Room with an ocean view? No problem in Lincoln City

One of my first destinations to the central Oregon Coast three years ago was Cape Kiwanda, to me the most scenic stop on the Three Capes Scenic Drive about 15 minutes north of Lincoln City off U.S. Route 101.

I stayed at the Inn at Cape Kiwanda, ate and drank at the Pelican Pub & Brewery on the beach across the street and watched the sun set behind the wave-worn cliffs that jut into the Pacific Ocean.

The weather was beyond belief. I woke up early and from my room watched parts of what's left of the Pacific City dory fleet be launched into the surf for a day's fishing.

The adventure was so mesmerizing then, a couple of weeks ago I decided to return to the central coast for another look. This time I stayed at the Best Western Lincoln Sands Suites in Lincoln City. My room was about as close to the beach as any hotel room in town. The weather, however, was less than mesmerizing -- cloudy, windy and cold -- the kind of weather that can flare up any time of the year on the Oregon Coast. I dodged most of the rain that hung in farther up the coast.

By the way, Lincoln City once boasted it had the most guest rooms of any city between Seattle and San Francisco. I can believe it. Combine the number of rooms with Depoe Bay accommodations 15 miles south and it's a no-brainer. The town also is considered one of the top 25 retirement destinations in the country. The number of condominiums and senior housing communities makes that obvious.

Just south of town in Gleneden Beach is the ever popular, high-end Salishan Spa and Golf Resort, practically an institution on the central Oregon Coast.

JEFF LARSEN / P-I

A paraglider tests the wind from Andersons Viewpoint along the Three Capes Scenic Drive north of Lincoln City.

The Best Western Lincoln Sands Suites, tucked in between a couple of view homes built into the hillside, to me looked brand-new. My first thought when I saw the hotel was that I get to try out a new property. Come to find out, the hotel is 25 years old. The management has just kept it very well maintained.

The ocean-front suites can be configured in a variety of ways to accommodate various needs. My bottom floor, ocean view room's configuration included a hide-a-bed in the wall, a full-size kitchen, television, full bath and a sliding door to the front yard and beach. The same room can be configured for a higher rate with another bedroom, bathroom and television. VCRs are featured in every room as well as Wi-Fi and high-speed Internet. The facility also features a heated swimming pool and fitness room.

The hotel is a little hard to spot from U.S. Route 101, so watch carefully for the sign, especially northbound. Watch for the money-saving, midweek Internet specials too.

The long and winding Lincoln City, which is literally dissected by Highway 101, boasts seven miles of some of the finest beaches on the coast. The D River Beach Wayside State Park, in what I guess you could consider part of downtown, provides public access to the soft, sandy beaches.

JEFF LARSEN / P-I

A fish scupture provides an interesting backdrop at an ocean viewing vantage point in Lincoln City.

Once, what is now Lincoln City was a series of small towns along the central coast that, over the years, were annexed into one city. That's why it's virtually impossible to take a picture of downtown Lincoln City -- there isn't just one. Instead, there are a series of small downtowns along a seven-mile stretch of Highway 101 that make up Lincoln City.

Unlike the city's heritage as a commercial salmon fishing destination, today Lincoln City mostly relies on tourism for its economic survival. The surf and sand makes it an attractive destination.

The city more recently has become a world-class surfing destination as well. Norman Eburne, a surfer and clerk at Oregon Surf Shop in Lincoln City, said the national media is just figuring out what the central Oregon Coast is all about. Summer, he said, is a good time for beginning surfers to learn the ropes with "small, kind waves." During the winter what he called "heavy monster slabs" that can reach 30 feet high and higher, rear up off the Nelscott Reef to the delight of experienced surfers. The Nelscott Reef is such a popular destination for surfers it has its own Web site.

The Inn at Spanish Head in Lincoln City is one of those buildings that looks as if it may fall into the ocean at any moment. Ten stories tall, built into a cliff overlooking the sea, guests enter the hotel from Highway 101 on the ninth floor. The first floor is at ocean level. The 10th floor is the restaurant and lounge with one of the best ocean views in Lincoln City. All of the rooms have similar views. If you're height phobic this may not be the hotel for you. The hotel exterior that you can only see from the ocean side is a bit weather-worn and could use a fresh coat of paint.

JEFF LARSEN / P-I

The rugged Oregon coast looking north toward Lincoln City.

