Category Archives: Cannon Beach

Hike to Short Sands Beach

01 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by in Beach, Cannon Beach

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If you have driven along the Oregon coast highway between Manzanita and Cannon Beach then you have gone past the parking areas for Short Sand beach. The parking lot is often filled with cars and so if you do not get here early in the day you will likely be parking off on the side of the road and walking back towards the head of the trail. A popular surfing cove is located at Short Sands beach and during optimal surfing weather and surf conditions, it can be one of the busiest places on the North Coast. Lots of surfers will be out riding the waves, but even more people will just be hanging out on the beach watching the action in the water.

main beach access at short sands beach

Despite all the visitors there are many trails and unless you are going to get in the water the extra traffic should not stop you from being able to enjoy this peaceful and beautiful place.

There are several trails that branch off from the main path, so make sure to check out the trail maps near the parking lot and down near the beach before venturing off. The creek that runs through the forestland along the trails is large enough that it splits off part of the beach. The main trail leads to the large section of the beach at the north section of the cove and will have more people. The Sitka Spruce trail heads over to connect with the South Beach access point and requires crossing over a cable bridge over a large creek. The south beach access puts you in the sand south of the creek so you can explore that side of the beach and view the impressive cliff that jut out into the ocean making the southern boundary of Short Sand beach. The various trails running through the forest are easy to moderate in difficulty, must due to the consistent moisture of the soil, good hiking shoes are a must as the trail can get muddy and slippery at certain places.

This is one of the most popular places to surf on the entire Oregon Coast, the cove is protected from lots of the weather on the coast and has the right underwater features that generate waves big enough for people to ride. Due to the limited number of awesome spots to surf on the coast, Short Sand beach should not be your first choice if looking for a place to go surf perch fishing. While the fishing can be really good in the cove, you might not make many friends chucking large weights and hooks in between the surfers.

A street view map of the Short Sands Beach trail parking and access:

Oregon Coast Fireworks Shows – 4th of July

02 Wednesday Jul 2014

Posted by in Cannon Beach, Florence, Lincoln City, Newport, Pacific City, Port Orford, Reedsport, Rockaway, Seaside, Tillamook, Warrenton, Yachats

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The communities along the Oregon coast now how to celebrate Independence day. There are many different options to choose from if you are looking for a good time this upcoming 4th of July weekend. There will be lots of family friendly events and a few places for adults to party as well.
coast fireworks
The following cities will be holding firework shows on either the 3rd or 4th.

Rockaway Beach – July 4
Rockaway Beach is home to a full weekend of fun. The firework show begins at dusk and is hosted by the local fire department near the Wayside. Get a spot on the beach and enjoy the show. During the day the morning is the local parade. The Lions Club will be putting on their Fun Day at the Beach with activities for kids and it will be the 8th annual Firecracker Weiner Nationals dachshund races at the local park.

Click for a full schedule of events for Rockaway Beach 4th of July

Manzanita – July 4
The Manzanita parade starts at 1PM. The city sanctioned fireworks display is planned to start at 10PM on the beach at Manzanita, the show is expected to last about 20 minutes.

Cannon Beach – July 4
Cannon Beach will have a firedancer show on the beach and several other Puffin friendly activities to be careful not to harm to the birds that reside in the area during the summer. There is a concert from 7 – 9 PM at the City Park and several other planned events. http://www.cannonbeach.org/events

Tillamook – July 4
The Blue Heron is the place to be if you are in the Tillamook area and looking for a more adult friendly environment. Live music and wine tasting.
wine tasting on july 4th Blue Heron on Facebook

Seaside – July 4
The Seaside chamber of commerce puts on a great family fun focused Fourth of July celebration.
11AM – Parade starts at The Seaside Museum
12PM – 4PM Seaside Museum Old Fashioned Social
1:30PM – Drum & Bugle Corps. Show at Broadway Field
Late Afternoon – Stunt Kite Show
10PM – Seaside July 4th Fireworks Display on the Beach

Pacific City – July 5
The fireworks show will at Bob Straub State Park at dusk. http://www.pacificcityfireworks.com/

Lincoln City – July 4
There is a ton of activities in Lincoln City this weekend. Here is a brief schedule of events.
8-11AM – Pancake Breakfast at Glenden Beach
9AM – 3PM Craft Fair and Food Court at Glenden Beach
1PM Parade at Glenden Beach
Dusk Fireworks show over Siletz Bay.
More details about Lincoln City 4th of July Celebrations

If you decide to do a little shopping at the Tangier Outlets in Lincoln city make sure and take advantage of these coupons and any other special holiday discounts that may be going on.

