My wife and I just returned from a 9-day trip when took us through central Oregon to the California border and back up to the Oregon Coast. We’ve been talking about making the trip for many years and we were actually scheduled to do it last year, but the smoke was so bad we postponed it until this year.

We were completely awestruck by the incredible beauty of the southern Oregon coastline and the vacation rental, “Coastal Cliffs”, we found in Brookings, Oregon - a small town just above the California border. The actual vacation rental is a private suite that allows access to the beach and most of the gated property which has a luxurious home.

Check out the view from this dream home perched on the edge of the cliff with access to a stunning beach.

Paul Hinkson
Cliff View
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To get to the beach below (private when the tied is high) you have to make your way down 193 wooden steps that are built into the side of the cliff. It’s so steep, that we had to actually sign a waiver before we were allowed to go down. It was a bit frightening at first, but it wasn’t too bad, we just took it slow.  Be sure and watch the video below – you’ll get a good idea of what I’m talking about.

You should definitely put this on your list of places to stay and explore. We spent a lot of time just sitting, watching the waves, and the perfect sunsets from the top of the cliff.

The town of Brookings is your typical beach town with a fun vibe and harbor area with restaurants, shops, and rentals.  We spent one-day hiking and exploring the Redwood State Park, about 50 minutes south just across the California border – well worth it. We also discovered a plethora of hiking trails and empty beaches – and I mean completely empty – not a soul to be seen for hours.

Check out this list of other American beach towns worth exploring.

LOOK: Here are the 50 best beach towns in America

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.

READ ON: See the States Where People Live the Longest

Stacker used data from the 2020 County Health Rankings to rank every state's average life expectancy from lowest to highest. The 2020 County Health Rankings values were calculated using mortality counts from the 2016-2018 National Center for Health Statistics. The U.S. Census 2019 American Community Survey and America's Health Rankings Senior Report 2019 data were also used to provide demographics on the senior population of each state and the state's rank on senior health care, respectively.

Read on to learn the average life expectancy in each state.

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