Oregon's Coastal Cliffy Viewpoint Above A Beach Boasts Panoramic Views With Tide Pools And Quiet Sands

Oregon lays claim to parts of the West Coast that are jaw-droppingly handsome. This is where the sea caves and tidal pools of Hug Point give way to the wild bird colonies of the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge. It's a land of long, wave-smashed beaches and glittering, agate-speckled coves that runs for 363 miles along Oregon's coastline. And it's where you'll find the Neptune State Scenic Viewpoint, a series of pullouts on the US-101 that offer some seriously spectacular panoramas of the Pacific Ocean and the coastline it's forged.

You'll find it roughly midway up the Oregon coast, almost equidistant between the California and Washington state lines and just south of the Beaver State's answer to the Big Sur at Cape Perpetua. The US-101 runs right by the area, so it's a simple case of rocking up in the car. Expect driving times of around three hours from Portland, and about 1.5 hours from Eugene, which is also home to the nearest regional airport.

What awaits once you hop out of the vehicle? Well, one person summed up a past visit in poetic fashion on TripAdvisor: "To see the great stone cliffs stand still in one moment, only to be shaped and reformed over millennia. To observe this cacophony of majestic scenes fills the heart with fervor and wonder." True enough, this spot is a window onto the feral coast, where ceaseless swells hit the cliffs, whales play in the ocean, and creeks spill from lush rainforests just behind. Prepare to be wowed.

Despite the name, the Neptune State Scenic Viewpoint is much more than just a group of viewpoints. Yes, you'll get ridiculously gorgeous sightings of the beaches below and Cape Perpetua — a land of 800-foot bluffs and fog-mantled woods — in the distance. But you can also access sweeps of tide pools, coastal hills, and hiking paths that weave and wiggle through Oregon's shoreline rainforests.

A total of four pullouts along Highway 101 make up the greater Neptune viewpoint. Each gives something a little different. There's Bob Creek, where the ocean licks a long curve of sand beside pools that are filled with mussels and sea kelp. Then there are the Neptune North and South viewpoints, where you'll be greeted by a bay carved by a creek and cavernous sea caves that are chipped out of the coastal topography.

However, the most famous of the bunch is probably isolated Strawberry Hill. There, the rock reefs that get exposed at low tide are some of the best around for agate hunting and spotting starfish. It also happens to be a prime spot for whale watching during the migration season, and for getting close to a colony of lazing, local sea lions.