Bandon, Oregon

Bandon is a delightful blend of natural grandeur and urbane renewal. The compact town extends to Pacific Ocean promontories that fall away to a smooth sandy beach accented by the West’s most fanciful array of natural seagirt monoliths. Just inland at the base of sheltering bluffs by a tiny harbor along the Coquille River lies Old Town. During normally sunny and dry summer days, all sorts of ocean and beach-oriented recreation is enjoyed. During winter and spring, however, almost continuous rainstorms have allowed village boosters to claim the title of “Storm Watching Capital of the World.”

Settlers first arrived shortly before the Civil War. They may have been drawn by deposits of black sand gold, but they stayed because of abundant natural resources like lumber and salmon. Bandon survived devastating fires in 1914 and in 1936, but languished until the 1980s when improving travel-oriented facilities began to fulfill its destiny as a major leisure destination.

Today, the Coquille River waterfront and Old Town are more desirable than ever. Local cranberry bogs and fishing vessels provide ingredients for a first-rate cranberry candy factory and fresh seafood markets. A growing coterie of quality restaurants further attests to preoccupation with local gourmet foods. Sophisticated studios, galleries, myrtlewood factories, and specialty shops reflect burgeoning interest in Northwestern arts and crafts. Newer bed-and-breakfasts and oceanfront lodgings serve crowds attracted in summer by the recreation and leisure appeal of the picturesque beaches and river.

For more information, go to Bandon Chamber of Commerce.