Bandon-by-the-Sea is one of the most charming seaport villages on the Oregon Coast. Located near the mouth of the Coquille River and overlooking the Pacific Ocean, it is surrounded by natural beauty. Visitors to Bandon will find modern oceanfront motels, romantic bed and breakfast inns, convenient and comfortable campgrounds and quality restaurants. They will also find a mild, temperate climate, a burgeoning artists colony and shopping, from bargain to upscale. The waterfront is now beautifully restored as an artist/tourist district known as Old Town. Old Town has charming cafes, art galleries and studios, a bookstore with a great inventory, candy stores and unique shops as well.

Across the street from the shops and eateries, visitors can see the bustling traffic of Bandon’s port. Bandon’s docks provide moorage for commercial and recreational boats, a boat ramp and access to 26 miles of the Coquille River for fishing, crabbing, canoeing, kayaking and boating of all types. Several operators offer river and ocean charters, and anglers will find excellent salmon and steelhead fishing in the Coquille, plus surf perch, kelp greenling, ling cod, flounder and surf smelt from the South Jetty. Right across the river is one of the most picturesque—and thus most photographed, drawn and painted—landmarks of the area, the Coquille River Lighthouse. The lighthouse was built in 1896 and celebrated its centennial with proper pomp and circumstance in 1996. As a designated historic site, it is open to the public and houses an exhibit of its colorful past.

There are nine state and county parks within 15 miles of Bandon. They offer miles of beaches for beachcombing, tidepooling, jogging, storm watching, kite-flying, picnicking and fishing. Local outfitters will take visitors on an invigorating horseback ride along the beach or on forested trails. A drive along Beach Loop Road will take visitors past Bandon Rocks, Bandon Ocean Wayside and Bandon State Park, all offering beach access and spectacular views of offshore sea stacks. Across the river to the north is a great view of the aforementioned Coquille River Lighthouse.

Along the highways near Bandon travelers can see the cranberry bogs that make Bandon the “Cranberry Capital of Oregon.” Bandon farmers have been growing and harvesting the crop for more than 100 years. Bandon berries are especially valued for their rich, red color and are used extensively in creating the deep color of Ocean Spray cranberry juice products, as well as in making unique candies. For more than 60 years the city has celebrated the cranberry crop with a Cranberry Festival. www.bandon.com