Depoe Bay no longer holding fireworks display due to bird sensitivity.

Yachats July 4
Enjoy the fun and whimsical la de da parade at Noon that is put on by the Yachats Area Chamber of Commerce. The afternoon is the mouth of the river is home to a rubber ducky race in the river and in the evening there will be a public fireworks show.

Florence – July 4
There will be live outdoor music in Old Town and a fireworks display over the Siuslaw river. Local shops and restaurants will be open late to accommodate people out celebrating the holiday.

Cannon Beach Fourth of July Parade & Fire Dancers

03 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by in Cannon Beach

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Cannon Beach is a fireworks free beach due to the populations of nesting birds that reside on Haystack Rock. This makes Cannon Beach the perfect place for people that like to avoid the loud fireworks and large crowds found at other places with big firework displays. There is still a ton of things to do and enjoy in Cannon Beach besides making something go boom.

Parade
There is an excellent small town parade that has all of the best you would expect from floats, decorated vehicles, marching bands, and cool old cars. The parade will start at 11AM at Spruce and Monroe and then goes along Spruce to 3rd Street then continuing south on Hemlock.

North Coast Symphonic Band
There will be a concert at 3PM at the Cannon Beach City park, playing a variety of music including selections form the musical “The Wizard of Oz”.

Flame Dancers
There will be a show in the evening that starts at 7:30PM with the Dancers Flambouyant a group from Portland.

Cannon Beach activities

Listen Missy!, http://www.flickr.com/photos/listenmissy/, CC-BY, ND 2.0

Remember no fireworks in Cannon Beach, but you also get the chance to enjoy amazing views of puffins, pelicans, cormorants, black oyster catchers, and even bald eagles flying up above. There will be a low tide first thing in the morning on the 4th and 5th of July so take a nice early morning beach walk and enjoy the shallow tide pool ecosystem. There is always something interesting to see. Low tide beach walks are always the best, lots of nice hard sand and access to the tide pools to poke around in.

Sand Castle Day in Cannon Beach June 15, 2013

11 Tuesday Jun 2013

Posted by in Cannon Beach

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This upcoming weekend is the 49th annual contest to build the best sculpture on the sands of Cannon Beach, Oregon at the Sand Castle Day contest. Starting in 1964 as an idea to keep the local townsfolk entertained the sand castle contest has grown into a huge weekend event drawing in people from all over to enjoy this art on the beach. The rules are very simple and no one is required to build based on a specific theme resulting in often very elaborate and intricate sand sculptures. Every participating team is given a specific plot of sand to work within and they are only allowed to use natural objects found on the beach to add as accessories to their design such as shells, rocks, seaweed, wood, etc.

sand castle event

Check out the Facebook page for details about the event and for pictures of past sculptures and activities from previous contests – https://www.facebook.com/SandcastleDay

This is a perfect activity for a family looking for a day trip this weekend from Portland. Take a drive to the coast in the morning, take in all of the fun activities going on at the beach, have a nice dinner somewhere along the beach between Seaside and Tillamook and drive back to town.

Ecola State Park Near Cannon Beach

18 Monday Mar 2013

Posted by in Cannon Beach

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Ecola State Park

How to get there:

Located just a few minutes north of Cannon Beach.


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There are a lot of Parks to be seen and visited in Oregon which are truly breathtaking and worth the travel, but one of the best would be the Ecola State Park. This park is reachable through the main road and is located around two miles north of Cannon Beach’s downtown.  The name of this park was obtained from the word “ikoli” which means whale because of beached whales that were one of the things that many earlier visitors saw. It is known that the park was discovered by Capt. Clark together with twelve members of the Corps of Discovery when they went through thick shrubs and trees and were climbing on rocky cliffs. Nowadays, the park has a paved road which leads through a thick forest and is much easier to pass. After passing the lines of Sitka Spruce Trees, you will be greeted with the view of the Pacific Ocean. Parking lots are available near the entrance and at the northern end so guests would not be worrying where to park their cars.

There are a lot that Ecola State Park has to offer throughout the year. These include exploration, nature tripping, site for photography, tide pooling, surfing, swimming, picnic, trailing, and a lot more. This park surely provides something for everyone. There are a lot of breathtaking views of the Ocean. When winter and summer migration comes, whales are also a view. Beside these, there is also the Indian Beach which provides enjoyment especially for surfers and kayakers. This is also where families can go to for picnic and use the picnic tables scattered around the area or the covered barbecue areas. The Indian Beach is also very enjoyable for exploration of tide pools and interesting rock formations. Beside all these exciting adventures, the park also has restrooms which the guests could use.

