Take a Trip Down the Oregon Coast
Time your getaway to coincide with the 15th annual Quilt Run and two outdoorsy festivals
By Barbara Albright January 27, 2015
This article originally appeared in the February 2015 issue of Seattle magazine.
Where: The Oregon Coast, from Astoria to Brookings. Why: Because quilting is cool again, and it’s time for the 15th annual Quilt Run 101 (2/6–2/16; quiltrun101.com).
What: A no-sneakers-necessary “run” (via car) along Pacific Coast Highway 101 with stops at 14 participating quilt shops, where you can shop for fabrics, get your Quilt-Run “passport” stamped (more stamps = better prizes) and pick up a “fat quarter” to incorporate into this year’s challenge quilt.
Keep a lookout: The dramatic Oregon coastline will keep you plenty occupied with spectacular vistas along the Quilt Run route, but consider allowing yourself some extra time to check out the newly renovated Yaquina Head Light—the tallest lighthouse on the Oregon coast, at 93 feet high—which reopens this month in Newport.
Multitask: Time your trip to coincide with one of two February festivals in Astoria: the Astoria Timber Festival, with more lumberjacks, axe throwing and logrolling than you can shake a stick at (2/7; astoriatimberfestival.com); or the Festival of Dark Arts, a celebration of belly dancing, blacksmithing and dark beer at Fort George Brewery (2/14; fortgeorgebrewery.com). Because nothing goes better with batting than dark beer.
Follow Us
The Rise of the Experience Economy
REI brings back guided travel, betting that memories matter more than stuff.
In my household, with two young boys under the age of five, we often have to remind them to take things back. Did you really mean to tell dad that his dinner isn’t good? You might want to take that back. Did your brother deserve to be hit? Let’s rethink that one. Extreme analogies aside,…
Bellevue Is Treating Accessibility Like Infrastructure
A partnership with Wheel the World makes it easier to plan travel with verified details.
For a lot of people, the hardest part of travel planning isn’t arranging flights or booking a hotel. It’s figuring out whether a place will actually work for your needs once you get there. Bellevue has partnered with Wheel the World, a travel platform used worldwide, to verify accessibility details for hotels, attractions, restaurants, and…
Northwest Enters Winter After Warmest Fall on Record
Unseasonably high temperatures and rain instead of snow have pushed regional snowpack to record lows for this point in the season.
Across the Northwest, a record-warm fall and lack of snowpack going into the winter is putting more drought pressure on Oregon, Idaho, Washington and western Montana. Despite record rain in western Washington recently, and earlier this year in central and southern Oregon, the showers are filling up already overdrawn reservoirs in many areas, scientists said…
Renew Yourself in Bellingham, Washington
Images courtesy of Visit Bellingham Unwind and reset in 2026 with a trip to peaceful Bellingham, Washington. Located between the stunning Cascade Mountains and the tranquil Salish Sea, there’s no better place for a trip packed with quiet moments in nature combined with the amenities of a culturally rich college town. Bellingham is known for…