astoria · cannon beach · tillamook · pacific city
welcome to the north coastOregon North Coast
Astoria's working waterfront and the Goonies house, Cannon Beach's iconic Haystack Rock, the Tillamook Cheese Factory, the Three Capes Scenic Route, Pacific City's brewpub on the beach. The most-visited and most family-friendly stretch of the Oregon Coast.
Oregon North Coast in 60 seconds
2. Astoria Column for the panoramic view of the Columbia River meeting the Pacific. Climb the 164 steps, throw the wooden gliders.
3. Tillamook Creamery tour and ice cream. Free factory tour, $5 cheese tasting, kids' favorite stop on the coast.
Splurge: Stephanie Inn ($380-$680) in Cannon Beach. Adult-leaning but kid-friendly oceanfront rooms with fireplaces.
getting your bearings
Five towns, about 75 miles of coast
The North Coast runs from the Columbia River at Astoria south to Pacific City, covering about 75 miles of US-101. Five anchor towns, plus the Three Capes Scenic Route as a 40-mile alternate to the highway. Most travelers start at one end and drive south, stopping at each town for a few hours or overnight.
Astoria sits at the mouth of the Columbia River where Lewis and Clark ended their expedition in 1805. Population about 10,000, the oldest American settlement west of the Rockies. Working waterfront with sea lions on the docks, Victorian houses on the hillside, the Astoria Column for panoramic views, and the famous Goonies house from the 1985 movie. The northernmost town on the Oregon Coast.
Seaside is 17 miles south of Astoria. The classic Oregon family beach town with a 1.5-mile boardwalk (the "Prom"), an arcade, a tiny aquarium, bumper boats, and saltwater taffy shops. The carnival-vibe coast town Cannon Beach is not. Skip-able if you're trying to stay focused, but kid-friendly and easy if you want a no-pressure stop.
Cannon Beach is 9 miles south of Seaside. The headline town of the entire Oregon Coast. Population about 1,400 in a 4-mile-long ribbon along the shore. Iconic Haystack Rock (235 ft tall, one of the tallest sea stacks on the Pacific Coast) anchors the beach, surrounded by tide pools at low tide and seabird colonies at the top. Hemlock Street downtown has galleries, ice cream, fine dining, and Pelican Brewing. Walking distance from one end to the other. Roosevelt elk wander through town and on the beach. Famous for its appearances in The Goonies and Twilight.
Tillamook is 50 miles south of Cannon Beach (the highway runs inland here, away from the coast). "Land of cheese, trees, and ocean breeze." The Tillamook Creamery is the most-visited tourist attraction in the area and famously the high school football team is cheered on with shouts of "Go Cheesemakers!" Population about 5,300. The town itself is inland, but it's the gateway to the Three Capes Scenic Route.
Pacific City is 25 miles south of Tillamook on the Three Capes Loop. Home to the OTHER Haystack Rock (327 ft tall, even bigger than Cannon Beach's, half a mile offshore). Cape Kiwanda's eroding sandstone cliffs, dory boats launching directly off the beach, and the original Pelican Brewing taproom right on the sand. The kind of town that feels frozen in 1985 in the best way.
The Three Capes Scenic Route
This is the move. A 40-mile alternate to US-101 between Tillamook and Pacific City, hitting all three capes and the small towns of Oceanside and Netarts. Cape Meares (with the 1890 lighthouse and the famous Octopus Tree, a 300-year-old contorted Sitka spruce), Cape Lookout (a 5-mile round-trip hike to the headland tip with whale watching November-March and March-June), Cape Kiwanda (the sandstone headland in Pacific City). Plan a half day for the loop, more if you're hiking the capes.
About Ecola State Park
Worth knowing the recent history. December 2025 landslides closed the whole park, and it reopened April 7, 2026. The viewpoints, Indian Beach and the road in are all back. The western section of the Clatsop Loop Trail is a different story: a fresh slide took it out around April 20, and Oregon State Parks describes it as actively collapsing, with parts gone into the ocean entirely. That closure runs from south of Hiker's Camp to north of Indian Beach and has no repair date.
This coastline moves. Check oregonstateparks.org the week you go rather than trusting any guide, this one included. If Ecola is shut again when you arrive, Cape Falcon at Oswald West State Park, 10 miles south of Cannon Beach, gives you similar viewpoints and the same Tillamook Head look.
About Oregon's Beach Bill
Same as the chapter overview but worth repeating: every inch of Oregon's 363-mile coast is public. The 1967 Oregon Beach Bill made the entire shoreline public from the wet sand line to where the vegetation starts. You can walk every beach. Hundreds of public access points along Highway 101.
About cell service and weather
Decent cell service in Astoria, Cannon Beach, Manzanita, Tillamook, and Pacific City. Spotty between towns and at most state parks. Download offline maps in Portland before you head out. The weather is the wildcard: 75°F sunny one day, 55°F foggy and drizzly the next. Pack layers, real rain jackets, and accept that morning fog usually burns off by noon.
getting in & getting around
Driving the North Coast
US-101 is the spine. The Three Capes Scenic Route is the off-ramp worth taking. Drive south to keep the ocean on your right.
