Activities
Dinosaurs at the Beach? Yup!
If the T-Rex in the parking lot doesn’t get your attention, the Brachiosaurus behind the fence line surely will. These life-size dinosaurs are just two in residence at The Prehistoric Gardens, a little lost world tucked in a real rain forest alongside the southern Oregon Coast highway.
The gardens are full of huge old trees, dripping moss, gigantic ferns and more than a dozen prehistoric monsters—sculptures of long-gone animals in an environment they could have called home. “It’s a really magical place,” says owner Kiki McGrath. It took her grandfather, E.V. Nelson, 40 years to sculpt all of the creatures.
PREHISTORIC GARDENS, Port Orford, 541.332.4463
Tugboats and Shipwrecks
This is one cool place to learn about shipwrecks, tugboats, fishing and all sorts of maritime topics. You can feel what it’s like to pilot a tugboat, or lend a hand in a Coast Guard rescue on the Columbia River Bar and more. As you explore the museum, you can look out the huge windows to see the mighty Columbia River right before it meets the Pacific Ocean.
COLUMBIA RIVER MARITIME MUSEUM, Astoria, 503.325.2323, www.crmm.org
Explore the Sea Lion Caves
The Guinness Book of World Records says the Sea Lion Caves in Florence, Oregon, is the largest sea cave in the world! It is as long as a football field and as tall as a 12-story building. And it’s home to tons of wild Steller sea lions. You can see the cave and the sea lions up close in their natural habitat. Just take the elevator down 208 feet into the sea cave. Don’t be afraid of the loud noises—those are just the sea lions saying hello.
SEA LION CAVES, Florence, 541.547.3111, www.SeaLionCaves.com
