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Cannon Beach,
Oregon is located on Oregons North Coast on US Highway-101.
Cannon beach is best
known for its unique landmark, Haystack Rock which juts up out of the ocean
like a haystack in the middle of a field.
Cannon
Beach lies on the
coastal plain of the Coastal Mountain Range at the edge of the Pacific Ocean.
It is very peaceful here with the beach at your feet and the
forested mountains at your back. You
can explore for days at a time here and still not touch the surface of the
possibilities.
Cannon Beach
is about 70 miles from Portland
via US Highway 26, it is 23 miles south of Astoria on Highway
101, and 7 miles south of Seaside,
OR.
Cannon Beach
has a year round population of around 1,600. Most of the City is located on a 3 mile
long stretch of beach front area along US Highway 101. The area between the beach and the highway
is less than one half mile wide. The
nature of the land along this stretch of beach gives Cannon Beach
a unique atmosphere. Along this
stretch of ocean there are approximately 9 miles of flat ocean beach from Ecola
State Park north of
town to Falcon Cove south of the city.
The downtown area
located in the north end of the town just south of Ecola
State Park and only a block or two from the beach. It has a quaint, casual, and comfortable
atmosphere with its main goal of providing tourists with a pleasant experience
wandering through its many galleries, restaurants, and shops,
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Cannon Beach has
an American History that dates back to 1806 when the Lewis & Clark
party first stepped foot on the beach.
On Highway 101 just north of Cannon Beach is a historic
information sign and a replica of the cannon that was found on the beach
that Cannon Beach was named after (the original is in the Maritime Museum
in Astoria).
The message on the sign says, On January 6 1806 William Clark and perhaps
14 men from his famous expedition reached a Tillamook Village
of five cabins on a creek which Captain Clark named Ecola
or Whale Creek. Three days earlier
three men sent out from Fort
Clatsop to locate a
salt making site returned with whale blubber given them by beach
Indians. Appreciating the welcome
addition to the explorers limited diet, Captain
Clark set out to find the whale or buy its blubber.
The food hunters traveled a difficult trail over
Tillamook Head. With them was Sacagawea and a young Indian guide. They descended over a creek (later named
Elk Creek) onto a wide sandy beach where they found the carcass of the 105
foot whale and Indians rendering the blubber with hot stones in wooden
troughs. Some oil and 300 pounds of
blubber were purchased from the Indians a Ecola Creek.
Cannon Beach was the point the farthest south that the expedition
traveled.
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Cannon Beach today
Cannon
Beach has more than its share of reasons to visit here. It is a quaint village located on the
rugged Pacific Coast and it is surrounded by natural wonders like Haystack
Rock, a wide sandy beach, the entrance of Ecola
Creek into the Pacific, The Pacific Ocean, and forests and foothills
inland.
The surprise that Cannon Beach offers to the tourist is
its Artist colony with its many and varied art galleries. There are over a dozen art galleries in
the area as well as many fine restaurants, motels and resorts, quaint
shops, and miles of sandy beach. The
citys best known landmark is the 235 foot high monolith of rock extending
up out of the sandy beach called Haystack Rock. The rock is accessible at low tide but it
is classified as a Marine Garden and the public is not allowed above the
barnacle line and no collecting is allowed.
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Whale Watching
The population of Grey Whales now exceeds 20,000 and
they can be seen twice a year passing the Oregon
Coast going south from Alaskan and
Arctic waters to the warm waters off Baja
California where they mate. Their southward journey occurs as early
as October and hits its crescendo in late December and early January. The northward journey begins as early as
late January and hits it peak usually around March 15 to April 15.
The whales are best seen from excursion boats that can
be found in the coastal harbors but they can be seen from high vantage
points from shore especially on calm days.
The best local whale watching location is the viewpoints in Ecola State Park. Watch for the water they blow out of
their blow hole as they surface to take a breath of air.
At the south end of
the city is a wonderful day use facility, Tolovana State Park. It is about a mile south of Haystack Rock
and has direct access to the wonderful beach. The beach south of this area is wider and
quieter. The point jutting into the
beach at the south end of the city is Silver Point and it marks the
southern city limit. At low tide you
can access the beaches south of the point.
In recent years Cannon Beach has become not only a summer
vacation destination but a year round vacation destination. There is nothing like the ocean during a
winter storm. Cannon Beach
offers a wide variety of overnight accommodations from full service resorts
to RV and camping sites. You should
never arrive in Cannon
Beach expecting to
find a vacant room, be sure to call ahead for reservations.
