MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA: Bandon-by-the-Sea offers many wonders

Published 4:00 pm Wednesday, March 30, 2005

BANDON – Walk into any real estate office in this charming Coos County community of 2,700 residents, and you’ll find some of the spendiest land listed anywhere in Oregon.

Indeed, the price of oceanfront lots has crested half a million dollars, palatial homes line the cliff top above the Pacific, and construction has reached back into the shore pine and scotch broom forest that extends east of Beach Loop Drive. Fortunately, preserved city green spaces lend a soft edge to the roads, sidewalks and commercial trappings built during the past decade to accommodate the influx of newcomers.

A number of visitors come to play golf. North of town, Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes (Round Lake Drive, (888) 345-6008, www.bandondunesgolf.com) are widely regarded as the top tandem courses in the world. The soul of golf is said to reside in these Scottish-style seaside links that challenge players with coastal weather, undulating terrain and fairway rough to rival anything growing in the British Isles. A third course, Bandon Trails, is scheduled to open in June. Anybody even remotely interested in golf will want to drive into the resort and peek around.

Golf, however, takes a back seat to geography, because Bandon occupies a mighty picturesque stretch of coastline. Beaches are uncrowded, and lovely offshore sea stacks and massive rock formations add to the grandeur. The gently flowing Coquille River enters the Pacific here, and Coquille River Lighthouse, built in 1896 and open to the public, stands sentinel on Bandon’s north shore within the confines of Bullards Beach State Park. Tidy cranberry bogs hug the highway on the city’s south end.

Picturesque Old Town, with its quaint harbor (the Coquille River waterfront can be viewed from a public pier), bevy of interesting shops and quality restaurants, also attracts out-of-towners. Must-stops include Cranberry Sweets (First Street and Chicago Avenue, (541) 347-9475) for generous free samples of all manner of cranberry delights and Bandon Fsheries (250 First St., (541) 347-4282) for the local catch. Second Street Gallery (210 Second St., (541) 347-4133) and voluminous Bandon Mercantile Company (U.S. Highway 101 and Elmira Avenue, (541) 347-4341) are sure-bet browses.

After arriving in town at dusk on the first Friday of Spring Break – Bandon is a six-hour drive from Astoria – we were fortunate to score a room at Sunset Oceanfront Lodging (1865 Beach Loop Drive, (800) 842-2407, www.sunsetmotel.com), a network of rooms and suites situated on both sides of the road. Because a string of state parks and waysides buffer the commercial blitz north and south of Bandon, structures such as the Sunset that perch just above the rocky shoreline don’t seem as intrusive as they might in, say, Lincoln City.

Other lodgings worth considering include Lighthouse Bed & Breakfast (650 Jetty Road, (541) 347-9316, www.lighthouselodging.com), an appealing contemporary home with five guest rooms and windows opening toward the mouth of the Coquille River and the Pacific. Beach Street Bed & Breakfast (200 Beach St., (541) 347-5124, www.beach-street.com) offers a half dozen guest accommodations, all with unobstructed ocean vistas. Budget sleeping quarters can be had at Sea Star Guest House (370 First St., (541) 347-9632, www.seastarbandon.com), a hostel with shared rooms and a few private suites overlooking Bandon’s harbor. Anyone hoping to wet a paddle can venture across the street to Adventure Kayak (315 First St., (541) 347-3480, www.adventurekayak.com).

After devouring a take-out pizza Friday evening from local hangout Jack’s Pizza (490 Highway 101, (541) 347-3911), we weren’t hungry for a big breakfast come morning. But I can’t resist an artisan bakery, and Korner Kafe (92 Second St., (541) 347-3237) beckoned. A good chunk of Bandon’s populace seems to gather here for hot beverages, billowy cream puffs, bagels, Parmesan-garlic and basil-oregano loaves, seeded baguettes and the town’s best breakfasts. We lingered in the upstairs dining area, a spacious room featuring views of Bandon’s harbor and the Coquille River’s sandy shoreline, and munched sticky buns while perusing the Eugene Register-Guard and “Coffee Break,” Bandon’s free daily news and classified pamphlet.

We missed dining at Wild Rose Bistro (130 Chicago St., (541) 347-4428), a pint-sized dinner house with a surprisingly broad menu – paella, pork loin, lamb, seafood stew and some enticing-sounding vegetarian entrees; and Lord Bennett’s (1695 Beach Loop Drive, (541) 347-3663), a two-story upscale eatery (named for Bandon’s founder) that purveys fancy, fussy and filling food. The weekend brunch (lemon-souffle pancakes, crab enchiladas, eggs Benedict) is well-regarded.

Upstairs at Lord Bennett’s is Bandon’s top night spot – music and dancing with an ocean panorama. We avoided the evening fun seekers and took a stroll on the public pier followed by a walk along the beach, accessible from our third-floor room via a winding trail and staircase. Later, we just hung out and watched the ocean’s many moods, not a bad way to spend the better part of a weekend getaway.

Before you visit, contact the Bandon Chamber of Commerce (541) 347-9616, www. bandon.com) for more information, or further coaxing if you need it.

Contact the Mouth at The Daily Astorian, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 or phone (503) 325-3211 or e-mail mouth@dailyastorian.com