There is no better way to live life as compared to enjoying the beauty that nature has to offer. We must look around us and marvel in greatness of the nature and see for ourselves what we can discover through them.

Grab breakfast in Cannon Beach at the Lazy Susan and enjoy a hike around the park.

Lazy Susan Cafe – Breakfast in Cannon Beach

21 Saturday Jul 2012

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We happend to stumble upon the Lazy Susan Cafe for breakfast in Cannon Beach and were very happy with an excellent meal in a fun location. The Lazy Susan is set back from the street and is located just off Hemlock St. and is surrounded by many other shops and dining locations.

There is lots of places to park, but Cannon Beach can be very busy especially on the weekends so it may take a few minutes to find something nearby. The restaurant is located inside of an old house that has been set up as a restaurant and we had our table in the little upstairs area that likely used to be a loft / bedroom. It makes for a small cafe environment that is special and unique compared to other places.

We put our names on the wait list and sat down on the nice wooden benches outside in the small courtyard area that several local businesses shared including a specialty wine shop. After about 10 minutes our table was ready. Scanning through the menu it is obvious that the Lazy Susan focus on high quality fresh ingredients for the meals and it comes through.

We both felt like eating breakfast even though it was getting late into the morning and after 11AM despite the lunches looking tasty as well. We ordered the specials since they just sounded delicious. We got a Peppered Bacon Spinach, and Swiss Cheese Omelet that came with a side of home style potatoes and an english muffin. They also brought out a jar of strawberry jam for the muffin. The other entree we tried was a Chorizo and Tomato Quiche that came with fruit and a bran muffin. We enjoyed it all. Another nice thing about the Lazy Susan is that they have a full coffee espresso bar available so I enjoyed an Americano. Over hearing the neighboring table next to us, it sounds like the iced tea is amazing so if you are in for lunch you might want to give it a try.

Peppered Bacon Spinach Swiss Cheese Omelette


Chorizo & Tomato Quiche


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Cannon Beach Perfect Weekend Getaway Spot

20 Friday Jul 2012

Posted by in Cannon Beach

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Looking for a new place to take your vacation? Visitors will find numerous interesting things to do and see at Cannon Beach.

People have used this beach for hundreds of years; however, Cannon Beach was only incorporated in 1957. The Cannon Beach History Center has displays on the Native Americans who lived here: Chinook, Clatsop and Tillamook Indian tribes. The history of Cannon Beach over the past three hundred years is carefully recounted with artifacts and displays. The cannon, for which the beach is named, is also on display at the museum. Discover the fascinating story of the USS Shark, and how the cannon ended up on the beach.

Downtown Cannon Beach offers lots of wonderful shops and delicious places to eat.

The Little Pompey Wetland, found inside the city, and nearby Cannon Beach settling ponds are teeming with wildlife. Birds are the main attraction: green wing teal, northern shoveler, golden eye, mallard, bald eagle, fox sparrow, marsh wren, townsend warbler, white – fronted goose, and other birds as well. During the winter especially, you might even see a coyote, deer, or Roosevelt elk.

All Oregon beaches are open to the public for recreation. Cannon Beach has 4 miles of beach with 44 access points for visitors. These beaches are wonderful for all sorts of outdoor activities including surfing, kite flying, beach horseback riding, paragliding, kiteboarding, and surf fishing. Clams are plentiful on the beach and you can dig for them from December through September each year. Everything you need is available for rental in town. Remember, you need a license for clamming, also available in town for a nominal fee. You can fish on the beach or charter a boat and go deep sea fishing. You are even welcome to bring you dog to the beach. Just keep him or her on a leash.

On the beach, Haystack Rock and nearby Needles are sure to catch your eye. Haystack Rock towers 235 feet above the beach. The monolith itself is off limits to tourists, so be certain to bring binoculars. The tide pools are full of interesting marine invertebrates and the Rock provides homes for nesting birds. During December through early February up to 500 gray whales pass every day from 2 to 8 miles offshore on their way south. The north bound trip is more laidback with only a few hundred per day passing along the shore. There are a few whales that seem to stay here all the time. They can be seen even in the summer.

Haystack Rock has is one of the most photographed natural features on the Oregon Coast. It has appeared in several movies. A few of these are Sometimes a Great Notion (based on Ken Kesey’s novel), The Goonies, and Kindergarten Cop.

Those who come to Cannon Beach, come to enjoy the beach, hike the forest trails, participate in water sports or fishing, or view the birds at Little Pompey Wetland. You are sure to enjoy the time you spend here.
Article written by Mary Boyer

For more information check out these links.
http://ci.cannon-beach.or.us/index.html
http://www.cannonbeach.org/activities/wildlife_viewing.aspx


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