5 Best Sights in Newport, The Oregon Coast

This 4½-acre complex brings visitors face-to-face with the creatures living in offshore and near-shore Pacific marine habitats: frolicking sea otters, colorful puffins, pulsating jellyfish, and even a several-hundred-pound octopus. There's a hands-on interactive area for children, including tide pools perfect for "petting" sea anemones and urchins. The aquarium houses one of North America's largest seabird aviaries, including glowering turkey vultures. In the popular Passages of the Deep exhibit, visitors walk through a 200-foot underwater tunnel with 360-degree views of sharks, wolf eels, halibut, and a truly captivating array of sea life. The aquarium is in the midst of a major renovation and expansion that has already added an outdoor amphitheater and play areas and will see the installation a new Indo-Pacific Coral Reef exhibit by 2024.

The tallest lighthouse on the Oregon Coast has been blinking its beacon since its head keeper first walked up its 114 steps to light the wicks on the evening of August 20, 1873. Next to the 93-foot tower is an interpretive center. Call ahead to confirm tour times.

Seven miles north of Newport, this beachfront park extends from Yaquina Head, where you can see the lighthouse, to the headlands of Otter Rock. It's a great place to fly a kite, surf the waves, or hunt for fossils. The campground is well equipped, with a wind-protected picnic area.

Interactive and interpretive exhibits at Oregon State University appeal to the kid in everyone. More than just showcasing sea life, the center contains exhibits and tide-pool touch tanks, and it holds classes that teach the importance of scientific research in managing and sustaining coastal and marine resources. The staff regularly leads guided tours of the adjoining estuary.

The state's oldest wooden lighthouse was only in commission for three years (1871–74), because it was determined that it was built in the wrong location. Today the well-restored lighthouse with a candy-apple-red top shines a steady white light from dusk to dawn. Open to the public, it's the only Oregon lighthouse with living quarters attached.