Of course the more time you can spend to do something the better.

But most of the time, I’m fighting work and busy schedules to get things done.

And you know what’s worse than not having enough time? Not going at all!!

So that’s why I did the entire Oregon Coast in 2 days. I know it sounds crazy, but seriously, this is for the people who can’t get away from work or whatever other responsibilities keep you at home.

If you have more time, check out my quide for a (little) longer trip. I even have one where you can start in Washington and do Forks, La Push, Port Angeles, and Olympic State Park.

BUT if you are on the tight schedule, then let’s stick to Oregon only.

I want to start by at least mentioning Seaside, Oregon. I LOVE this town. It is so cute and beachy. There are darling resturants and hotels. So if you have time, definitely take a second to drive around this town. But it doesn’t have a ton to do and it doesn’t fit neatly into a plan for a quick trip. So it may have to wait until next time.

OKAY! First things first, look up the tide chart for the dates you will be visiting. Plan your visit to Haystack Rock around the low tide. The extra hassle is very worth it.

Depending on where you’re coming from, you may want to start your day in Astoria. If you’re coming from the north, Astoria has a cool bridge where Oregon and Washington meet.

However, if you’re coming from any other direction, I don’t think it is worth the trip up and back.

Ecola State Park is at the north end of Cannon Beach. So once you figure out when low tide is, and let that decide where you start your day.

The entrance to Ecola State Park is in Cannon Beach on 5th Street. This is so worth it. Even the drive is beautiful. The trees are so lush and tall. I love the moss on the trees.

After driving about 1.5 miles up Ecola Park road the road will fork. The left will take you to Ecola Point Viewpoint. Usually parking is ample, but during peak times, you may have to wait for a spot. There is a very short walk to the main viewpoint. You might recognize this area, because it is where part of Goonies was filmed.

The drive and the viewpoint are my favorite parts of Ecola State Park. So I am content to be done after that. But when you’re done at the viewpoint, you can drive back and take the right fork to Indian Beach if you want. It is only 7 minutes from the viewpoint parking lot.

The fee for Ecola State Park is $5 for the day; it includes the Ecola Point Viewpoint parking as well as Indian Beach. There are self serve fee-stations at each of the parking lots. They take cash or card. There are also restrooms at each of the parking lots.

Exiting Ecola State park, will put you right out into the town of Cannon Beach. If you’re ready for some lunch, there are lots of local little restaurants to choose from. We decided to keep it cheap and just made Cup O’ Noodles at a park. Any park will do of course, but we went to Les Shirley Park. There were picnic tables and restrooms. There is no playground, and Annie was disappointed in that, but it suited our needs just fine.

If you’re not quite ready for lunch, it’s time to go to the beach.

Again, I definitely recommend visiting Haystack Rock during low tide. So if low tide is in the morning, do Haystack Rock first, and Ecola State Park after.

Haystack Rock is an absolute must-see, must-do, must-walk-out-to. The first time we came, we just looked at Haystack Rock from afar and said “wow, what a cool rock.” I did not know that you were supposed to walk out onto the beach and EXPERIENCE Haystack Rock.

The tide pools are absolutely breathtaking. They are some of the best in the world. There are starfish everywhere. They are brightly colored and some are over 18 inches!! There are different species of anenome, mussels, and crabs. Even if you don’t consider yourself a “tide pooler”, you have to see this at least once in your life. Please, please just make this a priority.

After tide pooling, you can play in the sand, stay on the beach, or head back to your car.

Okay now that I’ve convinced you to go, I’ll just tell you. Parking for Cannon Beach is an absolute nightmare. If you find an easy way to do it, let me know. We underestimated the parking disaster and were late for low tide because we had to park so far away and walk 5ever. But this is what I’ve found out so far- there is a free public parking lot on South Hemlock Street and Gower Avenue. It is next to the Cannon Beach City Hall. It is a small lot, and is full during busy times. If it is full, an option is to park on a street. The west ends of Jackson, Harrison, and Van Buren streets have some parking. It can be a 15-20 minute walk to Haystack Rock depending on where you park. I’m sure there are other options for parking, but if it’s low tide time of the day, all bets are off.

If you haven’t already, get some lunch or a snack. This next part is a little bit of a drive, so grab a drink.

From Cannon Beach, head south on Highway 101 for about 11 miles (15 minutes) to Neakahnie Viewpoint. This is a really quick stop. It is a small parking lot, and the viewpoint is basically the parking lot. It can take less than 5 minutes if you want it to.

The next stop is the Tillamook Creamery, which is about an hour away. If you’re still looking for some food, there are a couple options. About halfway to Tillamook, there is a little family owned corndog stand in Rockaway Beach called “Pronto Pup.” They serve “corndogs” but they’re breaded in a pancake batter, rather than a cornbread batter. They also have breaded and fried cheese, pickles, and Oreos. It is a fun stop along the way. Annie loves the ride-on corndog.

