Things to Do at Florence
Florence's attractions are genuinely unusual for a town this size -- a Guinness-certified world-record sea cave, a still-active 19th-century lighthouse with a bed-and-breakfast inside its keeper's house, and the largest coastal dune field in North America, all within a short drive of a historic bascule bridge and a walkable riverfront downtown.
Sea Lion Caves: The World's Largest Sea Cave
Eleven miles north of Florence on US 101, Sea Lion Caves has been a tourist attraction since 1932, discovered originally in 1880 by sea captain William Cox, who purchased the land in 1887; his family owned it until 1926. The cave itself is Guinness-certified as the world's largest sea cave, with a main chamber roughly 310 feet long, 165 feet wide, and about 50 feet high within a wave-cut passage extending 1,315 feet. An elevator, installed in 1958 to replace an original stairway, carries visitors down to the cave itself, which is the only mainland rookery for Steller sea lions in the contiguous United States, home to roughly 200 cows, yearlings, and immature bulls alongside California sea lions, and is now designated a wildlife refuge.
Heceta Head Lighthouse and the Keeper's House B&B
Thirteen miles north of Florence, Heceta Head Lighthouse has cast its beam from 205 feet above the ocean since it was first lit on March 30, 1894, reportedly visible more than 20 miles out to sea and described as the brightest light on the Oregon coast. The lighthouse and its 1894 Queen Anne-style keeper's house were both listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The keeper's house has a genuinely interesting second life: the U.S. Forest Service leased it to Lane Community College as a satellite campus from 1970 to 1995, and it now operates as the Heceta Lighthouse Bed & Breakfast, complete with an interpretive center and a highly rated seven-course breakfast, with guided docent tours offered during Spring Break and summer months.
The Oregon Dunes: The Largest Coastal Dune Field in North America
The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area anchors Florence's southern edge -- roughly 31,500 acres running about 40 miles south to the Coos River near North Bend, managed by the U.S. Forest Service as part of Siuslaw National Forest since a 1972 designation. It's the largest expanse of coastal sand dunes in North America, with dunes reported to reach as high as roughly 500 feet in places, and roughly 7,000 acres of genuinely open, active sand within the recreation area. Sand Master Park, inside Florence itself, is recognized as the world's first dedicated sandboarding park, with 40 acres of privately maintained dunes, board and sled rentals, and lessons from certified instructors -- a real, accessible entry point into dune recreation without needing to organize an off-highway-vehicle trip.
Historic Old Town Florence and the Siuslaw River Bridge
Historic Old Town Florence, along the Siuslaw River, offers a walkable riverfront district of restored early-1900s buildings along Bay Street with galleries, shops, and restaurants -- covered in more depth on this site's Dining Guide. The 1936 Siuslaw River Bridge, designed by Conde McCullough and funded through New Deal public-works dollars, is the district's defining landmark, a 1,568-foot steel-and-concrete bascule span whose 140-foot double-leaf draw section still opens for river traffic, marked by four distinctive Art Deco obelisks.
Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park
Three miles south of Florence, Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park sits between Cleawox and Woahink Lakes within the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. Several structures built by the Civilian Conservation Corps -- the camp store, three picnic shelters, and the administrative building -- form the Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park Historic District. Cleawox Lake is popular for swimming, Woahink Lake has a public boat ramp and supports all water sports, and the park's H-loop campground offers direct dune access during Discovery Season, October 1 through April 30 each year.
Golf: Sandpines Golf Links
Sandpines Golf Links, an 18-hole, par-72 course designed by Rees Jones and opened in 1993, was named "Best New Public Course in America" that year and holds a 4.5-star rating from Golf Digest's "Places to Play in the USA" list. Its outward nine winds through forested pines and lakes, while the inward nine runs traditional links-style terrain through rolling coastal dunes -- a genuinely well-regarded course for a town this size. Ocean Dunes Golf Links, part of Three Rivers Casino Resort, offers a second in-town golf option with daily play available even without a resort stay.
What This Page Doesn't Cover
This page names Florence's most distinctive, independently verifiable attractions -- Sea Lion Caves, Heceta Head Lighthouse, the Oregon Dunes, Historic Old Town and the Siuslaw River Bridge, Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park, and Sandpines and Ocean Dunes golf courses. It does not attempt a comprehensive, current list of every attraction, tour operator, or activity in the wider Florence area, current admission prices, or current hours. Confirm current pricing, hours, and any seasonal closures directly with each attraction before planning a visit.
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Get a Free Agent Referral →Independent research. No ads. No sponsored listings. Data sourced from: Sea Lion Caves' own website (sealioncaves.com) and general historical sourcing (worldrecordacademy.org, beachconnection.net) for the cave's 1880 discovery, 1887 purchase, 1932 commercial opening, 1958 elevator installation, Guinness world-record dimensions, and Steller sea lion rookery status; Heceta Lighthouse B&B's own website (hecetalighthouse.com), the American Lighthouse Foundation, and Oregon State Parks for the lighthouse's 1894 first-lighting date, height, beam visibility, National Register listing, and the keeper's house's history as a Lane Community College satellite campus (1970-1995) and current bed-and-breakfast operation; the Oregon Encyclopedia for the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area's acreage, extent, dune heights, and 1972 designation; Sand Master Park's own descriptions via the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce; Wikipedia, the Library of Congress, and Living New Deal for Siuslaw River Bridge construction details; Oregon State Parks for Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park's CCC-built historic district and lake amenities; and Sandpines Golf Links' own website and Rees Jones Inc. for the course's 1993 opening, design credit, and awards. Facts not independently confirmed and not invented here include: current admission prices, current hours, and seasonal closures for any attraction named here; and a comprehensive current list of every tour operator or activity provider in the Florence area. Confirm current pricing, hours, and availability directly with each attraction before planning a visit. Nothing on this page is travel-safety advice.