Netarts (pop. about 750) has an enviable location overlooking Netarts Bay and the Pacific beyond. Along with nearby Oceanside [1], it’s the closest coastal settlement to Tillamook [2] and makes for a fine quiet getaway. Netarts Bay and seven-mile-long Netarts Spit are popular with clam diggers and crabbers, who can launch boats from Netarts Landing at the northeast corner of the bay.
Netarts Bay RV Park and Marina (2260 Bilyeu St., 503/842-7774) and Big Spruce RV Park (4850 Netarts Hwy. W., 503/842-7443) rent motorboats and crabbing supplies.
The Terimore (5105 Crab Ave., Netarts, 503/842-4623 or 800/635-1821, www.oregoncoast.com/terimore [3], motel rooms $74 and up, cabins $72 and up) is situated a short walk from the water at the north end of Netarts Bay. Other than some units with fireplaces and kitchens, there are few frills, but for fair rates you’ll find yourself close by the water, within easy driving distance of the Cape Lookout [4] trail, and a beach walk away from Roseanna’s, the best restaurant on the Capes Loop [5].
For more up-to-date comforts, Edgewater Motel and Vacation Rentals (1st St. and Crab Ave., 503/842-1300 or 888/425-1050, www.oregoncoastvacrentals.com [6], $279) offers four luxury two-bedroom rentals directly above Netarts Bay. Each unit has two massive stone fireplaces (one in the master bedroom, one in the “great room”), a 650-gallon Jacuzzi tub, two balconies, and a well-equipped kitchen. Each unit sleeps up to eight people (with two queen-size fold-out couches). The views can’t be beat. If you don’t require this level of sophistication, there are also vintage cabins on the same property, each with kitchens and TVs with a DVD player, and some have fireplaces (from $100 d).
You’ll find several lunch and dinner spots to choose from. The view of Cape Lookout is tops at The Schooner (2065 Netarts Bay Rd., 503/842-4988, 11 a.m.–8 p.m. Mon.–Thurs., 7 a.m.–9 p.m. Fri.–Sat., 7 a.m.–8 p.m. Sun., breakfast $7–11, lunch about $9, dinner $10–25), and the food is a nice surprise also. Stop by for some steamer clams, fresh oysters, or tasty wood-fired pizza.
Links:
[1] http://www.moon.com/destinations/oregon/north-coast/three-capes-scenic-loop/oceanside
[2] http://www.moon.com/destinations/oregon/north-coast/tillamook-bay/tillamook
[3] http://www.oregoncoast.com/terimore
[4] http://www.moon.com/destinations/oregon/north-coast/three-capes-scenic-loop/cape-lookout
[5] http://www.moon.com/destinations/oregon/north-coast/three-capes-scenic-loop
[6] http://www.oregoncoastvacrentals.com