Take An Area Tour

The unhurried tempo of this inviting seaside village offers a refreshing retreat from the hustle of city life and a friendly alternative to the impersonal quality of a large coastal community. Nestled between majestic forest and sea, little Yachats is an eclectic mix of shops and galleries, delightful places to eat, comfortable coffee houses, wine bars and lounges and astonishing views. Come into town and explore, enjoy the leisurely pace, friendly townspeople, and rewarding setting.

Yachats area beaches and waterfront are places for agate and fossil hunting, whale watching, tide pooling, birding, kite flying, strolling, unwinding...

Basalt headlands cradle beautiful tidepools, churns and blow holes and meet some of the most dramatic surf action in the world. Trails and viewpoints are abundant here.
Enjoy it all, but know beach safety first!

Immediately south of town is Cape Perpetua Scenic Area. Noted viewpoints within this 2,700 acre park include Devil's Churn, Cook's Chasm, Spouting Horn and Cape Perpetua Overlook, the highest point on the Oregon Coast that may be reached by car. A short walk from the Overlook parking lot to the stone West Shelter rewards the visitor with an unsurpassed panoramic ocean view. Built in the 1930s by stone masons of the CCC, the West Shelter viewpoint today provides an excellent location for whale watching.

The U.S. Forest Service maintains the Cape's 26 miles of interconnected hiking trails through coastal mature and old growth rain forest, to breathtaking vistas, Native American shell middens, tidepools and the beach. The viewpoints and trails are open to the public year round. Some of the trails are wheelchair accessible, one 6-mile loop is open for mountain biking, and all provide opportunities for birding.

The Forest Service at Cape Perpetua also offers guided walks and operates a Visitors Center with natural and cultural history exhibits, an interactive children's corner, and a theater with nature films.

Stroll or play on the beach at Yachats Ocean Rd State Natural Site just south of downtown where the Yachats River empties into the Pacific. There are benches and picnic tables along the rim, and the beach here provides a great view of Yachats village. This is also a spot where seals and experienced kayakers play in the surf, a great place to fly a kite, build a sandcastle, and bird watch. You'll often see pelicans, herons, egrets, or wild ducks here and maybe an eagle or two. The Oregon Coast Trail follows Yachats Ocean Rd. and connects (S at Windy Way) to the historic Amanda Trail. The Amanda Trail climbs to the summit of Cape Perpetua.

Take an easy ocean front walk or sit in the state parks and view the dramatic surf or a sunset along the historic 804 Trail.  The north section of this trail begins at Smelt Sands State Wayside and winds north 3/4 mile where it meets a 7-mile stretch of sandy beach. Along this wheelchair accessible trail, you find Sitka Spruce and Shore Pine forest, ocean front meadows, riparian and wetland areas, and a small pebble beach. There are benches and picnic tables.

Turn south from Smelt Sands and follow the 804 Trail (South) a mile along the village coastline to the north side of the Yachats River. Here you find Yachats State Recreation Area, located at the west end of 2nd St in downtown Yachats. This park offers excellent views of the Cape, the big mouth of the little Yachats River and rolling waves of Pacific surf. It also offers a platform for viewing tidepools, whales and other sea life, picnic tables, an historic marker, and a large grassy rest area enjoyed often by seagull congregations, and in evenings by villagers just catching another sunset. (The initiated also watch hopefully for the rare post-sunset green flash.)

The Yachats 804 Trail is part of former County Road 804, the travel route between Yachats and Waldport's Alsea Bay before Hwy 101 was built in the 1930s. Today this footpath provides great places for whale watching, tidepooling, and birding and is part of the Oregon Coast Trail system.

For additional information about things to do and see in the Yachats area, please continue to explore our site. You may also call the Yachats Visitors Center and speak with one of our volunteers, 1-541-547-3530, 1-800-929-0477 (US); or send us an Email.