I did not know what to expect in Coos Bay, I had heard the name many times over the years but never really thought to do any research or investigate the history of this town. I constantly have the same vision stuck in my head for all these Oregon beach cities and that is of quaint little towns with boardwalks and a bunch of tourist stuff that highlights the life of these towns. In the case of Coos Bay, I was dead wrong.

When we started to get close to Coos Bay it reminded me of my years working in the Vernon area of Los Angeles. This area of LA is known for food processing and slaughterhouses, very industrial and quite grey. This is the same feeling that came over me when driving into Coos Bay except it is based on the logging and mining industries. There are huge mills and trucks moving everything along the 101 and through town. You can see the barges on the river loaded with timber recently cut down and waiting to be processed.

Our RV GPS took us right through the middle of town, up and over the top streets and down to the bay front to our next stop, Bay Point Landing Luxury RV Park and Cabins (https://baypointlanding.com). This is a huge, very new RV Park right on the entry to Coos Bay. We again had a bay front view, but this park is set up to have RV’s pull in forward. We set up and went and checked out the park. This is a new park that has RV spots, cabins and Airstream trailers you can rent. It is very spacious and open, and they give you a nice area to stretch yourself out and not have your neighbor right on top of you.

The first thing we did was set up the BBQ because it was my birthday and I wanted to celebrate with a Ribeye Steak. I had not had one since my surgery in 2022 so I decided to have a full BBQ meal. I can honestly say it was very good but being vegan/vegetarian/pescatarian for the last year and half, it was hard to process. But none the less it was fun to BBQ like that again.

Next, we headed back down south to Bandon OR. This is a small town known for fishing and the famous Bandon Dunes Golf resort. We drove around the resort on the way to town as it is on the North side of town and on our way in. We saw the famous courses and lodge and all the rental homes and can say it is quite the place. I can’t say it is worth the $450 PP per round of golf (plus a mandatory caddie) but if that is your thing, good for you.

We continued down to Bandon and stopped for lunch on the pier at Tony’s Crab Shack. Great place to eat and they have about the freshest seafood you can find. People are bringing their crab catches in for them to buy while you are sitting there eating your meal. Very interesting to watch. After filling up at Tony’s we walked the small pier and learned about the crab pot fishing you can do right from the piers. Interesting to watch people and how it’s done. Back in the day these waters we loaded with crab and the fishing is still good.

We stopped in the stores on the way back and found a candy store where they make everything fresh. What was fun about this place was that for every piece of candy they make, they have a bowl with free samples. So here is the secret, go to Tony’s for lunch or dinner, then head to the candy shop for dessert. You will be so stuffed when you leave the candy shop it will not even be funny. I think my blood sugar was off the scale when I left that place.

Next, we headed north back to Coos Bay but went the back way through the small roads to Cape Argo State Park. This is a great park with coves, beaches, and lookouts to enjoy the Oregon Coast. They have a lighthouse, but it is not open to the public. We hiked several paths to get great views and saw some whales as well as sea lions.

Next, we drove North to “Umpqua Lighthouse”. This is a great place to visit and learn the history of lighthouses on the Oregon coast. We signed up for the tour and off we went with a great tour guide. We went inside the lighthouse and saw how it was built and then climbed inside the lighthouse up about 55 steps to the actual light. This is a working lighthouse, and the light is on 24/7. After a thorough explanation of how the light was built (from France), we were allowed to climb up into the light and see the internal workings. This was the highlight of the trip so far. It is amazing how these things work. Me being a “technical” person, I loved learning about how they did all this in the 1890’s. This light beam is channeled through the lens and directed out to the ocean where it can be seen from 21 miles out at sea. Amazing.

After the tour of the lighthouse, we toured the museum to learn the history of the Coast Guard and this station. Quite impressive how the people who worked here all those years ago would go out into the ocean to rescue people who crashed on the rocks no matter the weather.

One thing we noticed was the lighthouse sits atop a bluff overlooking the entry to the harbor and down below us was a huge OHV park. We saw riders going through the dunes down to the beach, so we decided to check it out on our way out.

We learned that the dunes stretch for 40 miles from Coos Bay to Florence and there is about a 10-mile stretch where you can ride on the beach. The place is huge with campgrounds and rentals located throughout the riding areas. Growing up in So Cal, we spent many a year in Glamis Sand Dunes. The biggest difference here is how the dunes go in and out of the trees and how most of the camping is in the trees, perfect for summertime.

After that we went into Reedsport for lunch and found a Mexican restaurant along the road. It was highly rated, so we gave it a shot and boy are we glad we did. Being on the coast, everything was based on seafood, and they did a great job of it. If you’re ever travelling through Reedsport, give them a try, it’s called “Sol de Mexico”, they are on Facebook.

We heard about a retirement lake just north of Coos Bay that had direct access to the OHV area, so we went and checked it out. Not quite the type of place we were looking for but we found a bunch of houses which backed right up to the dunes and the people there definitely enjoyed the duneing lifestyle. I told Lori, “maybe we should look at one of these when we hang up our travels. I could get me another sand rail and keep it right here” , yeah that fell on deaf ears!

We then drove back into town to see the railroad museum, but it was closed so we ended up at the “Coos Bay Historical Museum” instead. They have great exhibits on the entire history of Coos bay and the surrounding areas, and it was quite informative. We spent the whole afternoon going through all the exhibits and learning the local history.

Back at the RV we were approached by a fellow Tiffin RV owner who wrote articles for the Tiffin Quarterly newsletter, and she asked if we would mind being interviewed. We spent the evening discussing life on the road, how we arrived here and our future plans. She and her husband are full-timers, and we learned a lot from them also. We sat around the fire and talked about places to go, what we had seen and where we want to go. It will be interesting to see what gets published at a future date.

Next stop – Seal Rock OR.