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Overview
Overview
In the northwest corner of Oregon lies Cannon Beach, which has been attracting visitors since 1806 when Captain William Clark (of Lewis & Clark fame) dropped by to purchase 300 pounds of whale blubber from local Indians. Named for a cannon that washed ashore from the shipwrecked USS Shark in 1846, Cannon Beach offers visitors an abundance of activities to enjoy. Its postcard attraction is Haystack Rock, a massive 235-foot-tall chunk that sits on the beach behind the downtown area. It's reputedly the world's third-largest freestanding monolith (after Australia's Ayers Rock and Atlanta's Stone Mountain), and visitors can climb up to the barnacle line -- the top of the rock is a protected National Wildlife Refuge.
Cannon Beach is a quaint, refined seaside village -- wild and crazy spring breakers opt for Seaside, 8 miles north. Principal pastimes in these parts consist of beachcombing, riding 3-wheelers along the sand, tide pooling, whale watching and lazily walking beside the surf or through the heavily forested state parks just north (Ecola State Park) and south (Oswald West State Park) of town. Located 80 miles west of Portland, Cannon Beach has recently become a popular spot for second homes. This may elevate the price of real estate, but it also sustains a year-round theater company and a substantial number of boutiques, bookstores, gourmet food shops and low-key, quality restaurants.
This being the Great Northwest, the rugged coastal scenery is indeed beautiful but the rugged coastal weather, iffy. Most yearly rainfall takes place between November and March, and during peak sun season -- July through September -- temperatures seldom hit 80 F. Each year the beach's biggest event is Sandcastle Day, which is held in early June (lowest tide determines exact date). Oregon's oldest sandcastle competition is limited to the first 150 who sign up, but thousands of others attend just to watch. The yearly calendar of events also includes the Puffin Kite Festival in April and the Stormy Weather Arts Festival in soggy November. For information regarding these events and anything else going on, check out the Cannon Beach Visitors Information Center Web site.
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