Oregon coast businesses, hotels feel ‘bump’ from tourists escaping the heat

Bryanna Berlin works at the front desk at Lincoln City’s Coho Oceanfront Lodge and said an influx of travelers descended as Oregon has endured a record-breaking heat wave starting Thursday.

Temperatures at the coast hovered in the 60s and 70s over the weekend, while Portland experienced its first 100-degree day of the year on Sunday.

Once at the coast, visitors from Portland, Salem and Eugene took in the sunset. In front of gas fireplaces, Berlin said, seemingly aware of the humor in that.

Other hotels and businesses on the Oregon coast — and the way to it — saw a spike in travelers due to the heat wave.

At the Camp 18 Restaurant on U.S. 26 a person who answered the phone around 1:30 p.m. Monday said she was inundated by diners — although business is always hectic in the summer, she said.

Jeremy Burke, director of marketing for the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, said attendance was above average from Friday to Sunday, at 10,000 people.

It happens every time high heat sweeps across the state, he said — with most of their traffic coming from Portland, Eugene and Salem.

Other tourist mainstays on the coast have experienced a similar bump in visitors anecdotally. Carter McEntee, general manager for the Mo’s Seafood and Chowder chain, said restaurants are more crowded.

McEntee said seats haven’t been as full in May and June but he has seen a noticeable bump this month so far. Numbers have been around pre-pandemic levels since the start of the heat wave, he said.

Berlin said most of the travelers to her hotel are families or couples, and that same-day reservations have increased as well.

“Today, we had a couple of people checking out, and they really didn’t want to go back to the heat,” she said.

— Andrew Miller covers business news. Reach him at amiller@oregonian.com or 971-803-2954.