Road Trip to Cannon Beach, Oregon

On the coast of Oregon lies a hidden gem, a place so stunning in its geography but so tranquil in its environment that it is a must visit for any true West Coast traveller!

We discovered the oasis that is Cannon Beach when our Vancouver friends invited us to spend New Year’s Eve with them in Oregon. Knowing absolutely nothing about this seaside town a 600 km drive from Vancouver we agreed to get involved in the road trip as we knew there would be a great party at the end of it!

Getting To Cannon Beach

After an overnight stop off in Seattle to take advantage of the US’s super cheap (relative to Canada) shopping at Seattle Premium Outlets, Alderwood Mall & Bellevue Square, we put the pedal to the metal and headed down the I5 through Washington to the Oregon border where the mighty Columbia river separates the 2 states. We quickly realised the flaw in our plan to stop for lunch in Longview when we discovered that the town might have an attractive sounding name for tourists but was actually more of an industrial wasteland which you would want to escape as quickly as possible…so we did, over a very dubious steep, narrow and old bridge called the Lewis and Clark Bridge.

The final leg of the inbound journey along highways 30 to Astoria and 101 to Cannon Beach was relatively slow given that these highways are only single lane roads and Astoria has about 10 miles of 20mph speed limits!! Why you may reasonably ask? You probably want to give yourself 2 hours to cover the 75 miles from Longview to Cannon Beach.

Our Accommodation

With a mixed group of 14 people and 4 dogs of varying obedience (Helena was greeted by a big lick to the face by one pooch) we stayed in 2 separate houses close to the beach which were surprisingly inexpensive.

The “mothership” house had 4 bedrooms, an all-important 8 man hot tub with a view of the ocean, sufficient entertainment space to hold a New Year’s party, a large flat screen TV for playing MTV and a table long enough for a beer pong tournament – the locals did not like the rookie Brit taking the title! We paid around $400 a night for the whole place.

The “overflow” non-dog dominated house slept 6 (2 bedrooms), was nicely furnished with a gas fire, had 2 bathrooms and an outdoor bbq. It was $130 a night for the house in January and was super quiet. This would be a great place to stay in summer with a family.

Cannon Beach

Cannon Beach is geographically stunning and the ambience relaxing. The town planning has been carefully managed to create a kind of charming chocolate box feel with pretty low rise wooden architecture which is in contrast to some of its seaside neighbour towns.

The highlight for us was simply a walk along the beach on a sunny day. The views of the 235ft Haystack Rock were simply phenomenal as the water crashed around it creating a hazy, almost mysterious,  effect. The memory card on the camera was quickly filled up (see below). We were told the stack is accessible at low tide in the summer, but you need to be careful at high tide as your boots may get covered by the onrushing waves!

The Pacific Ocean also offer visitors the chance to try their hand at surfing, although given the size of the 20ft winter waves it was something us novices chose not to chance!

The town is also recognised as being one of the Northwest’s best art towns, and every June the town hosts a famous sand castle building contest.

Where to Eat

On our first night in Cannon Beach we ate at Lumberyard Bar and Grill. The wooden décor inside is visually impressive. The food was decent without being outstanding. The Northwest Fish Tacos were a tasty choice!

After our long 3 hour walk on the beach we stumbled upon the super friendly and homely Seasons Café where the staff served up some delicious eggs benedict with proper hash browns and unlimited coffee.

The Scenic Drive Home

Nursing the excesses of New Year and facing a 600km drive along the less than friendly Interstate, we decided to take the scenic route home along the coastal highway 101.

This involved crossing the spectacular Astoria – Medgar Bridge which is about 5km long and very windy, but has stunning views of the estuary and surrounding mountains.

On our route north we also stopped off at Cape Disappointment State Park whose name is definitely ironic!

After that followed 50km of scenic coastal driving along twisty highway roads where every corner was a photo opportunity. We eventually lost the scenery at Raymond (no need to stop) before heading up to Aberdeen (commercial). We did have one brief stop at a viewpoint just outside Aberdeen but the sound of hunters shooting left us running back to the car!

Summary

A great road trip to a beautiful and relaxing beach town; Cannon Beach is definitely a great place to enjoy with friends and family all year round.