It's an endless necklace of sandy beaches, towering rock formations, lakes and dunes strung together for some 66 miles along the spectacular Oregon Coast Highway (a.k.a. Highway 101) which is seldom out of sight of the Pacific Ocean.

This is Tillamook County, Oregon. Its scenic coastline includes four bays and nine rivers. It is dotted with cities and fishing towns offering splendid seafood dinners and cozy, sometimes elaborate, lodgings.

Its focal point is Tillamook, home to the world-famous Tillamook Cheese Factory, Oregon’s biggest – and tastiest – tourist drawcard, welcoming nearly a million visitors a year.

It's an endless necklace of sandy beaches, towering rock formations, lakes and dunes strung together for some 66 miles along the spectacular Oregon Coast Highway (a.k.a. Highway 101) which is seldom out of sight of the Pacific Ocean.

This is Tillamook County, Oregon. Its scenic coastline includes four bays and nine rivers. It is dotted with cities and fishing towns offering splendid seafood dinners and cozy, sometimes elaborate, lodgings.

Its focal point is Tillamook, home to the world-famous Tillamook Cheese Factory, Oregon’s biggest – and tastiest – tourist drawcard, welcoming nearly a million visitors a year.

The free self-guided tours of the factory provide a glimpse into more than 100 years of its success with historic displays, educational information about present-day life on the farm, informational touch-screen kiosks, and an observation deck with a bird’s-eye view of cheesemaking in action. Awaiting visitors at its conclusion are free samples of Tillamook cheese. Not free, but worth the price, are the 38 flavors of Tillamook ice cream.

Tillamook is renowned for its salmon fishing and the bays are outstanding for crabbing and clamming. The city has a maritime museum, a naval air museum and a county historic museum.

A breathtaking drive takes you inland to the award-winning Tillamook Forest Center which showcases the Tillamook State Forest through a state-of-the art “green” building, a 40-foot-tall fire lookout tower, and 250-foot-long suspension bridge over the Wilson River. Engaging, interactive exhibits bring the forest alive and staff naturalists offer free, family-friendly nature programs for visitors, as well as curriculum-guided education programs for school groups. If you’re not driving, take the bus from Tillamook.

One of the most exciting dining establishments in downtown Tillamook is the Pacific House Restaurant where Executive Chef Nelia Serapion and Chef de Cuisine Philip Biermann will delight you with their range of delectable creations.

For a quick lunch, drop in on the Fat Dog Pizza on Main Street in Tillamook which specializes in “New York” and “Chicago” style pies to create their outstanding pizzas.

Nearby is the Second Street Public Market, a dynamic public market located on the ground floor of a restored historic building. It comprises 17 individually owned shops which feature locally grown, produced, created, prepared and out of the ordinary merchandise.

Oswald West State Park with its rainforests, secluded beaches, and panoramic viewpoints provides Tillamook County with a dramatic start in the north. Nearby in the Nehalem Bay Area are the three quaint towns of Manzanita, Nehalem and Wheeler which offer a community with a relaxed setting and dining, kayaking, fishing, hiking, beachcombing, galleries, and antiques. Nearby is the serene Nehalem Bay State Park.

Next stop down the Oregon Coast Highway is Rockaway Beach, an old-fashioned beach town with seven miles of spectacular, sandy ocean beach. While its famous Twin Rocks dominate its oceanfront, Rockaway Beach is blessed with a series of lakes that run north and south adjacent to the highway.

The Port of Garibaldi encompasses the cities of Bay City, Garibaldi and Rockaway Beach. At Garibaldi you’ll find the best of bay fishing, clam digging, crabbing, and kayaking. Fishing charters can also be booked if you want to go ocean fishing for salmon, rockfish, halibut and albacore tuna.

Serving Garibaldi and the surrounding area is the award-winning 50-room Garibaldi House Inn & Suites. The personable proprietors Eugene (“Tish”) and Carol Tish do more than rent rooms – they provide their guests with a true Oregon Coast-style hospitality experience. This means making sure guests enjoy a comfortable stay with the conveniences of a modern hotel, but with the friendly atmosphere of a small bed-and-breakfast.

At Bay City – within easy reach of the attractions of Tillamook – you’ll find huge mounds of oyster shells on the waterfront left over from oyster processing. The shells are used to grow a new crop of oysters. The community has an art gallery and an arts center.

Fishing towns dot the coast, and south of Tillamook is one of the most interesting – Pacific City, home of the famous dory boat fishing fleet which is launched directly into the surf. Its signature Haystack Rock, at 327 feet tall, is the world's fourth largest sea stack.

The Inn at Cape Kiwanda has 35 deluxe guestrooms, all with their own private balcony and exquisite views of the ocean and Haystack Rock. To that, add cozy gas fireplaces, plush pillow-top beds with feather pillows and top-of-the-line amenities.

Just across the street from the Inn at Cape Kiwanda is the award-winning oceanfront Pelican Pub & Brewery which looks out on Haystack Rock. It has become a Northwest landmark for craft beer and fine food enthusiasts. The three-time Great American Beer Festival “Brewpub of the Year” winner is open seven days a week, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The Riverhouse Restaurant overlooks the Nestucca River and is famous as much for its delectable cuisine as for its original salad dressings.

For breakfast pop in to Grateful Bread, a community based bakery and café which serves the most delicious organic bread, bagels, pastries, soups and sandwiches.

Pacific City is a magnet for birders, surrounded as it is by diverse habitats – ocean shore, marine headlands, coastal rocks and islands, bays, rivers, wetlands, dunes, coastal rainforests, and farmland. Every mid-April it hosts the Birding & Blues Festival, a combination of bird wildlife exploration and Blues concerts.

Some six miles south of Pacific City is the Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge which provides important winter habitat for dusky Canada Geese and Aleutian Cackling Geese. It is also an important rest stop for migrating shorebirds and other waterfowl and is used by peregrine falcons and bald eagles.

The scenic Three Capes Loop begins at Pacific City and runs north along the ocean 22 miles to Tillamook. The loop provides access to Cape Meares and its lighthouse and the famous Octopus Tree, an Oregon Heritage Tree; Cape Lookout, a favorite spot for hikers and campers; Cape Kiwanda with its photogenic sandstone formations.

Scribbles Etceteras

For more information visit Tillamook and for other coastal information visit the Oregon Coast Visitors Association

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