Day 4: Astoria, OR to Florence OR
Postcard from Florence, Oregon.
I took it easy in the morning, hanging around a buzzing and sunny Astoria to check a couple of Goonies locations out before leaving town to spend a little time chilling on Cannon Beach (“Hey you guuuys!”).
In total it was a smooth 207 miles drive – in and out, up and down, the Oregon coast, taking any possible chance to leave the Highway 101 and drive at my own pace – ended with a crab cake and a glass of Willamette Valley Pinot by the water in Florence.
I am starting seeing a pattern here: trees – ugly coastal cities – trees – breathtaking viewpoints – trees – white, wild, long beaches – more trees – pretty coastal cities. Shuffle and repeat.
Randomly add fresh seafood, west coast IPAs and outstanding PNW wine and you get the picture.
Tomorrow it will be California already.
Driving from Astoria to Florence Cheat Sheet
Accommodation in Florence:
- Silver Sands Motel, 1449 US-101, Florence, OR 97439. Does the job.
Where to eat and what to see between Astoria OR and Florence OR
- Cannon Beach, A must stop if you are making this drive. Depending what time you arrive you might find hordes of tourists but the place is massive so it doesn’t feel crowded at all.
- Pirate’s Cove Restaurant, 14170 US-101, Garibaldi, OR 97118. You can’t beat the view of this restaurant, right on the water. They said that, if you are lucky you may see whales.
- Cape Meares great dramatic lookout
- Lookout Observatory, 4905 Otter Crest Loop, Depoe Bay, OR 97341 The place is technically a gift shop but you get some of the best Pacific coast views
- Waterfront Depot Restaurant, 1252 Bay St, Florence, OR 97439 crab cakes are very good and if you are lucky you can score some pretty romantic tables right on the water.
Driving from Astoria to Florence FAQ
From Astoria to Florence there are 182 miles. I’ve followed the Pacific Highway most of the time. Adding a couple of small diversion I drove more or less 200 miles, maybe something more.
If you don’t stop for pictures, lunch etc it would take you about 4 and half hours to drive from Astoria and Florence. I stopped a few times hence it took me about 7 hours.
You drive right along the beautiful Oregon Pacific coast where the views are breathtaking
For sure the main attraction is Cannon Beach a few miles south from Astoria. Hordes of The Goonies fans are coming here daily to admire and take a picture of the famous Haystack Rock which is accessible by foot at low tide.
The road is fully paved and in great conditions hence it doesn’t really matter. The weather might change pretty unpredictably at these latitudes so my choice would be a midsize, possibly with a sunroof in case the sun is out.
West Coast road trip pictures: photos taken between Astoria and Florence
My itinerary on a West Coast road trip
- Seattle to San Diego road trip – main article
- Day 1: Sea-Tac to Seattle
- Day 2: Seattle to Port Angeles
- Day 3: Port Angeles to Astoria
- Day 4: Astoria to Florence
- Day 5: Florence to Crescent City
- Day 6: Crescent City to Fortuna
- Day 7, 8 and 9: Fortuna to Napa
- Day 10 and 11: Napa to San Francisco
- Day 12: San Francisco to Monterey
- Day 13: Monterey to King City
- Day 14: King City to San Luis Obispo
- Day 15: San Luis Obispo to Carpinteria
- Day 16-17-18: Carpinteria to Los Angeles
- Day 19-20: Los Angeles to San Diego
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