If that doesn’t sound like your vibe, the Tillamook Factory has a café and ice cream shop. Of course everything there is absolutely delectable. There’s no doubt that Tillamook cheese and cream is superior. The prices in the café will reflect that. You can get mac & cheese, grilled cheese or a pizza, but you’ll be paying around $15 each. The ice cream is $5 for a scoop. Or they have a 3 scoop sampler plate that is $10, which really, I don’t think is a terrible deal. It is so good. 

If you’re a cheese lover, (especially high quality, expensive cheese) a stop at the Tillamook Factory will be worth it. It has free admission. You can take a self guided tour of their factory, watching as the cheese is being made and packaged. They offer free samples of cheese, and a large gift shop.

If you’re ready to call it a day, this is a good place to stop. There are a few hotels right in Tillamook, as well as surrounding towns, and you can do Devil’s Punchbowl in the morning.

If you have a couple more hours of daylight, and enough energy to make it, you can continue onto Devil’s Punchbowl, then spend the night in Newport (about 15 minutes from the punchbowl)

Devil’s Punchbowl is about 1.5 hours from Tillamook. It is an angry cave of waves during high tide, and a great tide pooling spot at low tide. At low tide, you can find the tide pools on the north side, but during high tide, it is just as interesting to look down into the “punchbowl.” The hollow rocks create a thundering roar as the waves crash inside. I haven’t made it there at low tide, so I haven’t personally seen the tide pools, but the pictures look amazing. During high tide, it definitely lives up to it’s Devil’s Punchbowl name.

Devil’s Churn will be coming up next. It requires a 0.4 mi walk on a paved, but steep path (called the Path of Restless Waters.) It is considered an easy trail, but especially in rainy weather, the trail and rocks are slippery. Please be careful if you decide to go down to the water.  

If you decide to skip Devil’s Churn, that’s okay. The next part is my favorite part of the entire coast, and it is similar.

Many Oregon Coast guides leave this next place out. I missed it completely the first time I did the coast. Don’t make that mistake. It may be your favorite part of the coast. It is definitely mine!!! I was absolutely mesmerized by this area. I had a hard time walking away from it. I could spend this whole page trying to describe it, but really, it is just something you have to see for yourself. DO NOT MISS THIS STOP!

Next stop: Thor’s Well and Loki’s Revenge on Cape Perpetua!

A couple tips for this stop:

It is not Cape Perpetua Overlook. Don’t follow GPS for that. Type Thor’s Well into GPS. Be brave and walk out on the rocks to see in the well. Obviously use common sense and stay safe. Don’t get too close, and be aware of the changing tide. But take a look inside the well, stand on the rocks and let the blow holes spray you with salt water.

The last stop I recommend making is the Haceta Head Lighthouse. It costs $5 to park, and parking can be limited; you may have to wait for a spot. There is beach access, but the main attraction is the lighthouse. It is a 0.5 mi walk to the lighthouse and it is a little bit steep. It is easy to take the walk slow though, because there are plenty of great viewpoints along the way.

About halfway up, you will come upon the Haceta Lighthouse Bed & Breakfast. It is in the lightkeeper’s cottage, which is one of the last lightkeeper’s houses left on the Pacific Coast. It is an operational B&B with rooms starting around $600/night. There is a waitlist to stay in one of the six rooms! You may not get to stay at the B&B, but there is a cute gift shop inside that is open to the public. It has lighthouse souvenirs and little toys/trinkets for kids.

Once at the top, you can go inside the lighthouse. Sometimes there is a volunteer there giving information about the history. There are usually bird watchers that are happy to let you use their spotting scopes as well. It is worth the trip up.

Coming up is Florence, it is a hub where you can peel off the coast and head back to where you came from (or continue on to your next adventure). We road trip from Utah, so this is a good place for us to head inland.

There are some things further down the coast, but it was really more of the same (but a little less cool) and it adds quite a bit of driving time, so I don’t think it’s worth it.

TLDR;

If you’re coming from the north, start in Astoria. If not, check the tide chart and go to Haystack Rock at low tide. While you’re in the area, go to Ecola State Park viewpoint. Make your way to Neakahnie Viewpoint, on your way to the Tillamook Creamery there is a corndog stand called Pronto Pup. Go to Devil’s Punchbowl then sleep in Newport. Go to Devil’s Churn in the morning, then Thor’s Well at Cape Perpetua. Last stop is Haceta Head Lighthouse. When you get to Florence, turn inland and head to your next destination.

If you make this trip, let me know how it goes and if there is anything you would change! Feel free to leave questions in the comments!

Thank you so much for reading!