Arriving by Car
The town of Florence is
located along U.S. Highway 101, the Pacific Coast Highway. This
road alone is a worthy attraction, and may merit the focus of an
entire vacation in itself. As one of the most spectacular scenic
drives in the world, Highway 101 steadily twists and turns all the
way up the West Coast; from Los Angeles in the south, across San
Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge, all the way through Oregon,
where it hugs the rugged coastline for the length of the trip, and
finally into Washington State, where the road circumnavigates the
Olympic Mountains and winds its way down along Puget Sound into
Olympia. The Florence area makes up a beautiful and worthy leg of
this amazing stretch of road, and is certainly one of its most
rewarding features.
For motorists wishing to
reach Florence via a faster route, the most practical option is to
take is Interstate 5 from points north or south. In Eugene, head
west on Oregon Highway 126 and continue for 60 miles until you
reach Florence. Highway 126 is actually quite scenic, as it
zigzags along the Siuslaw River west of Eugene and crosses the
fertile Williamette Valley.
Arriving by Air
Florence is easily
accessible by air. The Florence Municipal Airport features a
3,000-foot hard-surfaced runway, an excellent lighting system, and
a new fixed base operations structure. Car rental service is
available here.
Further inland lies
Eugene's Mahlon-Sweet Field, a larger airport with direct flights
to major Western cities such as Portland, San Francisco, Los
Angeles, Denver, and Chicago. The state's largest airport is in
Portland, 170 miles northeast of Florence.
Locale
The town of Florence hugs
the Pacific Ocean, which creates the town's western edge, with the
Siuslaw River snaking its way across and around the downtown and
Old Town sections of the city before merging with the sea.
Florence is known as the
City of Rhododendrons and has a population of 6,500, the hub of a
population center with 19,000 people. The area is the largest
community in western Lane County and specializes in the medical
care, education, and services sector. Florence's larger neighbor
to the east is Eugene, Oregon's second-most populous city and the
home of the University of Oregon.
Seasons and Climate
Florence has four
distinct, uniquely beautiful seasons that welcome visitors with
comfortable weather and breathtaking sights.
The
fall months in Oregon are exhilarating. The chilly breath
of autumn here turns the forests into an explosion of fiery hues
of red, orange, and gold. Visitors and residents alike venture
onto the region's back roads to see the vivid foliage and breathe
the brisk, clean autumn air. Autumn here can be chilly, but quite
refreshing.
Winter
is one of the best times to come to Florence. There are fewer
tourists and an abundance of crystal clear days that allows for
endless vistas across the ocean or across town. At the same time,
the winter months also bring dramatic ocean storms, which can be
both violent and eerily beautiful at once. Fierce waves ravage the
shoreline, catapulting salt water sprays up to 100 feet in the
air. And while snow is not generally a common sight in coastal
areas, Florence is known to receive one or two light dustings a
year.
As elsewhere,
Spring is a time of
renewal in Florence, bringing with it a colorful array of floral
vibrance: wild rhododendrons, azaleas, giant ferns, and daffodils
come into bloom and breathe fresh life into town. Wild daffodils
and spring ferns thrive alongside the roads, and everything smells
fresh and new from the occasional spring showers.
Residents of Florence
enjoy long, mild Indian Summers
which usually last through the end of October and bring
magnificent sunsets, warm breezes, and clear, starry nights.
Despite the common stories
that Oregon is a state that spends most of its time getting rained
on, Florence actually gets an average yearly rainfall equal to
many Gulf Coast and eastern cities -- about 65 inches per year.
And rainy days during winter and spring in Florence are usually
accompanied by regular appearances of the sun, which darts in and
out of the clouds. Luckily, bleak, dreary days are the exception
to the rule in Florence. |
Chamber
of
Commerce
Visitor's Center
270 Hwy 101,
Florence, Oregon 97439
(541) 997-3128
Email |
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