Seaside Promenade Loop Hike

Overview

Almost as soon as emigrants arrived in the Willamette Valley in the mid-19th century, vacationers were making the trip to Seaside. In those days, the Coast Range was a rugged, impenetrable wilderness, and the journey was taken by river boat from Portland to Astoria or Warrenton, and thence by beach wagon or, after 1888, by railroad, to this unpretentious resort. Even in 1900, as many as 10,000 summer vacationers would supplement the 500 locals. In time, the town boasted many of the attractions of a beach destination: cotton candy and salt water taffy, arcade games and a carousel, a small aquarium and, not least, a 100-yard wide strand that bumps up against Tillamook Head to the south and the Necanicum Estuary to the north. You can choose to explore beachfront Seaside by walking south or north depending on your fancy. This description takes you south first and then north to the Necanicum Estuary. And note: come prepared to be swept up in a tide of beach-hungry humanity – week days are better than weekends; foul weather sees fewer visitors than fair; and the Necanicum Estuary is the loneliest spot on the route. Walk south from the parking area, passing public restrooms, on the short one-block mall of Downing Street. To your left is the Seaside Carousel Mall, which encompasses much of what characterizes Seaside as Oregon’s quintessential beach town: a carousel, large arcade game area, bumper cars, and shops selling any imaginable seaside souvenir. Come out at Broadway Street and walk west three blocks to the Lewis and Clark Monument at a vehicle turnaround. Below this structure, which illustrates the two leaders of the 1805-06 Voyage of Discovery and Seaman, their Newfoundland dog, there are men’s and women’s restrooms. Walk out to the beach on soft sand at first, with children’s play swings and beach volleyball courts. When you reach the hard sand, turn south towards Tillamook Head. The Tillamook Rock Light, 1 ¼ miles offshore from Tillamook Head, is visible from this angle. Walking down the wide beach, you’

Trail Stats

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