Cannon Beach is a small coastal city in northwest Oregon that is renowned for its beautiful coastal cliffs and dramatic rock formations, famous attractions like Haystack Rock and the Tillamook Rock Lighthouse, and beautiful white sandy beaches. The lively tourist town is packed with things to see and do from several state parks and gorgeous beaches to a quaint community theater and some interesting art galleries.
Head to Cannon Beach and you’ll be mesmerized by the breathtaking scenery, amazing natural displays, and distinctive personality of this quaint seaside village, renowned as one of the Northwest’s best art towns and most amazing getaways.
Cannon Beach is the best place to enjoy the Oregon Coast because of its magnificent beaches, spectacular rock formations, and panoramic views of the coastline. You’ll see puffins nesting on Haystack Rock, herds of elk grazing in coastal meadows, and beautiful sea stars decorating rocks along the seashore only steps from opulent accommodations overlooking these natural beauties.
You can take in the panorama from conveniently located panoramic vantage points, go on a gorgeous hike, plant your feet in the sand, and take a deep breath. Welcome to Cannon Beach’s magic.
Discover Cannon’s Art Scene
Art and nature are two things that Cannon Beach is renowned for. You will be astounded by the magnificent artwork you may find in the more than a dozen galleries. You can find a wide variety of artwork in Cannon Beach, including watercolor, bronze sculpture, modern and pop art, and glass-blown treasures. However, the art isn’t just inside; our public art walking tour will undoubtedly satisfy your urge to explore and look for uncommon encounters.
Dine in Style
There are some amazing eateries and breweries in Cannon Beach! Even though food and drink are vital, they don’t have to be monotonous! Consider participating in the North Coast Food Trail, which spans more than 60 places from Astoria to Neskowin and has some of the top restaurants along the coast.
The North Coast Craft Beer Trail will appeal to beer lovers. Get your passport stamped at one of the 14 participating locations, enjoy a drink at a bar like Public Coast Brewing in Cannon Beach, and then turn in your passport to earn a Beer Trail mug once you’ve finished the trail.
Go Whale Watching
There’s a strong chance that if you visit Cannon Beach during the off-season, you’ll see grey whales migrating! When around 18,000 of them travel along more than 12,000 miles of coastline, they are difficult to miss. The peak of the whale spring migration occurs between mid-March and mid-April, and the top of the whale winter migration is between mid-December and mid-January. Cannon Beach offers something to everyone, regardless of how you want to spend your time.
Cannon Beach
There’s a strong chance that if you visit Cannon Beach during the off-season, you’ll see grey whales migrating! When around 18,000 of them travel along more than 12,000 miles of coastline, they are difficult to miss. The peak of the whale spring migration occurs between mid-March and mid-April, and the top of the whale winter migration is between mid-December and mid-January.
Cannon Beach offers something to offer everyone, regardless of how you want to spend your time. Just five miles south of Cannon Beach, at the Hug Point Recreation Site, you can explore miles of unspoiled shoreline with your dog while observing local fauna and birds in their natural habitats. You can also learn about the local marine life at the tidal pool there.
Ecola State Park, Cannon Beach, Oregon
Ecola State Park, a small park perched on Tillamook Head overlooking the famed Cannon Beach made famous in the Hollywood movies The Goonies and Point Break, is located nine miles along the stunning Oregon coastline. Ecola Park Road, which travels through pristine landscapes of old-growth rainforest and thick spruce forest, quiet coves, and grassy bluffs overlooking its gorgeous beaches, can be used to explore the park.
Indian Beach, Ecola Point, serves as both a vantage point and a trailhead for the Lighthouse Trail, and several hiking routes with stunning vistas are some of the park’s key draws. A wide variety of birds and animals, including herds of Roosevelt elk, bald eagles, and migratory grey whales, can be found in the park.
Oswald West State Park, Cannon Beach, Oregon
Oswald West State Park is a 2,448-acre state park featuring breathtaking natural landscapes, lovely white sand beaches, and a system of hiking paths. It is located along a dramatic portion of the coastline with towering cliffs that plunge abruptly to the sea.
Along with the powder-white Short Sand Beach, which is great for swimming, sunbathing, beachcombing, picnics, and hiking, the park is home to lush rainforests, grassy meadows, babbling creeks, and waterfalls. Neahkahnie Mountain, Cape Falcon, and Devil’s Cauldron are a few of the park’s attractions. Cape Falcon is a hidden cove surrounded by cliffs.
Tillamook Rock Lighthouse
The famed Tillamook Rock Lighthouse is a renowned Cannon Beach landmark, perched high atop a sea stack of basalt more than a mile off the beaches of Oregon’s North Coast. The now-deactivated lighthouse, known as “Terrible Tilly” because of its turbulent past, was built over more than 500 days and put into service in 1878.
The wild waters that can swirl up around the lighthouse during irregular weather conditions and make it a hazardous journey for both keepers and suppliers—many of whom were killed on their journey to the lighthouse—led to the lighthouse’s foreboding moniker. The National Register of Historic Places-listed lighthouse is currently privately owned and inaccessible to the general public.
Haystack Rock
Haystack Rock, one of Oregon’s most well-known monuments, is a 235-foot monolith created by lava flows that constructed many of the nearby capes and headlands on the Oregon Coast millions of years ago. The well-known rock, which is a part of the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge, is home to a variety of marine wildlife, including puffins and other seabirds, sea stars, crabs, nudibranchs, and invertebrates.
It is also classified as a National Wildlife Refuge and Marine Garden. At low tide, Haystack Rock can be approached and scaled, and there are other tidal pools nearby to discover.
