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Yachats, Oregon...

POPULATION: the population of Yachats in 2000 was 617. In 2007, Budget Travel magazine named Yachats one of the "Ten Coolest Small Towns of the U.S.A." Also, Yachats was chosen among the top 10 U.S. up-and-coming vacation destinations by VirtualTourist.com.

LOCATION: Yachats is the southernmost city in Lincoln County. It is bounded by the Central Oregon Coast Range on the east and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It is located on Highway 101, the main road on the coast. It is 26 miles north of Florence and 26 miles south of Newport, 100 miles east of Eugene and 150 miles south of Portland. It is a popular vacation destination from these population centers.

The city straddles the Yachats River and estuary. There is an unhurried atmosphere in this oceanfront resort, a friendly alternative to the impersonal quality of a large coastal community. The uncrowded beaches of the Yachats area invite agate and fossil hunting, birding, hiking, fishing, clamming, kite flying and picnicking. Its basalt headlands meet some of the most dramatic surf action in the world, attracting photographers and storm watchers, especially during the most spectacular storms of December, January, and February.

ECONOMY: The adage that the Coastal economy is never too hot, never too cool has been borne out during the deep recession of the last year. In Yachats, prices have remained reasonably stable while forecasts show continued growth for the area with new housing developments on the drawing boards. The town has just completed a new sewage and water treatment plant and several new projects underway. County development agencies say the town is "primed for new development." This is an oceanfront community and no land is more valuable than oceanfront. The town has been widely remodeled in the past 10 years and its reputation around the area and the state has grown. Another area of potential growth is wave energy technology to produce clean electricity from the pounding surf.

CLIMATE: The climate of Yachats is relatively mild throughout the year because of the moderating effects of the ocean currents. Temperatures rarely drop below 30 °F (1 °C) in the winter or rise above 80 °F (27 °C) in the summer. The highest recorded temperature, however, was 100 °F (38 °C) in July 1961 and the record low was 1 °F (17 °C) in December 1972. Snow is uncommon, but rainfall is quite heavy through the winter months.

ACCESS: The Landmark is located RIGHT ON U.S. Highway 101, the premier highway of the Oregon Coast, plus there is a new, widened and safer Highway 20 is being completed to better access traffic from the Willamette Valley and a provide a potential connection to high speed rail lines. A new airline, Sea-Port, recently started daily flights from Newport (25 miles from Yachats) to Portland. Local bus transportation is provided by Lincoln County Transit. There is daily service from Newport to Corvallis on the Valley Retriever System. And the recently completed CoastNet fiber optic network assures the area complete Internet access.

HISTORY: Archeological studies have shown that the Yachats area has been inhabited for at least 1,500 years. For many centuries the Native Americans in this area were hunter-gatherers who migrated between summer camps and winter residences. The Alsea Tribe had as many as 20 permanent villages on the Alsea River and the central Oregon coast. Archeological and linguistic evidence support the existence of a southern Alsea village known as the Yahuch band, located on the coast at the Yachats River, a tribe that was extinct by 1860.

Homesteaders used Indian farms and trails to develop the Yachats area. In 1892 the first post office was established in Yachats (called Oceanview until it was renamed Yachats in 1917). The Roosevelt Memorial Highway (now Highway 101), carved out of the rock around Cape Perpetua, the coast's highest point, opened a link to Florence to the south in 1931. The tourist industry began in 1905 with the conversion of a warehouse into the first hotel. The principal industries of Lincoln County are lumber, fishing, tourism and recreation, and food products manufacturing. The Landmark is the third highest employer in Yachats, where tourism is the city's main industry.

EVENTS: Yachats is the scene of several annual events and year-round entertainment. The Landmark Lounge is the hub for live music and presents shows every weekend that feature traveling acts from around the country as well as bands from Portland, Eugene and the Oregon Coast. The music is diverse from blues to folk to funk. Bands from New Orleans, Chicago, St. Louis, New York and elsewhere have played in the small (75 capacity) club.

