Cannon Beach Hike

Overview

Although this is one of the most visited beaches on the entire Oregon Coast, walking the sandy expanse will take you into some quiet spots whenever you get some distance from the main access points. Do not stop once you have fraternized with the hordes at Haystack Rock. There are other tide pools, stacks, and headlands to explore before you reach Hug Point. Make sure you attempt this at low tide; otherwise, navigating the headlands at Humbug Point and Hug Point can be a drenching experience! In any case, there are a number of creeks that flow out across the beaches and you should be prepared to get your feet wet at any time of year. In addition to the hike as described, there are several other options here: From the main parking area, walk west to Hemlock Street. Go right half a block and then go left on 2nd Street and walk out to the beach. Here Ecola Creek meets the Pacific Ocean at Kramer Point. Across the creek is Chapman Beach backed by Chapman Point, with Ecola Point and then Tillamook Head to the north. Walk south towards Haystack Rock, a 235-foot sea stack that hosts nesting puffins, cormorants, and other sea birds in the spring. At low tide, explore the tide pools around its base, but do not go beyond the signs forbidding passage (Haystack Rock is part of the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge). Anemones, sea stars, and chitons are easily spotted here. More of a find are colorful nudibranches, or sea slugs, found in pools at the low tide line. Proceed southward along the beach. The other stacks around Haystack Rock are known collectively as The Needles. To the left is a low hill of spruce and pine and then comes the fairly lengthy and open stretch of beach fronting Tolovana before another forested hill is passed. Navigate the next headland with the stack of Silver Point and its low sea cave to the right. Look for harlequin ducks floating in and out with the surges here. The short stretch of beach past Silver Point is backed by a high, many-layered sedimentary bluff. On the right is the round

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