Coaster Theatre, Cannon Beach, Oregon
For locals and guests of all ages, The Coaster Theatre, a non-profit community theatre, creates and presents a variety of plays and events. The Coaster Roller Rink, a historic location upon which the theatre is situated, opened its doors in the 1920s and served the neighborhood as a pleasant social hub until the 1950s.
Maurie Clark, a benefactor of the arts in Portland, purchased the structure in 1972 and established the Coaster Theatre Playhouse, which has been producing and presenting a wide range of plays, musicals, dance recitals, and special performances by gifted local artists and musicians ever since.
Cannon Beach History Center and Museum
A tiny museum dedicated to the history of Cannon Beach and the people who have lived there for the past 70 years is called the Cannon Beach History Center and Museum. The museum, which was founded more than 10 years ago, offers interactive displays, changing exhibitions, and traveling displays that showcase a variety of historical objects and memorabilia about the region’s history.
The town’s namesake cannon, a Native American longhouse reconstruction, and a collection of historic photos of locals and visitors having fun are all notable aspects of the museum. The museum is open from Wednesday through Monday and provides a variety of educational activities, field trips, seminars, and free talks.
Newmans at 988, Cannon Beach, Oregon
Newmans at 988 is a fine-dining restaurant with a Hemlock Street address that serves traditional French Italian cuisine with a clear emphasis on Genoa and the Piedmont area of Italy. It is run by award-winning chef John Newman. Newmans at 988 serves á la carte or an ever-changing prix fixe menu with exquisite farm-to-fork dishes like lobster ravioli with hazelnut sauce, chicken marsala pasta, and crispy crab cakes.
The restaurant is housed in a cozy converted beachside cottage with just ten tables, elegant décor, soft lighting, and a chic, intimate ambiance. The restaurant is exclusively open for dinner from Tuesday through Sunday and serves a hand-curated menu of excellent wines and spirits from across the globe.
EVOO Cannon Beach, Oregon
Fresh, home-cooked meals created with ingredients from the area and eaten with friends are the focus of EVOO Cannon Beach. At EVOO, owners Lenore Emery-Neroni and Chef Bob Neroni present an original dinner presentation that combines a cooking lesson, a demonstration, and dinner. The kitchen at EVOO is fully stocked, and the chefs create supper there while showing diners how they do it and sharing cooking advice they may use at home.
Three courses of freshly prepared food, along with wine and coffee at the conclusion, are offered on the seasonally changing menu. Open every day from Wednesday through Sunday, EVOO Cannon Beach serves lunch and dinner.
Tolovana Beach State Recreation Site
Beautiful sand beaches, wind-swept lands, and regional fauna and plants can all be found at Tolovana Beach State Recreation Site, a state park on the southern end of Cannon Beach. The park offers a variety of outdoor recreational activities, such as hiking, beachcombing, sunbathing, swimming, and exploring the tidal pools along the coast.
It also boasts stunning views of Haystack Rock and the Tillamook Rock Lighthouse. There are numerous tidal pools to explore around the 235-foot Haystack Rock, which is also accessible at low tide. The Tillamook Rock Lighthouse, also known as “Terrible Tilly,” is notable for being frequently pummelling by waves during severe weather and providing breathtaking vistas.
Imprint Gallery, LLC, Cannon Beach, Oregon
The Imprint Gallery, a fine art gallery with a variety of works by local, national, and international artists, is situated in the Cannon Beach Mall. The museum is divided into two stories, with the first floor housing paintings and ceramics, sculptures, and original prints, and the second-floor housing original prints and the practice of printmaking.
On the second floor, there is also a gallery and a workshop. Throughout the year, the museum offers tourists art classes and printmaking demonstrations.
Jeffrey Hull Gallery, Cannon Beach, Oregon
The Jeffery Hull Gallery, situated in the center of downtown Cannon Beach on Sandpiper Square’s second floor, is solely devoted to the seaside works of the town’s artist Jeffrey Hull. Hull, a native of Cannon Beach and mostly self-taught, started painting more than 40 years ago. In the early 1970s, he studied under three well-known watercolor painters from the Northwest.
The beauty and atmosphere of places where water and earth meet are best captured by Hull in large format, delicate watercolors. Later in life, he expanded his painting techniques to include oils, and currently, only his works are on exhibit at his large gallery.
Pelican Brewing Company, Cannon Beach, Oregon
The Pelican Brewing Company is a light-filled, roomy artisan brewery that creates rotating taps, large-batch draught series, barrel-aged collections, and limited-edition vault brews all year long. The locally owned and run brewery was established in Pacific City in 1996 and has since grown to become a leader in the state’s craft beer scene with several pubs and tasting rooms.
In addition to serving gourmet pub meals in a relaxed setting with both indoor and outdoor patio seating, Pelican Brewing Company also offers guided brewery tours and tastings. Daily tastings, lunch, and supper are available at Pelican Brewing Company.
Conclusion
In their June 2013 issue, National Geographic Magazine listed Cannon Beach as “one of The World’s 100 Most Beautiful Places.” For those who have visited kilometers of beautiful sandy beaches with striking coastline rock formations like Haystack Rock, this comes as no surprise.
Cannon Beach provides the ideal backdrop for enjoying the magnificent natural regions along the Oregon Coast, taking a cool stroll, or gathering over a beach fire. Many public beach access points provide access to this magnificent beauty. In addition to the unrivaled view from the beach, Cannon Beach provides simple access to several amazing viewpoints and natural places, such as the close-by Ecola State Park with its breathtaking vistas, to enjoy the breathtaking scenery of the Oregon Coast.