View of coastal Oregon from Andersen Lookout Point along the Three Capes Scenic Loop.
Photo by Tom Bridge licensed Creative Commons Attribution No-Derivatives.
Three Capes Scenic Loop
The Three Capes Scenic Loop, a 35-mile byway off U.S. 101 between Tillamook and Pacific City, is one of the most scenic areas on the north coast. And although the beauty of Capes Meares, Lookout, and Kiwanda certainly justifies leaving the main highway, it would be an overstatement to portray this drive as a thrill-a-minute detour on the order of the south coast’s Boardman Scenic Corridor or the central coast’s Otter Crest Loop.Instead of fronting the ocean, the road connecting the capes winds mostly through dairy country, small beach towns, and second-growth forest. What’s special here are the three capes themselves, and unless you get out of the car and walk on the trails, you’ll miss the aesthetic appeal and distinctiveness of each headland’s ecosystem.
The wave-battered bluffs of Cape Kiwanda, the precipitous overlooks along the Cape Lookout Highway, and the curious Octopus Tree at Cape Meares are the perfect antidotes to the inland towns along this stretch of U.S. 101.
The majority of the Three Capes lodging and dining options are clustered in Netarts and Oceanside and at the other end in Pacific City. In between, it’s mostly sand dunes, isolated beaches, rainforest, and pasture.
To reach the Three Capes Scenic Loop from the north, turn west at Tillamook and follow signs to Cape Meares. From the south, follow signs north of Neskowin to Pacific City.
