Oregon Travel Diary :: Cannon Beach

CannonBeach

[trip style = beach + weekend getaway + food + wine]

Long ago, Cannon Beach surpassed drive-by beach town. Punctuated by the 235-foot Haystack Rock, a sandbar long enough to run a 100-meter dash and wispy grasses separating sand from land, it's become Oregon's most iconicand photographedcoastline.

It's also conquerable, reaching 6.4 km {4 miles} from end-to-end. Pan the waterfront and you'll see dogs romping around like they're on a highway to heaven, surfers trying their hand at wave-riding, runners burning off last night's calories, walkers getting a beach-wind blow-out, horseback riders galloping on the sandbar and reclined beach trikes zipping past. Somehow, this chaos works {and feels far from congested because the beach is so big, there's an imaginary "track" for every sand-lover}. 

When I visited with Mr. Trip Styler and Mr. Nacho King in late-August, we traded our regular repertoire of surfing and running for picnics and bonfires. Here are the on- and off-the-shore treasures I suggest you add to your beach-combing basket. 

Trip Styler Tip: Cannon Beach is warmest in summer, but moonlights as a four-season destination {if you can handle bundling up}! Visit in the off-season to find fewer crowds and cheaper rates.

Cannon Beach from above. 

Cannon Beach from above. 

Mr. Nacho King posing for his Instagram. 

Mr. Nacho King posing for his Instagram

Never-ending sandbar.

Never-ending sandbar.

Our top-pick coffee and breakfast stop: Sea Level Bakery + Coffee {serving Stumptown Coffee!}. 

Our top-pick coffee and breakfast stop: Sea Level Bakery + Coffee {serving Stumptown Coffee!}. 

Sea Level from the roadside. Walk 50 meters West toward the ocean and you can sip your coffee on the beach. 

Sea Level from the roadside. Walk 50 meters West toward the ocean and you can sip your coffee on the beach. 

Our beach set-up, complete with a windbreaker, arranged by the cabana team at the Surfsand Resort {where we stayed}.  

Our beach set-up, complete with a windbreaker, arranged by the cabana team at the Surfsand Resort {where we stayed}.  

A "Goonies" crepe from Crêpe Neptune. Basically s'mores ingredients wrapped in a crepe. 

A "Goonies" crepe from Crêpe Neptune. Basically s'mores ingredients wrapped in a crepe. 

Stopping for a tipple at the Cannon Beach Distillery {Yelp link}. 

Stopping for a tipple at the Cannon Beach Distillery {Yelp link}. 

Dinner MUST: Attending an interactive cooking show at EVOO Cannon Beach Cooking School. {More on this soon!}

Dinner MUST: Attending an interactive cooking show at EVOO Cannon Beach Cooking School. {More on this soon!}

Joining the Cannon Beach bonfire tradition thanks to the beach cabana team at the Surfsand Resort. Not shown here: roasting marshmallows {obviously}!

Joining the Cannon Beach bonfire tradition thanks to the beach cabana team at the Surfsand Resort. Not shown here: roasting marshmallows {obviously}!

Stay: The Surfsand Resort, a prime perch with crazy-comfortable Tempur-Pedic beds and service that extends beyond welcome and departure niceties offering daily fresh-baked cookies and chocolate milk at 3 p.m., seasonal cabana service {ie - beac…

Stay: The Surfsand Resort, a prime perch with crazy-comfortable Tempur-Pedic beds and service that extends beyond welcome and departure niceties offering daily fresh-baked cookies and chocolate milk at 3 p.m., seasonal cabana service {ie - beach chair and bonfire set-up}, WiFi, in-town shuttle service, Saturday ice cream socials and Sunday weenie roasts, in addition to a pool, hot tub, sauna and fitness area. Recommendation: Request an ocean-facing room. Pet-friendly, bark-woof!

Picnic from EVOO Cannon Beach's take-away shop featuring local cheese and meats, plus bread from Sea Level Bakery.

Picnic from EVOO Cannon Beach's take-away shop featuring local cheese and meats, plus bread from Sea Level Bakery.

I did not construct this masterpiece, but I thought you should see its craftsmanship up close! 

I did not construct this masterpiece, but I thought you should see its craftsmanship up close! 

More Oregon
Oregon Travel Diary :: Feasting on Portland
That Travel Meal :: Best-in-Class Burrata at Ava Gene's

[photos by @tripstyler (except Surfsand) taken while exploring OR as a guest of Tourism Oregon]