Visitor Information about Cannon Beach, Oregon on Oregon's northern coast.

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,

A map of Cannon Beach is loading....... 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).

A photo of the Cannon is loading........ 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.

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 city’s 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.

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.

Recommended Attractions in Cannon Beach, Oregon

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