Vancouver, WA

I have traveled the world and walked many a beautiful beach but nothing has come close to the stunning and dramatic seascapes of the northern Oregon coast. From Vancouver these beaches are an easy day trip and hold an abundance of diversions in case you want to make it a weekend trip. There is a lot of coastline to choose from but one of my favorite day trips is to Cannon Beach, Oregon which is nestled just south of Tillamook Head where the historic Lewis and Clark trail picks up the coastline and some of the oldest trees resign.

My family keeps it simple with a good pair of walking shoes and a warm jacket for when the sun sets. The drive takes no more that a couple of hours one-way and we usually drive I-5 south to highway 26 east and follow it into Cannon Beach which is laid out in a simple strip along the ocean front in three patches. The town center is in the north-most “patch” while the other two are made up primarily of residences, hotels and condos. But this last trip I discovered the less visited southern areas of the town possess special spots not to be missed.

We parked in the ample public parking in the part of town closest to Haystack rock and set about getting our bearings which specifically means finding a cup of good coffee. We didn’t have to look far before stumbling upon a newly opened coffee roaster’s alcove named The Sleepy Monk. Charming décor, coffee roasted on site, great espresso and a cribbage board wove a spell that kept us enjoying the ambience for over an hour.

Properly outfitted with caffeine it was time for our main goal: to visit Haystack Rock and tidal pools and walk the mile or so between Haystack Rock and the southern-most part of town (the least visited part) to see what was in its cache. We had great timing as the tide was out quite a ways revealing a large swath of vibrant pools. There were a lot of “keep out” signs strung up across the rocks and particularly where the “Red-billed Oyster Sucker” was nesting; the pools where rich with mussels, sea anemones and gobs of sea stars. I learned from one of the volunteer naturalists how a sea star eats: the sea star crawls over its prey—usually a mussel or something in a shell—and pries open the shell with the little tube feet on the underside of its arms and then INVERTS its stomach out of its body and into the opening it created in the shell and envelops the soft mussel insides its shell. The sea star digests its meal OUTSIDE its body and only when finished will bring its stomach back inside its body. EWW; but pretty cool too.

After meandering through the pools and diligently avoiding stepping on anything green, crunchy or wet we wondered south along the beach to Tolovana point. Along the way we spotted a very cute seal taking a break on the beach. We took our time and arrived after about an hour just in time to catch the Waves of Grain bakery before they closed—a great piece of luck. We were definitely ready for another bite to eat and their shortbread cookies were just the thing to keep us going on the mile or so walk back to our car. We walked back along the road side so that we could keep an eye on the sights of town but discovered that an awkward and unsafe corner on a cliff side made walking along the road a less than idea situation. We capped off the evening with dinner at Bill’s Tavern and headed home safely and contented by a day fabulously spent.