The number of visitors — with their dogs and kites — to the beach during Oregon’s spring break next week can depend on the weather on the coast and the amount of snow in the mountains. (Shayla Escudero/Lincoln Chronicle)By DANA TIMS/Lincoln Chronicle
Travel industry veterans have a rule of thumb when it comes to predicting how much of an economic bounce spring break may provide for coastal businesses relying on tourism, and it’s this — if the Cascade snowpack is low, families who otherwise would head for the mountains will instead stow their boards and skis and trek to the beach.
Korgan“When there’s snow on the mountain, we’re definitely less busy,” Michelle Korgan, owner of Ona Restaurant & Lounge in Yachats, told the Lincoln Chronicle. “So, we’ll obviously be keeping our eyes on the forecasts.”
With Oregon’s spring break beginning this weekend, restaurants, motels, lodges and related businesses will also be paying close attention. They all count on that break for a needed infusion of cash following famously slow tourist months in January and February.
And while the weather is just one indicator of how vibrant the week may be the lack of snow in the mountains so far this winter and temperatures in the 70s in central Oregon this week could well mean more visitors deciding the ocean is more inviting than the slopes.
No matter the place, tourist-oriented businesses use the bump of spring break visitors as a springboard toward the far busier late spring and summer months.
Last year, for instance, the coast saw 2 percent of its total room nights sold for the entire year, according to Travel Oregon, the state’s quasi-official tourism marketing organization. That number was slightly above other parts of the state, which saw 1.87 percent of total rooms sold during the same week in 2025.
As of late February, lodging occupancy was just shy of 50 percent at coastal facilities, a rate slightly behind the statewide average of 53.1 percent. However, the coast’s rate was above those registered in both 2023 and 2024, indicating a continuing bounce back from significant tourism-related job losses during the 2020 pandemic.
Soft statistics
Shaun Barrick, a regional economist with the state Employment Department, said overall travel-related numbers for the coast are “softer than usual.” And he underscored just how important the upcoming break is to many coastal businesses.
Barrick“Spring break is super important for leisure and hospitality,” he said. “Going from the extreme lows in December and January toward the big employment highs in July and August, it’s just a really critical time to get some juice to keep going.”
Weather also plays a significant role in whether large numbers of families are willing to flock to coastal campgrounds for the week. Even though parks along the coast saw modest declines in overall numbers in 2025, the coast still remains the Oregon State Park system’s most popular destination, attracting 30.65 million day-use visits, according to state parks statistics.
Drew Roslund, who operates the Overleaf and Fireside motels in Yachats, described spring break as a “nice shot in the arm for March and a great way to get out of the winter doldrums.”
His confidence that this spring break will be busy is bolstered by the average occupancy at his motels’ combined 97 rooms being up nearly 9 percent since the start of this year.
“I don’t know if that will continue all through March,” Roslund said, “but things are looking good so far.”
Beachside State Park north of Yachats, which just reopened this month, is already displaying its “campground full” sign. (Quinton Smith/Lincoln Chronicle)Lingering Canadian boycott
One thing he’s not seeing is the type of significant drop in tourists from Canada that some other businesses report.
“But that’s probably just our location being where it is,” Roslund said. “If we were in Seattle or even farther up the coast, we would probably be seeing the same thing folks in those areas are.”
And are they ever.
According to U.S. Travel Association data, this January marked the 13th consecutive month of falling Canadian visits to the United States, a downturn that began in January 2025. A number of Canadians, including those interviewed by the Lincoln Chronicle, decided to pass up U.S. visits after tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration and comments from President Trump that Canada should become the U.S.’s 51st state.
Nationally, visits from Canada dropped nearly 21 percent year over year and are down 27.2 percent compared to January 2024. That represented a “sustained contraction in what has historically been the top inbound source market,” according to a Travel Oregon statement.
Weather and boycotts aside, businesses up and down the coast are gearing up for the annual spring pilgrimage of thousands of tourists. Some will seek out guided tours of tidepools while others will take advantage of Whale Watching Week, which coincides with the break.
“It’s just a great time to explore coastal sloughs, rivers, shops and other cool things,” Stacey Gunderson, the Oregon Coast Visitor Association’s marketing manager. “Just be ready for the weather. It’s still spring in Oregon, after all.”
- Dana Tims is an Oregon freelance writer who contributes regularly to Lincoln Chronicle and can be reached at [email protected]
It may be an infusion of cash for local businesses, but it’s an infusion of too much traffic, litter and crowds for the rest of us.
Businesses who are wistfully hoping for a cash infusion are turning a blind eye to a major factor in the equation~ tourist dollars. As in, the lack of. Ordinary citizens don’t have many dollars left to indulge in being tourists after the dramatic rise in food and gas costs. We know by now that falsehoods abound. No matter what the White House optimistically claims, the lack of tourist dollars will reveal the true, dismal state of America after the 2024 election. Not to worry, some people will be able to recoup their budget losses by taking second jobs as room cleaners or landscapers or as restaurant or construction help. If employers can still afford it, there will be some openings available now that the good help has been whisked away or are in hiding, wondering if they will be forced to commit crimes to feed their families.
While some local residents are apprehensive about the impact of climate change on our weather and prospects of resulting drought, global warming has resulted in many dry and sunny days this past winter and now the start of spring here in Yachats. Back in the 1970’s when I moved to Oregon it was noticeably wetter. Native Oregonians used to say don’t worry, the sun will be out in June. Today I expect summer weather even before June.