My family has traveled to 33 states, but none has wowed us as much as this coastal gem — and, no, it's not Hawaii

25.10.2024 - 16:17 / insider.com

My wife and I have four young children who have traveled with us all over the country.

To date, we've been to 33 states including famously scenic ones like Hawaii, Maine, California, and Montana — and we've found many things to love about each one. But we've never discovered a state that wowed us like Oregon did during a recent eight-day road trip.

Across its sprawling coastline, pristine state parks, and eclectic cities, we found so much to love about the Beaver State — and so many reasons to want to return.

We went to Oregon near the end of the state's peak summer season. Even so, the state had some of the most uncrowded beaches we've ever visited.

I suspect the sparse crowds are because there are just so many beaches to choose from — the state has over 250 miles of them along its coastline, and each is seemingly more picturesque than the last.

We explored 10 of them in all, including Seaside, Yachats, Agate, and Cannon, and only found a crowd at the last one.

Our favorite was "Secret Beach" along the Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor. It's a short hike down to a little waterfall that feeds right into the sea and has a sea cave, tidepools, and the softest sand

Though we spent the majority of our time at beaches and state parks, we also explored five of Oregon's cities.

Each felt clean and had much to offer. Historic Baker City has a great museum that showcases the city's connection to the California Gold Rush and highlights important local contributions made by early Chinese immigrants.

In Portland, we loved biking along the Willamette River, exploring the world's largest independent bookstore, and visiting the Guinness Book of World Records' smallest park.

We saw the best view of our trip from the back of Portland's Pittock Mansion. The French Renaissance-style chateau wows, but the view of the city's skyline with Mount Hood off in the distance was even better.

In Seaside, we shopped on the boardwalk and visited nearby Fort Clatsop where famous explorers Lewis and Clark once stayed. We also visited the state's capitol in Salem and rode a waterfront trolley in Astoria.

One of our favorite parts of a road trip is discovering unusual and exciting places to sleep each night.

We stayed at six different hotels in Oregon, but the most memorable were The Nines in Portland, the Cannery Pier Hotel in Astoria, and the Geiser Grand in Baker City.

The Geiser Grand is a true destination hotel. It's more than a century old, is reported to be haunted, and has undergone one of the most stunning and detailed renovations I've ever seen.

Our splurge of the trip was a stay at the luxurious Nines Hotel. It occupies the top half of the historic Meier & Frank building and features spacious rooms with incredible