Every July 4 the quirky and popular Yachats La De Da Parade attracts visitors from around Oregon. It features anyone in town who wants to participate. Some of the regular entries include the Yachats Umbrella Drill Team, a belly dancing troupe, and a Yachats Fire Department truck accompanied by Dalmatian miniature goats. The mayor and city council traditionally lead the parade, riding in a manure spreader. In the evening, an extensive fireworks display is launched over the ocean.

Later in July, the Yachats Music Festival brings 20 to 30 of the world's major classical musicians for four concerts throughout a weekend in July. This music festival has graced Yachats annually since 1981.

Each October, Yachats is the site of the Yachats Village Mushroom Festival. Some of the world's leading experts in mycology provide exhibits, give talks, and guide forest walks. There is also a culinary mushroom-growing workshop. Restaurants in Yachats participate in a Fungi Feast with wild mushroom cuisine. Mushroom-inspired art and music can be found at a number of venues around the town.

October also features the annual Landmark Halloween Party and Costume Contest!

During the first weekend of November, the city hosts the Yachats Celtic Music Festival, with performances at several venues, including the auditorium of the Yachats Commons and the Landmark Lounge. Many of the world's finest Celtic musicians perform there, traveling from Scotland, Ireland and Canada and various regions of the United States to participate.

A covered bridge is located in the Yachats River Valley, about 9 miles east of Yachats. It features the Queen-post truss style found in few covered bridges today and has ribbon openings under the roof to provide light to the bridge's center. Its span is 42 feet long, making it one of the shortest covered bridges in the Pacific Northwest.

PARKS: The Yachats Commons was built in the 1930s and used as a school until 1983. In 1990, the building was bought by the city to serve as a community center. It now houses the city government offices and hosts a wide variety of events, including monthly free movie nights, play readings and drum circles (open to the public), seniors' luncheons, and concerts of the Yachats Big Band (with ballroom dancing). Periodically, concerts by the Oregon Coast Chamber Orchestra and productions of the One of Us Theatrical Company are performed on the stage in the large auditorium, and a number of art and craft shows are held at the Commons as well. From May through October the Commons is the site of the outdoor Yachats Farmers Market.

The Yachats Community Park is a restored marshland in the city's center. The park's boardwalks and paths present a wide variety of native plants and wildlife, including a preserved spruce forest. Migrating waterfowl visit the wetlands regularly, ospreys nest on platforms provided especially for them. The park includes a picnic shelter, peace garden, tree house, and benches.

The Little Log Church is a historical museum displaying many artifacts relating to Yachats's past. The church, built in 1926, was designed in the shape of a cross. Sir Robert Perks, who owned most of Yachats at the time, provided the property, the logs were donated as well, and the work was contributed by local citizens. The museum is now owned by the city.

NATURAL SPLENDOR: The Yachats area is home to a rich variety of plant and animal life, a dream for the eco-tourist, bird watcher or camper. The Siuslaw National Forest borders Yachats on the east and consists of over 630,000 acres extending from Coos Bay to Tillamook. Cape Perpetua is located about 2 miles south of Yachats. Named by Capt. James Cook on March 7, 1778, this promontory rises to 803 feet above sea level, making it the highest point on the Oregon coast. The U.S. Forest Service maintains the Cape's 26 miles of hiking trails through the rainforest's virgin stands of Sitka spruce, western hemlock and Douglas fir.

The Cape Perpetua Scenic Area visitor center hosts Whale Watching Weeks in winter and in spring. About 400 gray whales feed along the coasts of Oregon, Washington and British Columbia in the summer. Generally, whales are in the Cape Perpetua area from July through mid-November. These whales can be seen close to shore while feeding. The visitor center also sponsors a Tidepool Discovery Days program each summer.

Yachats in relation to Portland, Eugene and Upper Soda, among others...

Satellite view of Yachats, U.S. Highway 101, and waves on the Pacific...