24 miles S of Newport, 26 miles N of Florence, 138 miles SE of Portland
Located on the north side of 800-foot-high Cape Perpetua, the village of Yachats (pronounced yah-hots) is something of an artists’ community that also attracts a goodly number of affluent retirees and what passes these days for “counterculturists.” When you get your first glimpse of Yachats’s setting, you will likely agree that there’s more than enough oceanfront splendor here to inspire anyone. Although there really aren’t any non-natural attractions in this village of about 700 people, the natural ones more than suffice.
Yachats is a Chinook word meaning “dark waters at the foot of the mountains,” and that sums up perfectly the setting of this small community, one of the few on the Oregon coast that could really be considered a village (it has no major commercial development of any kind). The tiny Yachats River flows into the surf on the south edge of town, where Cape Perpetua, the highest point on the Oregon coast, rears its forested head, and to the east stand the steep, forested mountains of the Coast Range. The shoreline on which the town stands is rocky, with little coves here and there where you can find agates among the pebbles paving the beach. Tide pools offer hours of exploring, and in winter, storm waves create a spectacular show. Uncrowded beaches, comfortable motels, and a couple of good restaurants add up to a great spot for a quiet getaway.
