Cannon Beach

The Tillamook people lived along this stretch of coast long before anyone called it Cannon Beach, and William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition walked through in early January 1806, chasing word of a beached whale. The town's actual name comes from something that washed up decades later: a carronade from the wrecked Navy schooner Shark, thrown ashore near Arch Cape by that same ocean in 1846 and rediscovered in 1898. The growing settlement, until then called Elk Creek, took the name Cannon Beach in 1922 when the Post Office wanted to stop confusing it with Eola, Oregon.

Cannon Beach didn't incorporate as a city until 1956, and it has spent the decades since deciding what kind of place it wants to be. It covers barely 1.57 square miles and has kept out Safeway and McDonald's on purpose, on the theory that a chain store would be worth less to the town than the version of itself it already had.

It's a small enough decision that most visitors never notice it was a decision at all — they just notice they're in a walkable beach town with local galleries instead of a strip of familiar signage, and that National Geographic named it one of the world's 100 most beautiful places in 2013.

Haystack Rock is 235 feet of basalt sitting square in the middle of the beach, the eroded remains of lava flows that reached this coast roughly 15 to 17 million years ago, traced back to the same hotspot that now sits under Yellowstone. It has been a protected Marine Garden since 1990 and sits inside the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge, which is why you can walk right up to it at low tide but can't climb past the barnacle line. Tufted puffins nest on it between March and September, alongside pigeon guillemots, murres and black oystercatchers, and the tide pools at its base hold starfish, anemones, crabs and sea slugs.

Bill's Tavern and Brewhouse has occupied 188 North Hemlock Street since the building opened as the Imperial Grill in 1932; it's been brewing its own beer on-site since 1997, which makes it Cannon Beach's first brewery. Fish and chips and a burger are the anchors, with live music some Thursday nights.

4 brewpubs within 10 miles of Cannon Beach, all with a kitchen.

Brewpub locations from Open Brewery DB (MIT)

5 more Highway Heads places lie within about 180 miles of Cannon Beach in a straight line — far enough that most are a night away rather than an afternoon.

• PortlandOregonabout 65 mi
• SalemOregonabout 80 mi
• OlympiaWashingtonabout 95 mi
• SeattleWashingtonabout 140 mi
• Space NeedleWashingtonabout 140 mi

One full day covers the town and Haystack Rock; two lets you add Ecola or Oswald West without turning it into a hike-only trip.

Parking in town can be limited, according to the Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce, which says visitors can park in one place for the day and explore most of the town on foot. Its summer tips say traffic, crowds and parking can make a visit a challenge, particularly in July and August, and list lots downtown along Spruce Street, just east of the Information Center along 2nd Street, in midtown at Hemlock and Gower, and at the Tolovana Wayside. Check the City of Cannon Beach for current parking rules before arriving.

The tide table sets the Haystack Rock visit. The Haystack Rock Awareness Program, a program funded by the City of Cannon Beach, says the tidepools are not accessible during high tide and that a low tide height of 1 ft or lower is needed to reach them, and its schedule page carries a tide table. For viewing, it advises arriving at least an hour to an hour and a half before the scheduled low tide. Oregon State Parks gives similar guidance for tidepool viewing on Oregon’s rocky shores: visit the tidepools at least one hour before low tide.

Storm season runs roughly November through March, and the town leans into it — the Stormy Weather Arts Festival fills the galleries every November — but pack for wind and rain if you come outside summer.

Haystack Rock

Address

Beach access via Hemlock St., downtown Cannon Beach, OR 97110

Hours

Open beach access; plan around low tide

Price

Free

Link

cannonbeach.org

We checked seasonal opening and operating status on 2026-10-14. These change without notice — confirm with haystackrockawareness.com and cannonbeach.org the week you travel.

Straight-line distance from Cannon Beach, not drive time.

• Astoria Regional (AST) — 19 miles
• Southwest Washington Regional (KLS) — 53 miles
• Portland Hillsboro (HIO) — 55 miles