We love the Oregon coast and we particularly love Manzanita. Lesser known than it’s northern cousins Cannon Beach and Seaside, it is less crowded, even on a beautiful summer weekend. Some friends of ours, Robert and Vivian, own a house with a view of the ocean, on a hill about a 10 minute walk from the beach. We recently spent the weekend with them, and on Saturday, we drove up to Ecola State Park, about 2 miles north of Cannon Beach and had a near perfect day hiking.
Winter storms and heavy rains led to a landslide earlier this Spring which washed away some major sections of the trail. We found ourselves off the trail in dense brush, climbing over fallen logs, not always sure if we were headed in the right direction. Eventually we re-connected with the trail and found our way down to the beach.
We got lucky. If we had been smarter and thought ahead, we would have checked the tide tables, but as it was, we were down at the beach almost perfectly at low tide. The outgoing tide revealed many tide pools, with visible mussels, starfish, anemones, and tiny hermit crabs.
Altogether we walked 6-7 miles and had a wonderful time. Although it started out cool and cloudy, by mid-day it was sunny and a perfect 68 degrees.
Although we didn’t stay at either location, there is a private RV park near downtown Cannon Beach called the RV Park at Cannon Beach and a State park, about twenty minutes down highway 101 at Nehalem Bay State Park. Either should suit you for a visit to this beautiful stretch of the Oregon coast.
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