuacollaborative.org/replay-yachats-volcano/.
Miller, Marli Bryant. Roadside Geology of Oregon. Missoula, Montana: Mountain Press Publishing Company, 2014.
