Bandon

From Gold Beach, continue on 101 North to Bandon. Exit at either Chicago, 2nd, or Delaware Streets and follow the signs to Old Town. Visitors enjoy rambling through Old Town to enjoy the shops and fine galleries or to watch the fishing boats sail in and out of the harbor. But nature is what really calls to you in this corner of the world. At the west end of 11th Street, for example, right off Beach Loop Drive, you’ll find Coquille Point. Take a walk on the paved trail there and enjoy views of beautiful Bandon Beach with its strange sea stacks and profusion of birds. Two miles north of Bandon on 101, a gentle 3-mile road through Bullards Beach State Park (open daily year round; 541-347-2209) guides you through coastal forest, along the north bank of the Coquille Estuary, and out to the Coquille River Lighthouse, one of nine stately lighthouses to stand guard along the Oregon coastline.