Have you ever needed breathing room in your life? Have you ever wondered if you could get off the rat-race merry-go-round even for one day and take a deep breath and just relax? Then Waldport, Oregon is the place for you to go. Waldport has the most wonderful, uncrowded beach to walk for miles and miles. Flying a kite is amazing at the Waldport beach because you are not worried about colliding with anyone. Forget about crowded beaches because if there are five other families on the beach as far as you can see, it is a busy day at the beach in Waldport.
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If you want fine dining and a five-star resort, then don’t even consider Waldport. But, if you want to relax, to breathe the cool, salt air even in July or August, then Waldport is your destination. For lunch, you get a great pizza at Grand Central Pizza on the main street of town. The best meal you will have in Waldport is something you make in the kitchen of your rental home after going to the South Beach Fish Market about 20 minutes north of Waldport along the coast Highway 101 and getting the best candied smoke salmon you have ever tried for the appetizer, fresh crab meat for a crab Louie salad, and fresh salmon filets for the entrée. Rentals are very reasonably priced in Waldport. Bayshore Realty is a great place to help you with a rental of houses right on the beach for less than $100 per night. If you want to see an aquarium, you are in luck because it is only a 30 minute drive north on Highway 101 to the Oregon Coast Aquarium where they have a wonderful display. I especially love watching the sea otters.
If you are on a very limited budget but love seeing sea life, you cannot skip the Hatfield Marine Science Center of Oregon State University which is also about 25 minutes north on Highway 101 from Waldport. This Marine Science Center has a wonderful octopus display in the lobby and does not have any admission fee, but takes donations, so you can spend 15 minutes or half a day looking at the wonderful exhibits for free if your finances really do not allow you to make a donation. It is a fantastic place to take the kids because of their close up exhibits with a lot of hands-on options.
You might say, if you keep going 25 to 30 minutes north on Highway 101, why not just stay up there? The answer is clear to me. Nothing can beat Waldport for relaxation. Waldport is also close to wonderful hiking such as going to the Drift Creek Wilderness Area. If lighthouses are your thing, drive north on Highway 101 and go tour the Yaquina Head Lighthouse. If touring one lighthouse is not enough to solve of your lighthouse fix, then drive south on Highway 101 to the Haceta Head Lighthouse. Because Waldport allows you to have campfires on the beach every night of your stay, you will want to buy the ingredients at Ray’s Market in Waldport, gather up the driftwood and build a fort and campfire for the best s’mores on the beach. If you think a trip back to a simpler way of life might be fun, look no further, because we have the perfect place for you…..Waldport, Oregon.
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