Things to Do in Bandon, Oregon

This is Bandon’s signature view: a sea stack that looks like a face turned up to the sky. Legend says you can hear a maiden’s voice on the wind. A well-kept trail leads down to the beach and rocky tide pools. The rocks offshore are part of the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge because seabirds nest on them.

★ Good to know Explore the intertidal areas at low tide, and bring a state parks day-use permit or buy one on site.

Artist Denny Dyke started drawing labyrinths on the sand in 2011. His team now creates large Dreamfield labyrinths on the beach at Face Rock. Each design has one path with no dead ends. The public draws are free, and the tide erases each one.

★ Good to know Listed times are when the labyrinth opens, and it stays walkable for two hours or more. Check the schedule online and arrive early, since parking fills fast.

Bullards Beach State Park sits at the mouth of the Coquille River, two miles north of town. It has 4.5 miles of beach, horse trails, and fishing and crabbing on the river. The Coquille River Lighthouse at the end of Bullards Beach Road was built in 1896 and operated until 1939. Volunteers staff its signal room and share the area’s history.

★ Good to know The signal room opens mid-May through September; the tower itself is closed to the public.

At the west end of 11th Street, Coquille Point is the mainland unit of Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge. A short walkway with benches and interpretive signs looks out over offshore rocks full of seabirds. Wooden stairs at 11th and 8th streets lead down to the beach.

★ Good to know It’s free and open at all hours, and a Washed Ashore sculpture, Cosmo the Puffin, overlooks the ocean here.

Established in 1983, this refuge covers mudflats, salt marsh and forested wetlands where the Coquille River meets the Pacific. Tens of thousands of shorebirds stop here to feed during spring and fall migration. There are two public trails with viewing platforms, including the Myrtlewood Grove Nature Trail.

★ Good to know Spring and fall migration are the best times to bring binoculars.

Old Town is the rebuilt waterfront district, with galleries, shops and seafood along the Coquille River. Tony’s Crab Shack on the Bandon Boardwalk grew out of a bait shop, where Tony Roszkowski started steaming crabs for tourists after arriving in 1989. Washed Ashore, which builds huge sculptures from beach plastic, keeps an art corner at Bandon’s Fabulous Finds. Its sculpture Finnian stands at the Port of Bandon.

★ Good to know Tony’s will cook your catch if you’ve been crabbing, and its sister business, Port O’ Call, is the place to rent crab gear.

Bandon made cheese from 1928 until the old factory closed in 2005, and Face Rock Creamery reopened on the old Bandon Cheese property in 2013. You can watch cheese being made, and there’s a deli and Umpqua ice cream. A few blocks away, Cranberry Sweets’ flagship store sells house-made candies with plenty of free samples.

★ Good to know Bandon grows about 95 percent of Oregon’s cranberries, so look for cranberry candies and wine around town.

The museum at 270 Fillmore Ave. SE, half a block from Face Rock Creamery, covers shipbuilding, shipwrecks, beach life, Native American basketry, the Coast Guard and the town’s fires. It’s the best place to learn how the 1936 fire reshaped Bandon.

★ Good to know Open days change by season, so check the museum’s site before you go.

Just north of town, this resort has five full-length links courses and two par-3 courses. The big five are Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes, Bandon Trails, Old Macdonald and Sheep Ranch. A 2016 Golf Magazine ranking of courses you can play put four of its championship courses at the top in Oregon. McKee’s Pub and several other restaurants are on site.

★ Good to know Tee times and lodging are booked through the resort, so plan well ahead for summer.