I just had to take the Three Capes Scenic Drive again -- to be honest, driving it only twice in four years is not enough. I made a point to stop for lunch at the Pelican Pub & Brewery at Cape Kiwanda, where I watched a maintenance man with a high-powered blower, in a losing battle against the wind, try to clear sand off the walkways around the pub. The pub is right on the beach. I tried to buy a new Pelican Pub & Brewery T-shirt to replace the one I wore out over the past three years, but the pub was out of my size. Ah-hah, another excuse to go back.

By the way, a sarcastic reader three years ago corrected me when I called the giant rock outcrop on the beach at Cape Kiwanda, Haystack Rock (famous landmark for Cannon Beach). I was young and naive. In fact, the rock is very similar to the Cannon Beach rock and is called a "haystack-style" rock because of its shape. Surfers this time of year like the wave action around the rock and on any given day visitors may spot a dozen or so surfers trying to catch the best wave. The pub and beach parking lots fill up fast on weekends, so get there early.

Farther up the scenic drive paraglider and hang-glider enthusiasts flock to Andersons Viewpoint on the Three Capes Scenic Drive north of Cape Kiwanda this time of year. Some of the paragliders told me the wind tends to blow off the ocean toward them, which gives them more lift. That wind dynamic, they said, can push them 2,000 feet higher than their jumping-off point 600 feet above the ocean. It's almost as thrilling to watch them as I imagine it is to fly one. A number of Scenic Drive motorists stopped at the viewpoint to watch the action. One paraglider/hang-glider supporter showed up with his Weed Eater to hack down the high grass at the launch site. He got a round of applause from the half-dozen or so enthusiasts who were preparing to launch.

JEFF LARSEN / P-I

Anne Williams sizes a glass mug she is blowing at Alder House III, a glass-blowing studio near Lincoln City. Visitors can wander in and watch her and her husband, Buzz, while they blow glass.

The Three Capes Scenic Drive continues north past Cape Lookout, Netarts, Oceanside then connects with Highway 101 at Tillamook. Between Pacific City (the Three Capes Scenic Drive turnoff) and Tillamook Highway 101 runs mostly inland.

Besides the scenic drive, and parts of downtown Lincoln City, this trip to the central Oregon Coast I decided to poke around and explore two small artsy businesses just south of Lincoln City that butt against the south edge of the Siletz Bay National Wildlife Refuge, one of six refuges on the Oregon Coast; Mossy Creek Pottery and Alder House III, a glass-blowing studio.

Mossy Creek Pottery features porcelain and stoneware by a variety of Northwest potters, including owners Dan and Susan Wheeler. Joanie Skipper, longtime employee, along with her dog she calls "George the pottery dog," showed me around the studio and some of Dan's intricate porcelain work as well as some very special stoneware by Bandon, Ore., potter Lynn Brown. I came close to buying one of Brown's stoneware bowls but feared I might break it before I could get it home. In almost a wildernesslike setting, the sidewalk entryway to the shop is very appealing, lined with various size pottery and flowers.

While I was at Alder House III, myself and six other visitors watched in awe of the speed and exactness co-owner Anne Williams demonstrated as she fashioned a purple and clear glass drinking mug in her glass-blowing studio. Every move was poetry. She and her glass-blowing husband, Buzz, have owned the studio for almost 35 years and enjoy the daily performances around the 2,000-degree furnace. Wooden benches are provided for visitors who wander in to watch glass blowing and shop for glass items in the gift shop adjacent to the studio. The shop is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily through November.

The central Oregon Coast can be wet and wild, calm and sunny all in the same day. But the Pacific Ocean's grandeur still seems to be the biggest tourist draw. I doubt if even the giant Chinook Winds Casino Resort in Lincoln City could claim to outdraw the Pacific Ocean as a destination.

* Alder House III -- 611 Immonen Road, Lincoln City; www.alderhouse.com

* Mossy Creek Pottery -- 483 Immonen Road, Gleneden Beach; 541-996-2415; www.mossycreekpottery.com

* Inn at Spanish Head -- 4009 S.W. Highway 101, Lincoln City; 800-452-8127; www.spanishhead.com

* Best Western Lincoln Sands Suites -- 535 N.W. Inlet St., Lincoln City; 800-445-3234; book.bestwestern.com/bestwestern/productInfo.do?propertyCode=38099

* Inn at Cape Kiwanda -- 33105 Cape Kiwanda Drive, Pacific City; 888-965-7001; www.innatcapekiwanda.com

* Pelican Pub & Brewery -- Pacific City; 503-965-7007; www.pelicanbrewery.com

* Oregon's Central Coast information -- P.O. Box 2094, Newport; 800-767-2064; www.coastvisitor.com

* The Oregon Surf Shop -- 4933 S.W. Highway 101, Lincoln City; 877-339-5672 (no Web site)

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