Things to Do in Pacific City, Oregon

So You're Spending the Day in Pacific City, Oregon...Here Are Some Things to Do

5/17/2016

Remember when we said we weren't leaving Oregon? We were only half joking. To be honest, visiting Pacific City was part of the reason why we came to that conclusion. I don't think I mentioned before, when Vanessa and I financed the RV, we received 30 days of free RV camping from Thousand Trails. Super cool, right? 30 nights in any selected region of our choice. We saved our 30 nights, collecting them in our cheeks like little hamsters, until we made it to the west coast to use in Oregon. That's right, we chose the Pacific Northwest to indulge in our free camping and let me tell you—we chose right.

Pacific City f*^&ing rules. It's this adorably small, yet highly energized surfing city with tons of mom & pop shops and local friendly vibes.

Accomodations

We stayed at the Pacific City RV Park, which was spread out on a few acres of land in the hills a few miles away. First, our campsite was a beaut. Right on the edge of a little bluff, with an insane view of the ocean.

It was such a killer spot we ended up extending our stay twice, totaling up at eleven days. There was a little beach trail from the park, which with a hop, skip, and teeny tiny hike, you're right at the edge of the beach staring into the Pacific feeling the spray of waves on your face and sand pooling at your feet. We went down to the ocean many times with the pups, and they had a blast.

The park does do a great job of coming up with activities and events. We were witness to candy bar BINGO, a Saturday brunch buffet, and poolside weekend BBQs. They also have a legit mini-golf course and hot tub.

The one downside I would say—no site-to-site WiFi. You would have to go to The Lodge in order to get any traces of internet, and even there it was shoddy at best. (The park rep said it's a step above dial up).

But, in town, we had T-Mobile LTE full force.

Breakfast

Grateful Bread Bakery. hands down. You need to hit up this spot for breakfast or lunch. When you walk in, the delicious scent of freshly baked scones hits you like a ton of....well, scones. They made a variety of them, and they're crisp, but fluffy, soft, but have a crunch.

The ingredients in their dishes were full of flavor and noticeably fresh. The menu was eclectic, featuring both entrees for meat and non-meat eaters alike. They also cater to vegans, which was refreshing. However, for non-vegans, order the biscuits. I could probably eat those fluffy clouds of baked glory with some jam all day.

A quick story about Grateful Bread. After Vanessa was jonesing for something sweet, the woman behind the counter said they normally make vegans cookies, but were all out.

But wait, get this....she said that she'll have the kitchen whip some up for the next day and that if we come back, she'll have them ready for us. NO WAY. Never have we experienced that type of customer service, nor that type of pride in their product.

Guess what, we went back and the vegan cookies, which indeed were more like scones, we out of this world. Chunks of sweet fruits and veggies dotted the scone...cookie...let's call it a skookie for time's sake. It tasted almost like a piece of fruit cake, but without all the sugar and fake chewy fruit.

They also use Tillamook cheese, which....shoot, that's just a whole other blog post.

Libations

Pelican Pub and Brewery, which is right on the dang ocean. Literally. Sand gets kicked onto the patio on the reg. They brew their own beer....first....and second, the prices are very reasonable. If you like what they brew, you bring a growler and take it to-go.

I tried the beer flight, and while some of the beers were super IPA, bitter and strong, I found a favorite in the MacPelican, a beautifully amber Scottish ale, which was smooth and tasty. Another notable favorite was the Kiwanda Cream Ale, which tasted nothing like cream, but was a night light alternative without tasting like all water.

Lots of locals frequent this spot, as well as many surfers, too, after a day on the water.

RV Parking

Pacific City was very accommodating with parking, plus it was all free. We even had some friends in a bus boondock close to the ocean without being disturbed. Since it's mostly a seasonal town, boondocking on a side street doesn't seem too impossible. Come summertime though, it might be another story.

Dinnertime

Again, Pelican Pub and Brewery. The thing is though, it's a bit pricey. Since we were saving so much money on camping for free, plus eating light for a few weeks, we splurged at Pelican and it was indeed worth it. Probably, hands-down, best Fish & Chips I've ever had. They used Alaskan Cod, and had thick chunks of it breaded deliciously (no oily batter sh*t), paired with some heavenly creamy tartar sauce. I could probably do without the chunks of pineapple in my coleslaw, but that's beside the point.

Vanessa ordered a Sweet Potato Quinoa Cake, and again, freakin' delicious. There was a tangy, sweet remoulade sauce on the bottom which one could drink for breakfast it was so good, plus massive, crisp asparagus, dangling on top of the cake. SO GOOD.

We also had a curry coconut milk soup, which was on their menu as a weekly special, and almost died it was that good. We're going to try and remake it so stay tuned.

WiFi and Work

We were able to get a lot of work down in The Lodge at our camp, but when we wanted to venture out and explore the city, we ended up at Stimulus Espresso Cafe, a cute coffee shop across from Haystack Rock. It was small, but they featured a nice menu of options, plus super strong WiFi. The upside, was they had all-natural dog treats for dogs for $1, which we jumped on. The downside, they don't have a bathroom. Tres weird.

Fun and Whatnot

Pacific City is all about the outdoors. Surfing, kayaking, paddleboarding, kite surfing, sand boarding— hell, we even saw a white pick-up truck at the ocean's edge, with a guy in the truck bed holding a rope, pulling another guy on a wakeboard across the tide. You can rent both surf boards and sand boards and try your hand at either. Although, I would recommend a wet suit because dude, the water is not quite right yet.

Overall, we had an incredible time in Pacific City. We rested, we relaxed, we read like 18 books each, and we also saved a lot of bees from getting stuck in The Lodge. We also cooked over the campfire and watched a ton of sunsets.