Oregon Coast Highway - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 88

1. Brookings
Fish and flowers are the hallmarks of this town near the southern end of the Oregon Coast
Highway. The fish in question are such favorites as salmon and steelhead, which are taken
from the Chetco River. The flowers—azaleas—flourish at Azalea Park. Featuring 25 acres
of the shrubs, some of them 20 feet tall and over 400 years old, the park delivers amply on
the promise of its name. (Brookings also supplies a large share of America's commercially
grown lilies.)
At the north end of town, Rte. 101 passes Harris Beach State Park and, farther to the
north, Samuel H. Boardman State Park, where a 10-mile trail affords panoramic clifftop
views. The next few miles leading to Cape Sebastian are particularly beautiful, with unob-
structed views of offshore rocks.
2. Cape Sebastian State Park
About 22 miles north of Brookings, a steep road off the Coast Highway leads to the Cape
Sebastian headland, which offers stunning views of craggy cliffs and rocky coves. At
1,100-acre Cape Sebastian State Park, tall evergreens form a verdant backdrop for the col-
orful azaleas and rhododendrons that carpet the cape.
3. Port Orford
This major fishing center is one of the oldest settlements on the Oregon coast. Among its
attractions are the Sixes and Elk rivers, the Thousand Island Coast (a series of offshore
rocksthat arefavoredbyharborseals andsealions),andBattle RockCity Park,whereyou
can survey the coastline from atop an oceanfront monolith.
4. Cape Blanco State Park
PerchedonacliffoverlookingthePacific,theparkoccupies1,900acresofwindsweptland
that once served as a pasture. The scenic views here encompass offshore rocks and reefs,
as well as the Cape Blanco Lighthouse, the state's westernmost beacon. A three-mile trail
leads down to a black sand beach (not uncommon along the Oregon coast).
5. Bandon-by-the-Sea
ThedrivefromCapeBlancotothecoastalvillageofBandonpassesthroughakaleidoscope
of splendid scenery—dense fir forests and wide-open plains, lush green farmland and bar-