Looming over tiny Yachats is the impressive bulk of 800-foot-high Cape Perpetua, the highest spot on the Oregon coast. Because of the cape's rugged beauty and diversity of natural habitats, it has been designated the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area. The Cape Perpetua Interpretive Center, 2400 U.S. 101 (tel. 541/547-3289; www.fs.fed.us/r6/siuslaw), is on a steep road off U.S. 101 and houses displays on the natural history of the cape and the Native Americans who for thousands of years harvested its bountiful seafood. The visitor center is open daily from 10am to 5:30pm between Memorial Day and Labor Day (daily 10am-4pm in spring and fall; closed in winter). Admission is $5 per vehicle. Within the scenic area are 26 miles of hiking trails, tide pools, ancient forests, scenic overlooks, and a campground. Guided hikes are offered (weather permitting) when the visitor center is open. If you're here on a clear day, be sure to drive to the top of the cape for one of the finest vistas on the coast. Waves and tides are a year-round source of fascination along these rocky shores, and Cape Perpetua's tide pools are some of the best on the coast. There's good access to the tide pools at the pull-off at the north end of the scenic area. However, it is the more dramatic interactions of waves and rocks that attract most people to walk the short oceanside trail here: At the Devil's Churn, a spouting horn caused by waves crashing into a narrow fissure in the basalt shoreline sends geyserlike plumes of water skyward, and waves boil through a narrow opening in the rocks.
Right in Yachats, be sure to visit Yachats State Recreation Area, which is at the southern end of a .8-mile trail that leads north along a rocky stretch of coastline to Smelt Sands State Recreation Site. Along the route of the trail, there are little pocket beaches (where smelts spawn) and tide pools. At the north end of the trail, a wide, sandy beach stretches northward. Just across the bridge at the south end of town, you'll find the Yachats Ocean Road State Natural Site, another good beach access.
Between April and October each year, fishing in Yachats takes an unusual twist. It's during these months that thousands of smelts, sardinelike fish, spawn in the waves that crash in the sandy coves just north of Yachats. The fish can be caught using a dip net, and so popular are the little fish that the town holds an annual Smelt Fry each year on the second Saturday in July.
Gray whales also come close to shore near Yachats. You can see them in the spring from Cape Perpetua, and throughout the summer several take up residence at the mouth of the Yachats River. South of Cape Perpetua, Neptune State Scenic Viewpoint at the mouth of Cummins Creek, and Strawberry Hill Wayside are other good places to spot whales, as well as sea lions, which can be seen lounging on the rocks offshore at Strawberry Hill.
A couple of historic buildings in the area are also worth a visit. Built in 1927, the Little Log Church by the Sea, 328 W. Third St. (tel. 541/547-3976), is now a museum housing displays on local history. The museum is open Friday through Wednesday from noon to 3pm.
The Yachats area has several crafts galleries, the most interesting of which is Earthworks Gallery, 2222 U.S. 101 N. (tel. 541/547-4300), located north of town and focusing on glass and ceramic art.