2 hours via US-26 west to US-30 west along the Columbia River. About 95 miles. The Columbia River drive is genuinely scenic with views of the river and cargo ships heading to and from the Pacific. Fill up gas in Portland before heading out.
90 minutes via US-26 west all the way to US-101, then south 4 miles to Cannon Beach. About 80 miles. The most direct route from Portland to the coast, no Astoria stop required. Fill up gas in Sandy or Portland.
3.5 hours via I-5 south to Olympia, then US-101 west across the Astoria-Megler Bridge. About 200 miles. The Astoria-Megler Bridge is itself a 4-mile-long sight spanning the mouth of the Columbia. Fill up gas in Olympia.
30 minutes via US-101 south through Seaside. Stop at Fort Stevens State Park on the way for the Wreck of the Peter Iredale (a 1906 shipwreck still visible on the beach). 17 miles to Seaside, then 9 miles to Cannon Beach.
75 minutes via US-101 south. 50 miles, the highway moves inland through Manzanita, Rockaway Beach, and Garibaldi. The drive is pretty but unremarkable until you reach the Tillamook Bay area. Stop at Manzanita for a quieter beach break or Rockaway Beach for the giant cedar tree and historic steam train rides.
A 40-mile loop starting in Tillamook (or in Pacific City going the other direction). Plan a half day at minimum, full day if you're hiking the capes. The middle section between Cape Lookout and Cape Kiwanda runs through Sandlake Dunes, a stretch of paved road through coastal sand dunes. Tight road, drive the speed limit.
State park parking is $10 a day if you live in Oregon and $12 if you don't, and the annual permit is $60 or $75. Do not buy the Oregon Pacific Coast Passport for this. As of January 2026 Oregon State Parks no longer sells or accepts it, whatever an older guide says. Cannon Beach downtown parking fills by 11 AM on summer weekends, the Haystack Rock parking lot at Hemlock and Gower fills first. Park at the south end of town and walk in, plenty of free side-street parking. The Cape Kiwanda lot next to Pelican is $10 a day and it is run by Tillamook County, not the brewery, so your state parks permit does not cover it and theirs does not cover state parks. County annual is $55.
US-101 handles RVs fine but several Three Capes Loop sections have tight turns and steep grades. RVs over 30 ft should stick to US-101 through the Tillamook stretch. Cannon Beach has limited RV parking downtown, use the south lots. Cape Lookout State Park has the area's best in-park RV camping. Pacific City beach has driving access for vehicles in some sections, but only for permitted dory operations and high-clearance vehicles.
the must-sees
Don't miss on the North Coast
In Astoria
Astoria Column. A 125-foot tower on the highest hill in town with a spiral mural depicting Pacific Northwest history wrapped around the outside. Climb 164 steps to the top for a 360-degree view of the Columbia River, the Pacific, and the Coast Range. $10 per vehicle, and the pass is good for a full year, not a day. The city doubled it in early 2026, though it drops back to $5 in December and January. The single best view in town. Plan 45 min.
Riverwalk & Sea Lions on the docks. The 6.4-mile Astoria Riverwalk runs along the Columbia River with views of working fishing boats, cargo ships heading to Asia, and the iconic Astoria-Megler Bridge. Sea lions haul out on the floating docks at Pier 39, sometimes 200+ at a time, barking and lounging. Free, family-friendly, plan 1-2 hours.
The Goonies house. The 1896 Victorian on 38th Street where Mikey lived in the 1985 movie. You can drive past it but the homeowners ask visitors not to walk on the property. View it from the street. The Oregon Film Museum downtown (in the old Clatsop County Jail used in the movie's opening scene) has Goonies memorabilia and is the better stop for fans. About $6/adult.
Columbia River Maritime Museum. One of the best maritime museums in the country, focused on the dangerous Columbia River bar (called the "Graveyard of the Pacific" where more than 2,000 vessels have been lost across the wider region, and the museum counts over 200 large ships at the bar itself). Walk aboard the Lightship Columbia at the dock, a National Historic Landmark that used to mark the river entrance. About $18/adult and $8/kids 6-17, free under 6, with the 3D film another $5. Plan 2-3 hours.
Fort Stevens State Park. 10 minutes northwest of Astoria, this 4,300-acre state park has the Wreck of the Peter Iredale (a 1906 four-masted ship still visible on the beach), historic military fortifications, the only military post in the lower 48 to be fired on by an enemy in WWII (a Japanese submarine in 1942), and 9 miles of bike trails. Needs an Oregon State Parks day-use permit, $10 resident and $12 out of state. A Washington Discover Pass does nothing here, and neither does the Coast Passport anymore. Plan a half day.
In Cannon Beach
Haystack Rock at low tide. The 235-foot sea stack is the headline. At low tide, walk out to the base and explore the tide pools at the rock's base: starfish, sea anemones, hermit crabs, sometimes octopus. The Haystack Rock Awareness Program has volunteers on the beach during low tide who help kids identify what they're seeing. Tufted Puffins nest on the rock from April to early July, bring binoculars. Free, plan 1-2 hours, time it to low tide (check tide tables).
