Scenic Cruise Through the PNW’s Astoria

Ride your motorcycle up to the Driftwood Restaurant & Lounge, a longtime institution serving up steaks and seafood to hungry locals and visitors alike. Snag a seat outside on the patio by the fire if you can, and order up clam chowder, fried oysters, and a cocktail. Then, just sit back and enjoy the cozy, beachside atmosphere.

Tillamook Cheese is a local favorite, and it’s no wonder: The award-winning cheeses come from dairy farms across Oregon’s Tillamook Valley, which provides the ideal conditions for raising cattle. You can get a taste for the regional delicacy during the Tillamook Cheese Factory Tour, a self-guided look into the company’s cheese-production facility and history. The tour, of course, ends with a bunch of cheese samples and a kitschy gift shop. Up your dairy intake with a stop at the café, where you can enjoy a Tillamook grilled cheese, a Tillamook bacon cheeseburger, and delicious ice cream.

Cape Lookout State Park earned its name from its incredible ocean views, but it’s a good place for getting your heart rate up, too. In addition to featuring several beach access points and sand spits for exploring, it offers 8 miles of hiking trails through old-growth forests, whale watching, and even hang gliding and parasailing! Plus, the drive out is absolutely gorgeous.

While you’re in the area, make a stop at Cape Meares Lighthouse. Take a tour that allows access to the top of the historic building, and browse the quaint little gift shop. Built in the 1890s, the lighthouse was almost torn down after it was replaced with a newer, automated light in the 1960s. The proposed demolition received such strong backlash that the lighthouse was eventually preserved and opened to the public. Plan your visit around sunset for the best views!

Rogue Ales brews some of the best beers on the West Coast. They’ve become so popular that Rogue has opened several locations across the Pacific Northwest and Northern California. The Rogue Ales Public House in Astoria, OR, is located in an old tuna cannery (no smell remains—don’t worry), and offers a great view of Columbia River scenery to enjoy while you enjoy one of the dozens of beers on tap and some tasty gastropub fare. The Public House makes many dishes with its own beers and ingredients from Rogue Farms!

Location is everything when you’re looking for a place to set up camp while traveling by motorcycle. The Bay Center/Willapa Bay KOA is in a great spot, located right on the Willapa Bay in a peaceful forest. The campground provides access to the beach, which means swimming, beach combing, and digging for steamer clams (if you have a license, of course) are right at your “doorstep.” The campsite also offers campfire cooking and prep lessons!

This part of the Pacific Northwest shore is also known as the “Graveyard of the Pacific” due to the number of ships that have wrecked off the coast. One of the most accessible sunken ships is the Peter Iredale Shipwreck. A squall blew it into the Clatsop Spit, and high seas and heavy winds further forced the ship aground. Thankfully, the crew (and the two stowaways aboard) survived, but the ship and its ballast were lost. A lot of the Peter Iredale was sold for scrap, but the bow and several masts were left to rot. It even survived being shelled by Japanese submarines during WWII. You can visit the remains yourself while you consider the ship captain’s final, foreshadowing toast: “May your bones bleach in the sands.”