Cannon Beach

Cannon Beach is just a couple hours drive along the coast from Portland and as soon as you arrive in this charming seaside village, you’ll know that it was worth the trip. Stunning natural beauty, a flourishing arts and crafts community and, of course, a perfect 14-kilometre stretch of golden sand make this stretch of Oregon’s coastline one of the most inspiring.The locals cherish their town’s unique atmosphere and impose strict controls on big chain stores and restaurants to ensure that it stays special. The focus on the streets of the village is most certainly on artisan, locally produced goods and a stroll around will take you past antique stores, textile makers and gourmet food producers.There is also a smattering of art galleries, exhibiting local artists and the Coaster Theatre Playhouse regularly puts on productions from the area. Surfers will find plenty of shops to equip themselves in and watch out for the Icefire Glassworks to catch expert glass makers in action. Another local attraction is the Cannon Beach History Center and Museum, which is open all year and houses the cannon and shipwrecked USS Schooner Shark, for which the town was namedOnce you’ve explored the quaint village, head to the magnificent beach to relax on the sand or if resist the brilliant turquoise waters, head in for a dip, or rent a snorkel to get a better view of the marine life below. The nearby Ecola State Park is a great place to go for a hike through thick coastal forests, full of conifers and viewpoints Ecola Point is particularly popular as it looks out onto Haystack Rock, Canon Beach’s most well-known landmark.This 72-metre tall basalt sea stack, along with two other smaller formations called needles cut a remarkable outline on the wide strand. There are intertidal pools at the base of the monoliths, alive with crabs, algae, sea stars and other sea life. Haystack Rock and the pools are part of an Oregon Islands National Wildlife Reserve so climbing or removing wildlife is strictly prohibited.