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Recommended Attractions in Cannon
Beach, Oregon
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Antiques
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See listings
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Gift Shops
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See listings
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Museums
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Cannon Beach Historical Society
1387 South Spruce Street
PO Box 1005
Cannon Beach, OR 97110
503-436-9301
http://www.cbhistory.org/
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Parks
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Ecola State Park
http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_188.php
Just North of Cannon Beach. The park is accessed from the northern
access to the town. The park has
breath taking views from it solid rock cliffs
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Visitor Information
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Cannon Beach
Chamber of Commerce
207 N. Spruce Street
Cannon Beach, OR 97110
Phone: 503-436-2623
http://www.cannonbeach.org/
The Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce has an information
center located at 2nd and Spruce Streets downtown (one block east of
Hemlock, the main street downtown)
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City of Cannon Beach
163 E Gower Street
PO Box 368
Cannon Beach, OR
97110
503-436-1581
http://www.ci.cannon-beach.or.us/
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Listed
Attractions in Cannon Beach, OR
We have not necessarily
visited or recommend listed businesses.
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Antiques
Aagesens Imports 503-436-1737
183 North Hemlock, OR 97110
Blue Door 503-436-9542
171 Larch Street, Cannon Beach, OR 97110
Art Galleries
Bronze Coast Gallery 503-436-1055 - http://www.bronzecoastgallery.com/
224 North Hemlock #2, Cannon Beach, OR 97110
Cannon Beach Arts Association Gallery
503-436-0744 - http://www.cannonbeacharts.org/
1064 South Hemlock Street, Cannon Beach, OR
97110
Dragonfire Studio Gallery 503-436-1533 - http://www.dragonfirestudio.com/
123 South Hemlock Street #106, Cannon
Beach, OR 97110
Haystack Gallery 503-436-2547 - http://www.haystackgallery.com/
183 North Hemlock, Cannon Beach, OR 97110
House of the Potter 503-436-2504 - http://www.houseofthepotter.com/
232 North Spruce Street, Cannon Beach, OR
97110
Jeffrey Hull Gallery 503-436-2600 - http://www.hullgallery.com/
172 Hemlock Street #24, Cannon Beach, OR
97110
Modern Villa Gallery 503-436-2428 - http://www.modernvillagallery.com/
224 North Hemlock Street #6, Cannon Beach,
OR 97110
Northwest by Northwest Gallery
503-436-0741 - http://www.nwbynwgallery.com/
732 Ash Street, Cannon Beach, OR 97110
Primary Elements Gallery 503-436-0220
− http://www.primaryelementsgallery.com/
172 North Hemlock Street #10, Cannon Beach,
OR 97110
Steidels Art 503-436-1757 - http://www.steidelsart.com/
116 South Hemlock, Cannon Beach, OR 97110
White Bird Gallery 503-436-2681 - http://www.pacifier.com/~evelyng/
251 North Hemlock Street, Cannon Beach, OR
97110
Gift Shops
A Stor Celtic
Handcraft 503-436-0664
175 East 2nd Avenue, PO Box 188,
Cannon Beach, OR 97110
Cannon Beach Book Company 503-436-1301
− http://www.cannonbeachbooks.com/
130 North Hemlock, Cannon Beach, OR 97110
Cannon Beach West 503-436-9628 - http://www.cannonbeach.org/pdfs/CBWest.pdf
224 North Hemlock Street, Cannon Beach, OR
97110
ExploraStore 503-436-1844 − http://www.explorastore.com/
164 North Hemlock, Canon Beach, OR 97110
Picnic Basket 503-436-1470 - http://www.picnicbasketnw.com/
162 2nd Street, Cannon Beach, OR
97110
Rare Discovery 503-436-0119 - http://www.rarediscovery.com/
148 North Hemlock Street, Canon Beach, OR
97110
Wild Bird Shop 503-436-9806 - http://www.wildbirdshop.com/
123 South Hemlock, PO Box 1220, Cannon
Beach, OR 97110
Museums
Parks/Gardens
Quilting/Needlecrafts
Center Diamond 503-436-0833 - http://www.centerdiamond.com/
1065 South Hemlock Street, Cannon Beach, OR
97110
Coastal Yarns 503-436-1128 - http://www.coastalyarns.com/
131 West 2nd Street, Cannon
Beach, OR 97110
Scrapbooking/Crafts
Theatres
Coaster Theatre Playhouse 503-436-1242 - http://www.coastertheatre.com/
108 North Hemlock Street, Cannon Beach, OR
97110
Tours/Charters
Ocean Surf Adventures 503-436-1481 - http://www.oregonsurfadventures.com/
125 South Hemlock Street, Cannon Beach, OR
97110
Wine
Wine Shack
503-436-1100 - http://www.beachwine.com/
124 Hemlock , PO Box
995, Cannon Beach, OR 97110

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