Any trip to the Oregon Coast comes packed with awe and wonder thanks to the spectacular smorgasbord of sandy beaches, colorful tide pools and wave-battered sea stacks that line the state’s 363 miles of Pacific oceanfront. To make the trip truly special, consider hiring a guide. These experts can do all of the planning, take you to the best spots right away and offer you a more meaningful connection to the place. Safety is always a top priority for them, too, letting you and your family focus on the fun.
Here are some amazing guided adventures to make your next trip to the Coast the best one yet.
Experience Oregon’s North Coast
For a unique way to explore Oregon’s North Coast, hop on board with Onward Adventures, a small-group tour company run by local Katie Earl, who leads door-to-door, bus-based excursions that dive into local history, quirky taverns and stunning coastal sights.
On weekends book this party bus for a night of karaoke and barhopping through Seaside and Astoria. Stops include Seaside Brewery — inside a former jail — and the reportedly haunted Bridge Tender, where Earl says a ghost loves to hear Abba. In Astoria you can sample the legendary Yucca — a lemony vodka-based concoction served in a mason jar you must shake yourself — at one of the Oregon Coast’s oldest watering holes, Workers Tavern,.
Other trips visit four North Coast towns — Astoria, Warrenton, Gearhart and Seaside — and stop at landmarks like the Astoria Column, the Peter Iredale shipwreck and Ecola State Park. Shorter excursions include zip-lining at High Life Adventures or touring some of Oregon’s famous Oregon Film Trail locations, used in movies like “Free Willy,” “The Goonies” (which celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2025) and “Kindergarten Cop,” which were all shot in and around Astoria.
Want to get out on the water for some fishing in a deeply Oregonian way? The North Coast is the place to be. Book a trip with Haystack Fishing in Pacific City and captains will take you out in dory boats launched right from the beach.
Watch Whales With an Expert
The Oregon Coast is whale-watching central with resident and migrating gray whales that frequent the cool Pacific waters. Marine biologist Carrie Newell and her team of expert naturalists at Whale Research EcoExcursions in Depoe Bay offer in-depth excursions to go see them — and they even cater to those who have mobility issues. Call ahead to discuss options, including wheelchair access on the dock.
Newell knows her stuff. She’s been working for more than 30 years with whales that regularly return to the waters off Depoe Bay, and she has names for most of the whales you’ll see. Hopefully you’ll get a chance to meet Koda, the whale-watching Goldendoodle that Newell trained to help find whales by smell. Pro tip: Call ahead to request a boat captained by Newell herself and ask about boats used to reduce seasickness.
Off the water, check out Newell’s Whale, Sealife and Shark Museum, which showcases the biologist’s extensive collection of shark jaw bones, sea stars and life-size replicas of whale-tail flukes. When it’s time for lunch, the Whale Bites Café next door has a Harborside sub stacked with Black Forest ham, Tillamook cheese and a caramelized onion sauce.
Tide-Pooling and Fishing on the Central and South Coasts
The Cape Perpetua Collaborative, a nonprofit group named after the scenic headland about 2 miles south of Yachats, offers a variety of immersive programs along Oregon’s craggy Central Coast for nature lovers and citizen scientists. Sign up for a tour with the Tidepool Ambassador Program in summer during a low tide, and guides will take you to vibrant tide pools teeming with sea lemon nudibranchs, purple sea stars and maybe even an octopus. The Marine Reserve Ambassador Program unfolds on weekend mornings at nearby Smelt Sands State Recreation Site, where visitors can connect with volunteers for tips on how to view creatures properly.
For those with a passion for science, the collaborative also hosts “BioBlitzes” that allow participants to document local biodiversity using the iNaturalist app for research. The Sea Star Monitoring project at Yachats State Recreation Area helps track sea-star populations. The Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project gets volunteers to conduct monthly beach surveys that track and remove debris from Cape Cove Beach.
Oregon’s South Coast is also a great place for a guided fishing trip. Consider booking an outing with Lucky Landings Guide Service, which runs charters out of Port Orford and Charleston south of Coos Bay. Trips typically last from a half-day to a full day, and experienced captains will help you catch anything from lingcod to halibut. Also in Charleston, Sharky’s Charters runs trips year-round to reel in rockfish and cod as well as salmon, halibut and tuna. In winter ask about going out in a drift boat to cast for steelhead on coastal rivers.
