Brianna Berlin, who works at the front desk at Coho Oceanfront Lodge in Lincoln City, said she’s been inundated with travelers as Oregon has been hit with record heat since Thursday.
Temperatures along the coast hovered between 60 and 70 degrees over the weekend, with Portland reaching over 100 degrees for the first time this year on Sunday.
Once on the shore, visitors from Portland, Salem and Eugene watched the sunset, which Berlin said they watched in front of their gas fireplaces, seemingly aware of the fun of it all.
Other hotels and businesses along the Oregon coast and on the roads leading to it also saw a surge in travelers due to the heat wave.
At Camp 18 Restaurant on Highway 26, a caller at about 1:30 p.m. Monday said the restaurant was inundated with customers. It’s usually busy in the summer, she said.
Jeremy Burke, marketing director at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, said attendance from Friday through Sunday was above normal, at 10,000 people.
He said this happens whenever the state experiences extreme heat, and that most of the traffic comes from Portland, Eugene and Salem.
Other coastal destinations have reported similar increases in tourism, and Carter McEntee, general manager of the Moe’s Seafood and Chowder chain, said his restaurants are busier than ever.
McEntee said the restaurant had seen a noticeable increase so far this month after being less full in May and June, and attendance has remained at pre-pandemic levels since the heat wave began.
Berlin said the majority of travelers coming to her hotel are families or couples, and she’s also seeing an increase in same-day bookings.
“We had a few people check out today and they really didn’t want to go back out into the heat,” she said.
—Andrew Miller covers business news. He can be reached at amiller@oregonian.com or 971-803-2954.
