CANNON BEACH -- The place is steeped in Northwest history, jammed with things do -- hiking, surfing, fishing, crabbing, birding, biking -- and crammed with great places to stay.
But the thing about the Oregon Coast that stays with you are the seascapes -- the stunning convergence of endless surf crashing against time-worn sea stacks and rocky capes cloaked with wind-bent spruce trees.
Somehow just looking at them soothes the soul and fills you with wonder.
Has anyone ever visited here and not wanted to return?
By Greg Johnston | June 16, 2005
CANNON BEACH, Ore. — Cannon Beach is never going to make it into one of those sunny summer songs by someone like the Beach Boys or Jan & Dean.
No "Warmth of the Sun" on this windswept strand. No "Surf City" and "two girls for every boy." Not with everyone so bundled up it's impossible to make gender judgments.
Most of the year, the sandy spot near the northern end of the Oregon coast is a beach like many in the Northwest, with cold, fog, wind and not a little rain.
By Gary A. Warner | January 29, 2004
CANNON BEACH, Ore. The evening sky is gunmetal gray, while lemony clouds soak up the last rays of the sun before it slips down below the Pacific horizon. Basalt rock formations jut up out of the churning water, all awkward and jagged. The most prominent is Haystack Rock, at 235 feet high the third-largest coastal monolith in the world.
By Vanessa McGrady | November 6, 2003
Short Trips
CANNON BEACH, Ore. -- You've likely heard the old saying, "It's like looking for a needle in a haystack."
Well, I spent part of the morning during my Cannon Beach visit looking for a haystack in a fog bank ... Haystack Rock, that is.
The popular Oregon coastal town's famous beach landmark was obscured that morning by a Pacific Ocean weather pattern notorious along the north coast. About 9 a.m., the wind kicked up from the west, and a fog bank that often hangs over the ocean a short distance offshore quickly inundated the sunny beach.
By Jeff Larsen | August 22, 2002
CANNON BEACH, Ore. - It's an Oregon travel poster.
It was here when William Clark (of the Lewis and Clark team) hiked over Tillamook Head in 1806 to strike a deal with local Indians.
Gazing down from a cliff in what now is Ecola State Park, on the edge of Cannon Beach, Clark saw a long, tawny strand of sand and a lofty, sea-sculpted rock.
The explorer made this entry in his journal: " . . . from this point I beheld the grandest and most pleasing prospect which my eyes ever surveyed."
By Stanton H. Patty | March 20, 2001
CANNON BEACH, Ore. - Get over it, I told myself as I threw a book and a few magazines into my overnight bag.
Who was I to argue about the idea of spending the weekend at the beach? There was just one problem. This was late February, a time of the year that I usually reserve for cross-country skiing. I felt guilty as I packed hiking shoes and windbreakers in place of extra socks, trail mix and wool knickers.
By Carol Pucci | October 29, 2000
Getting there: Cannon Beach is on the northern Oregon Coast, about 185 miles from the Seattle area and about 90 miles from Portland.
From Seattle, take Interstate 5 south to Exit 36 (Kelso/Longview) and head west through Longview. Take the Lewis and Clark Bridge over the Columbia River to Highway 30 in Oregon. Follow Highway 30 to Astoria, then drive Highway 101 south through Seaside and Gearhart to Cannon Beach.
June 28, 2000
There is a suburb of Cannon Beach where street names could cause travelers to wonder whether they have veered off course to Alaska.
Tolovana Park is the neighborhood - Tolovana as in the Tanana Indian name for a river west of Fairbanks, Alaska.
Residents of Tolovana Park live along streets with names such as Gulkana, Delta, Nenana, Matanuska, Nabesna and Kenai - all of which happen to be names of Alaskan rivers.
How did this happen?
By Stanton H. Patty | June 28, 2000
