8 min
Overview
Newport's historic bayfront is the major tourist destination in these parts and can be jam-packed with sightseers most times of the year, but especially during school breaks and the summer. The cacophony of quarreling sea lions and the odor of fish add a rich ambience to Bay Boulevard, which runs along the harbor with tourist shops and attractions on one side and an aquarium and commercial seafood processing plants on the other. To escape this melee, you can continue towards the bay mouth and take a trail that leads from the Coast Guard Station down under the imposing and elegant Yaquina Bay Bridge to the North Jetty. Circle back across the beach to take a short, leafy trail up to Newport's oldest building, the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse, before returning to the crowds along the bay shore. This hike can be combined with the Newport Beach Hike for a longer outing. Start walking along the bay front with the harbor on your left. The Yaquina Bay Bridge dominates the skyline ahead. Soon you'll pass Bay Boulevard's junction with Hatfield Drive. There's a shrimp processing plant on your left and Ripley's Believe or Not! Odditorium and the Wax Museum on the right. The next attraction is the Oregon Undersea Gardens. Just past the aquarium, Dock One leads out. California sea lions, one of the bayfront's big attractions (for tourists, not fishermen) may be basking and causing a commotion below. Continue walking down Bay Boulevard to pass the junction with Fall Street. You'll pass canneries and seafood processing plants on the bay side, some with attractive murals and all exuding the heady aroma of fresh fish; on the other side of the street, there's a string of shops purveying the usual seashore commodities: knickknacks, kites, taffy, ice-cream, candles, etc. Bay Boulevard makes a sharp right turn uphill and meets Harbor Way/Naterlin Drive. Turn left here to follow the sidewalk on Naterlin Drive above the U.S. Coast Guard Station. Past the Coast Guard complex, you'll see a sign for the Yaquina Bay Beach Trail. Pass through
Trail Stats
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42 m
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Photos
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