Oregon Cruising Guides
Detailed, accurate cruising guides for Oregon — written for real conditions.
Astoria & the Columbia River Bar
The first or last harbour on a Pacific Coast passage and the pivot point of every Oregon coast cruise. Astoria sits eight nautical miles upriver from one of the most consequential bar crossings in North America. The town earns the trip on its own.
- ✓ Columbia River Bar — the most-photographed bar crossing on the Pacific Coast
- ✓ Columbia River Maritime Museum — the finest maritime museum in the Pacific Northwest
- ✓ USCG National Motor Lifeboat School at Cape Disappointment — the only school of its kind in the country
Newport, Oregon Cruising Guide
The mid-Oregon-coast harbour with the most reliable bar entrance south of the Columbia and the most complete cruising services between San Francisco and Astoria. The natural rest stop on a Pacific Coast passage and a destination worth two days for the museum, the brewpub, and the working waterfront.
- ✓ Yaquina Bay bar — the most reliable entry on the Oregon coast
- ✓ USCG Station Newport at the south jetty — bar reports on VHF 16/22A
- ✓ Oregon Coast Aquarium — among the best on the West Coast
Coos Bay & Charleston Cruising Guide
The largest natural harbour on the Oregon coast and the only port of refuge between Newport and the California border with full cruising facilities. Charleston Marina is well-protected, genuinely welcoming to transients, and the staging point for Sunset Bay — the finest small-boat anchorage on the southern Oregon coast.
- ✓ Largest natural harbour on the Oregon coast
- ✓ Sunset Bay State Park — the best small-boat anchorage south of the Columbia
- ✓ Cape Arago Steller sea lion colony — hundreds haul out year-round
Oregon Coast Cruising Guide
325 nautical miles of Pacific coast between the Columbia River and the California border — six bar entrances, three reliable cruising harbours, persistent summer fog, and a working set of weather windows. The passage most Pacific Coast cruisers either skip or remember for the rest of their cruising lives.
- ✓ 325 nm of largely undeveloped Pacific Coast
- ✓ Summer NW winds — fast reaching passages south, hard slogs north
- ✓ Six river-bar entrances; three with full cruising services
Brookings & the Chetco River
The southernmost Oregon port — six miles from the California border. Mildest climate on the Oregon coast (the *Banana Belt*), one of the more forgiving entrance bars, and the natural waypoint between the Oregon coast and Northern California.
- ✓ Southernmost Oregon harbour — 6 miles from the California line
- ✓ *Banana Belt of Oregon* — the mildest climate on the coast (50–65°F annual average)
- ✓ Chetco River bar — among the more forgiving Oregon coast entrances