The quaint beachside town of Newport, Oregon is just a 2.5 hour drive southwest of Portland. We decided to make a weekend trip out of our drive there so we could do a relaxing exploration of the Oregon coast.
After exploring a historic antique shop and stopping by the Devil’s Punchbowl, we decided to check out what TripAdvisor considers the number one thing to do in Newport: the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area (even the name says it’s outstanding)
…..and it was closed. We missed it by 15 minutes.
We weren’t too bummed. Our hotel was situated right on the beach and what we really came down to Newport for were long walks on the beach. 😉 After such an epic-ly awesome and epic-ly tiring trip through the UK and Ireland, we needed some down time!
Our suite had a fantastic view right over the beach.
After checking in, we ran down to the beach to dip our toes in the ocean (something we can’t do in our home state of Arizona).
Sometimes long, relaxing walks on the beach are nice. 😉
We had the perfect view for watching the sun set later that evening.
The next day we decided to check out Newport’s #4 attraction, the Oregon Coast Aquarium. It comes up right after Tripadvisor’s #3 attraction, the Devil’s Punchbowl, which we had explored yesterday.
Nothing compares to seeing puffins in the wild on the island of Skellig Michael in Ireland, but seeing them roam freely in the Oregon Coast Aquarium’s seabird aviary gave us so much pleasure! We listened carefully to hear their moo-ing sounds.
The aquarium has an open sea tunnel filled with sharks, bat rays and great schools of anchovy and mackerel.
Did you know? The ocean gets its saltiness from the tears of misunderstood giant sharks who just want to cuddle.
We went back to the puffin exhibit several times. 🙂
Newport Oregon Coast Aquarium Overview
- Address: 2820 SE Ferry Slip Rd, Newport, OR 97365
- Fees: Adults $22.95; 18-64 $19.95; Children $14.95; Infants & Toddlers FREE
- Usage: Heavy
- Time Length: Allow for a minimum 1.5 hours
- Pets allowed: No