what are the best beaches and coastal areas to see on the oregon coast? are there any good hiking trails? are there any good places (hotels/b&bs/inns) to stay at along the coast?

Topper

One of the things we enjoyed when we were in Florence, Oregon was dune buggy riding on the beach. It was a blast!

It's been a few years but I can tell you the entire Oregon coast is amazing. There is not one specific beach/area that stands out as being better than another.

If you're going to drive it I would recommend doing it from the north to the south so you're always turning across traffic.

I stayed in Astoria at the Red Lion Inn. The decor is kind of early 70's but most of the rooms extend out over the water and have a great view of the Columbia River. While Astoria is not the greatest town, it is a nice starting point.

I can't remember if it's Seaside, Cannon Beach or both, but those struck me as very touristy but had a lot of small places to stay.

Can't help you on the hiking. I did the coast in two days and that wasn't enough time.

There are plenty of nice beach communities along the coast. One of my favorites is Cannon Beach, but not everyone enjoys it because it's become an upscale tourist town. Lincoln City has a big outlet mall.

Make sure and stop by the Tillamook Cheese Factory and have some fresh ice cream. The brown cow flavor is my favorite!

are they close to Portland? Thinking of using that SW ticket, it's got to be much closer.

Joan: The coast is about 90 minutes from Portland.

Megan, there are lots of trails on the coast as well as in the nearby coast range of mountains. Some helpful sites:

www.oregon-coastdirectory.com/trails

oregonstateparks.org (search: hiking
tails)

oregontrails.com

Actually the entire coast has a trail which goes the entire way from Astoria to the California border. For more info on that check
home.clara.net/hintez/octindex.htm

There are many wonderful B&Bs on the coast. A good resource is bbexplorer.com

Enjoy your time. Hope the weather cooperates.

Bits and pieces--
Seaside very touristy but in need of some refurbishing-lots of families seem to go there.
Cannon Beach -"upscale" tourtisty cut more charm-
Red Lion Inn in Astoria great place to stay and the restraunt has good food.
Other posters info. about web sites are very helpful. I've heard good reports about hiking near Humbug State Park and Çape Perpetua (not sure about spelling)
Alittle town we like is Bandon, about 20 min south of Coos Bay. (the latter has a big Casino that used to be their lumber mill.) Bandon has several motels that over look the beach ', while it is not a "hike' it is a great walk.
I've flown into Portland on SWA, rented a car and driven to Astoria many times. Very comfortable 1 1/2 hr trip..
Wish I were going ...one of my favorite trips..
Good Luck