Things to Do in Florence, Oregon

Whatever your adventurous curiosities, there’s nothing like the promise of a new year to start turning aspirations into experiences. And what better place than the Oregon Coast to try an adventure that’s new to you. From mountain biking and disc golfing to guided fishing trips, fat-tire biking and paddling, the Oregon Coast is packed with adventure. Here are five to try.

Digging clams for dinner is a beloved tradition on the Oregon Coast. Whether they’re steamed, fried or the star of a hearty chowder, bivalves are a prized ingredient from the sea. Armed with a license and a few tools, you can explore an entire menu on Oregon’s coastal bays, which are home to five major clam species including the gaper, cockle, littleneck, butter and soft-shell. Or head to the North Coast, where you can find the succulent razor clam on ocean beaches. Here are some top places for clam digging and enjoying these briny treats on Oregon’s coast.

On most days you can find Alanna Kieffer by the Pacific Ocean. She might be farming Pacific dulse for Oregon Seaweed or sharing her love of marine ecosystems with others through her business Shifting Tides, which connects people and place through educational adventures in Oregon’s intertidal zones. Or she might be planning special dining events for a multivenue series she co-founded, Winter Waters, which focuses on regenerative seafood. Regardless of where she is, however, one thing’s certain: She’s raising awareness about the habitats of the Oregon Coast.

For centuries mariners grappled with how to navigate channels up and down the Oregon Coast. The Columbia Bar, for instance, sits where the Columbia River empties into the Pacific Ocean — and has been the site of roughly 2,000 shipwrecks since 1792. Though nowadays things are much safer with jetties and bar pilots, the bar’s rough waters earned it the nickname “Graveyard of the Pacific.” Other passages have less dramatic but no less powerful stories of their own.

As a new style in the cycling world, gravel riding has exploded in popularity across the country. Defined by its versatility, gravel biking allows riders to traverse a variety of less trafficked, nontechnical terrains that deliver ample opportunity for solitude, scenery and a variety of distances. Visitors find gravel riding perfect for mountainous states like Oregon due to the abundance of trails and nearly 30,000 national forest service roads in the state, where cyclists can explore for miles.

If you and your kids want to learn about marine life, the Oregon Coast has you covered. You’ll find everything from aquariums with kid-friendly touch pools to interactive museums that uncover some of the ocean’s many mysteries. One must-see is Newport’s Oregon Coast Aquarium, which features a new giant Pacific octopus habitat designed to resemble a natural seafloor. “The wraparound viewing window gives guests the chance to see the octopus as it feeds, plays and displays its colorful camouflage,” says Jeremy Burke, the aquarium's director of marketing and visitor services.