Expect rain and wind year-round, though less of it from June through September. Many visitors come to the Oregon coast in July and August expecting clear skies and windless days only to find the beaches enveloped in thick fog. That’s because hot inland air draws a wet blanket of moisture from the Pacific eastward and hangs it up on the coastal mountain ranges. The summer fogs, more common along the South Coast, don’t dissipate until late afternoon, and then come back the next day. But you may be lucky, and certainly if you visit in the summer it will be warmer—but not warm enough to go without a fleece or sweatshirt. That’s because of the winds blowing in off the Pacific.
If you can choose your date for visiting the Oregon coast, come in early- to mid-September. You don’t visit the Oregon coast because of the weather, you visit it because of the nature. The best months for spotting migrating gray whales are mid-December to mid-January and March through June (some whales hang around all summer long). There are headlands where winter winds are clocked at 140mph, and storms so fierce that they reconfigure entire beaches. We love it. It’s the Oregon coast.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.
