Beat the heat of summer with a trip to the southern Oregon Coast!  The temperature along the coast is a constant cool 75 degrees daytime (plus or minus a few degrees) , and around 58 degrees at night during the summertime.  With a soft ocean breeze you may even need to wear a sweater!

The southern coast has been called the "banana belt" because it has some of the warmest temperatures and most sunshine on the Oregon coast.  Yet these temperatures can seem downright cool to city dwellers sizzling in 90 degrees plus.  Remember hearing that it always rains on the Oregon coast?  Not the southern coast!  This undiscovered shore is sunny most all summer long!  As a matter of fact, the weather is just about perfect. 

The "Banana Belt" of the Oregon coast begins at the California/Oregon border and runs up the coast about 75 miles to Bandon by the Sea.  This area is zone 17 on the planting maps because of the mild weather and almost dry climate in the summertime!  Much of this area has fine black sand beaches, similar to the pepper in your pepper shaker.    Miles and miles of state park beaches provide  wonderful places to roam in the lazy afternoons.  Search for driftwood  transformed by the wind and waters into shapes that are only limited by the imagination.  Look for Rocks rounded by the surf into beautiful little gemstones.  The variety of the beautiful stones is unlimited. 

Just beyond the beaches are stunning vistas where the visitor can watch the pounding surf below as it beats the forever rhythm on the cliffs that line the sea.  Boating, fishing, hiking, and the re-discovery of nature await the traveler to this undiscovered land on the Pacific.

The little towns and villages along this stretch of coast are not the villages you find in most coastal regions.  Here, sometimes you almost seem to step right into the past, especially when the antique car clubs come to town.    Parked sedately outside the vintage motel, it is easy to believe that you have stepped back into a simpler time indeed.