Walk the beach. Cannon Beach is 4 miles long. From Tolovana Beach at the south end to Ecola Creek at the north end, with Haystack Rock right in the middle. Soft sand, bunnies in the grass behind the dunes, sometimes Roosevelt elk grazing on the beach in the early morning. Bring layers, the wind off the Pacific is real. Free, plan as long as you want.
Hemlock Street downtown. The pedestrian-friendly heart of Cannon Beach. Galleries, kitchen shops, ice cream parlors (Bruce's Candy Kitchen has been making saltwater taffy since 1963), bookstores, the Cannon Beach Sand Castle Contest in June. Walking distance from one end to the other in 10 minutes, but you'll spend hours stopping. Free, plan 2-3 hours.
Hug Point State Recreation Area, closed for repairs. Check before you drive: the stairway and cliff work has it shut as of this writing. When it is open, it is a small beach 5 miles south of Cannon Beach off US-101, with a hidden waterfall and sea cave at the north end at low tide. The historic stagecoach road carved into the rock face is still visible. Less crowded than Cannon Beach, perfect for an afternoon walk. Free, plan 1-2 hours, check tide tables.
Ecola State Park. Reopened April 7, 2026 after the winter landslides. Nine miles of coastline north of Cannon Beach, Indian Beach where The Goonies and Twilight were filmed, and views of "Terrible Tilly" (Tillamook Rock Lighthouse, abandoned since 1957, sitting on its rock a mile offshore). The western leg of the Clatsop Loop Trail is still closed after an April slide, so the full 2.5-mile Lewis and Clark loop cannot be walked. Check Oregon State Parks for current status.
In Tillamook
Tillamook Creamery. The headline. Free self-guided tour of the cheese factory with a viewing window over the production floor where 40-pound cheese blocks roll past. Free samples in the gift shop, dining hall with grilled cheese sandwiches and Tillamook ice cream (the marionberry pie flavor is the move). Open daily 9 AM to 7 PM, closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Free, plan 1-2 hours. Premium tours with deeper access available for booking if the family is really into it.
Blue Heron French Cheese Company. 3 miles south of Tillamook Creamery on US-101. The wine-and-cheese alternative with French-style brie cheese tastings, Pacific Northwest wines, deli sandwiches, and a small petting zoo with goats, donkeys, chickens, and ostriches. Way less crowded than the Creamery, and equally good for kids who want to pet animals.
Tillamook Air Museum, closed for now. The WWII Navy blimp hangar is still one of the largest wooden buildings in the world and it is worth a look from the road. The museum inside is shut indefinitely. A December 2025 windstorm tore off close to 180 feet of the roof, and in May 2026 the Port of Tillamook Bay board voted not to repair it. There is no reopening date. Do not build a Tillamook afternoon around this one.
Three Capes & Pacific City
Cape Meares Lighthouse + Octopus Tree. The 1890 lighthouse (Oregon's shortest at 38 feet) sits 200 feet above the ocean on a steep headland. Free, walk the short paths to the lighthouse and the famous Octopus Tree, a 300-year-old Sitka spruce that grew in a contorted multi-limbed shape no one can fully explain. From April through July, the steep cliffs are nesting sites for thousands of seabirds. Plan 30-45 min.
Cape Lookout State Park. The 5-mile round-trip Cape Lookout Trail through ancient forest to the tip of the headland. One of the best whale-watching spots on the Oregon Coast (December-January and March-June for gray whale migration). Beach access at the day-use area. Cape Lookout campground is one of the best on the coast. Oregon State Parks day-use permit for parking, $10 or $12. Plan 3-4 hours for the hike.
Cape Kiwanda + Pacific City. The sandstone headland at the north end of Pacific City beach. The OTHER Haystack Rock (327 ft, even taller than Cannon Beach's) sits half a mile offshore. The headland erodes constantly with sinkholes, cliffs, and crevices. Climb the dune for the panoramic view, but stay on designated paths (multiple deaths in recent years from erosion-related falls). Pelican Brewing's original location is right on the beach. Plan 2-3 hours.
Dory boats at Pacific City. Watch the dory fishermen launch their flat-bottomed boats directly off the sand at high tide and beach them right back the same way. One of the only places in the world where this still happens. Most active in summer mornings around 6-7 AM. Free.
kids pick
Haystack Rock tide pools + Tillamook Creamery + Cape Kiwanda
Best one-day kids day on the North Coast. Start in Cannon Beach at Haystack Rock at low tide (check tide tables, you want low tide before noon). Tide pool with the Haystack Rock Awareness Program volunteers, walk the beach. Drive south through Tillamook and stop at the Tillamook Creamery for the free factory tour, samples, and ice cream lunch. Continue down the Three Capes Route to Pacific City, climb the Cape Kiwanda dune (kids love the giant sand pile), watch dory boats land if the timing works. End with dinner at the original Pelican Brewing right on the beach with sunset over the OTHER Haystack Rock. Three iconic stops, kid-paced, no melt-downs, the kind of day kids talk about for years.