Start from 29 curated places around Florence, OR, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
Waterfront Depot Restaurant
A restored 1913 train depot right on the Siuslaw, doing Pacific Northwest seafood with a light Indonesian accent and a deep cocktail list. The crab-encrusted halibut is the dish people drive in for, and the bridge view at sunset seals it.
1285 Restobar
An Old Town fixture doing San Francisco-style Italian, pizza, and pasta on Bay Street since the 1980s. Generous portions, a long-running local following, and a patio that catches the river breeze.
Trails & outdoors
Hobbit Trail
A short, otherworldly path that tunnels downhill through a salal-and-spruce thicket to a secluded beach below Heceta Head. The connecting climb up to the lighthouse turns it into a proper coastal hike with cliff-top payoff.
Baker Beach Trail
A flat sandy walk north of town that crosses low dunes and shore pine to an open, uncrowded beach popular with horseback riders. Easy enough for almost anyone and a quieter alternative to the busier Old Town beaches.
Things to do
Sea Lion Caves
A privately run wildlife attraction where an elevator drops you into one of the largest sea caves in the country, home to a wild Steller sea lion colony. You watch and hear hundreds of them on the rocks below, with fall and winter the peak indoor-cave season.
Sandland Adventures
A family fun center just south of town running dune-buggy and sandrail tours into the Oregon Dunes, from slow scenic narration to a 50-mph thrill ride. Mini-golf, go-karts, bumper boats, and a little train round it out for the kids.
Landmarks & sights
Siuslaw River Bridge
The 1936 art deco drawbridge that frames every Old Town photo, designed by Oregon's master bridge engineer Conde McCullough. Its concrete obelisks and Egyptian-style towers light up at dusk, and the bascule center span still lifts for tall boats.
Heceta Head Lighthouse
A 56-foot 1894 lighthouse on a headland cliff that throws the strongest beam on the Oregon Coast. The keeper's cottage below is now a bed and breakfast, and the short trail up delivers the postcard view of the white tower against open ocean.