Located on the Southern Oregon Coast, Gold Beach is a seaside town, a river town, and a forest/mountain town. Where the Rogue River meets the Pacific Ocean, you’ll find a taste of the Pacific Northwest that you might have thought no longer existed.

You’ll enjoy all the things to do, from fishing to golf, tidepooling to forest hikes, kayaking and biking and of course the famous Jet Boats.

Explore antique shops, art galleries and lighthouses. Catch and steam your own Dungeness crab, mussel or clam dinner or enjoy one of the many fine restaurants. Most of all, enjoy the pace, and we promise to send you home feeling the way a getaway should make you feel.

Gold Beach is probably one the best places in the world to relax and do nothing at all, while on the other hand it boasts enough activities to keep your days packed full of fun if you should choose to do so!

Whitewater Jet Boating, Kayaking, Windsurfing, Wilderness Mountain Hiking or Biking, Wildlife Viewing, Cedar Bend Golf Course, Salmon Run Golf & Wilderness Preserve, Salmon Fishing, Crabbing, Shopping, Antiques, Art Galleries, Fine Dining & More.

It's probably one of the best places in the world to do nothing, like walking along a sandy beach just clearing your head. Or sitting on a gusty bluff, watching clouds go by. Gazing into a tidepool for what seems like hours, till that starfish finally moves on. Maybe casting a line with no thought at all except what's in that calm pool on the other bank.

Gold Beach has that kind of effect on you; it's just the best escape.

On the other hand, it's also one of the Northwest's choicest bases for launching yourself into about anything you've been meaning to do "someday" — whitewater jet boating, kayaking, windsurfing, wilderness mountain hiking or biking, or maybe just seeing an eagle, otter or bear that's not in a pen. There's magic to that, and something really magical about knowing it's like this here all the time.

Dining
Restaurants, takeouts, bakeries and grocers — find just what you’re craving in Gold Beach. Especially seafood! Gold Beach is famous for local Chinook salmon, Halibut and Dungeness Crab, and several places serve these specialties alongside dishes such as hearty steak and burgers and apple-roasted chicken, or enormous muffins and strong latte to wake you up.

Family-style restaurants, neighborhood taverns, romantic dining rooms with ocean and river views, and picnic ingredients to tote along on your hike or fishing excursion — we love to eat this way and when you’re in Gold Beach, you will, too.

Jet Boats
Gold Beach is synonymous with jet boats and is the gateway to the Wild & Scenic portion of the Rogue River. Departing from Gold Beach is the only way to get jet boat access to this pristine "Wild Section." The trips are considered a must-do during any Gold Beach visit — at least in the months between May and October. Two outfits run the boats up the Wild and Scenic Rogue River on trips of 64, 80 and 104 round-trip miles, the longer, the wilder — in terms of whitewater and scenery. Excursions include lunch or dinner stopovers at upriver lodges (meal price extra).

Jet boats are designed specifically for safely navigating strong currents and shallow riffles, so you can relax as trained pilots treat you to tall tales and river lore, incredible scenery and sightings of black bear, river otters, eagles and the rare mountain lion.

Mail Boat Hydro-Jets is a descendant of the original mail boats that have carried news and parcels from the outside world to settlers upriver since 1895. Mail Boat Hydro-Jets runs trips in open vessels and in the Rogue Queen, a glass-enclosed excursion boat that’s ideal for rainy days and perfect for tour groups and champagne cruises.

An adventure with Jerry’s Rogue Jets begins in their museum, where just about anything you need to know about the area’s colorful history is on display in photos, artifacts and dioramas. Then get on board to learn the true meaning of "wild and scenic" from folks who’ve run these trips since 1958.

Reservations are highly recommended for both outfitters, though same-day openings are available if you’re lucky. Overnight stays at lodges upriver are another option; check out their websites, above, for details.

Golf
Located 10 miles north of Gold Beach, Cedar Bend Golf Course's nine holes play like eighteen, set up with multiple tee locations and two flags on each green. We may be prejudiced, but we agree when golfers say the greens are the best on the coast, with Cedar Creek wandering across or alongside almost every hole.

There's a covered driving range, nine-hole putting green and a full-service snack bar that serves a chili you’ll look forward to as much as the game.

If you arrive by RV, ask about the 11-site campground, with its resident deer, occasional elk, and an interesting bird population. There’s even a trickling stream to lull you to sleep.

Thirty miles south of Gold Beach is Salmon Run Golf & Wilderness Preserve, a championship 18-hole course with five sets of tees on every hole, plus the most incredible views. One of its top attractions? The quiet — like golfing in a forest. Which, actually, it is.

Or take a day to play one of the premier golf courses of the world, Bandon Dunes, just an hour and a half north of Gold Beach (www.bandondunesgolf.com)

Fishing
The Rogue River is world famous, and fishing is no doubt the big reason. The salmon run that has over 200,000 fish mid July through October starts in the bay at Gold Beach and draws anglers from around the globe to Gold Beach, and this is the time and place for Chinook salmon, packed with energy from months at sea and ready to put up a big fight. Summer Steelhead & Coho Salmon are also around, starting in late August and mid September.

You'll be rewarded with memorable sport and great eating the kind of fishing you dream about all year.

The first fish make their appearance in the lower river at Gold Beach around the end of March. Fish range from 15 to 40 pounds with the average about 20 pounds. Angling starts about a half-mile upriver from Gold Beach and stretches up to the town of Agness. Most of our guides use jet boats 20 to 25 feet long to make the trip as comfortable as it is thrilling.

Fall Chinook aren't the only action. The Gold Beach ocean charter season goes year-round and is the best in Oregon, with consistent catches of ling cod and rock fish available just a few miles offshore.

Gold Beach offers excellent local guides who grew up on the river, and several tackle stores to help with your gear, advice and amazing stories. (All of them true)