Cannon Beach

When the explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark explored and camped at Cannon Beach in 1806, they described the view of Cannon Beach from what is now Ecola State Park as ...the grandest and most pleasing prospect which my eyes ever surveyed, in front of a boundless Ocean. Cannon Beach was named in honor of a washed-up cannon from the shipwrecked USS Shark. It has long been a beach community where visitors come to enjoy the natural beauty and relax. Below are some of the most popular activities.

Home

The Beach

The main reason you are here is the beach of course. Cannon Beach is large and spacious. Play in the waves, lay on the beach, search tide pools, search for shells and agates, play in the driftwood, make sand castles, fly a kite....you know the drill.

At the Cannon Beach History Center you will find the cannon from the 1846 shipwrecked USS Shark. Other displays show the Chinook, Clatsop and Tillamook Indian tribes, area history over the past three centuries, artifacts, displays, and hands-on exhibits.

Oregon Coast

This self-guided historic walking tour through downtown has fifteen sites see. You will discover a house that once had a 30 x 60 indoor saltwater pool, and a 1950s Wave Roller Rink that offered all-day skating for 35 cense.

A twisting narrow entry road takes you to Ecola State Park, which overlooks the famous iconic seascape. Looking to the south you see Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock. There are picnic tables and covered shelters. Looking to the northwest you will see the Tillamook Head lighthouse.

This in town trail goes around the Little Pompey Wetland and settling ponds where you may find ducks (green wing teal, northern shoveler, golden eye, mallard) or birds (bald eagle, black-capped chickadee, dark-eyed junco, fox sparrow, marsh wren, townsend warbler, white-fronted goose) plus an occasional deer or Roosevelt elk during winter months.

Recreation & Sports

There is surfing in Cannon Beach. A local surf shop is ready to rent you everything you need to get out there. There is golfing at the Gearhart Golf Links 12 miles to the north, the Highlands Golf Course 14 miles north or the Manzanita Golf Course 15 miles to the south. Others dig for razor clams, go crabbing (December through September), or book a charter fishing trip during seasonal runs of steelhead and salmon.

Get up early and drive around, Cannon Beach is surrounded by forests, wetlands, rocky headlands, beaches and offshore rocks. This location is the home for the full array of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians. So bring your binoculars, spotting scopes, and field guides to do your observation and study.

One other main attraction is Haystack Rock. This basalt lava rock is 235 foot tall and one of the largest sea stacks on the Pacific Coast. With a few hundred thousand visitors a year taking pictures this rock is one of the worlds most photographed and painted rocks.
Haystack Rock is a protected National Wildlife Refuge and a Marine Garden. It is home to countless species of nesting birds, a prized feeding spot for bald eagles, and the area around the rock's base is full of marine creatures.

MORE

One of USAs most beautiful places by ABC-TVs Good Morning America
The most dog-friendly spot in the US by Sunset Magazine
Third best little beach town in the USA by Family Fun Magazine
One of the Top 10 Most Beautiful Beaches by Mytravelguideposts.com
One of the top 10 secluded beaches in the world by Coastal Living Magazine