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Cannon Beach
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Nine miles south from Seaside, the more upmarket and pleasant
CANNON BEACH
manages to retain its small-town air despite decades of relentless commercialism. The place is at its liveliest during the annual
Sandcastle Competition
(
), a one-day event held in late May or early June, whose most notable sandworks have included dinosaurs, sphinxes, and even the Crucifixion. Cannon Beach's best natural draw is its 240ft
Haystack Rock
, a black monolith crowned with nesting seagulls - accessible at low tide, though definitely not climbable. To escape the town's inevitable crush of tourists, head four miles north to
Ecola State Park
, where dense conifer forests decorate the basaltic cliffs of Tillamook Head, or south to
Oswald West State Park
where there is a beautiful beach, rocky headland and coastal rainforest.
Oswald West
(tel 1-800/551-6949), a tent-only campground popular with surfers, has wheelbarrows to transport your gear to the site.
Accommodation
is tight, especially at competition time.
Cannon Beach Hotel
, 1116 S Hemlock St (tel 503/436-1392,
; $100-130), is a petite, European-style hotel, while the popular
Waves Motel
is right on the seafront at 188 W Second St (tel 503/436-2205 or 1-800/822-2468,
; $100-130). For
food
,
Midtown CafA©
, 1235 S Hemlock St (tel 503/436-1016), has the best breakfast in town; the
Bistro
, 263 N Hemlock St (tel 503/436-2661), doles out a fine range of seafood; and
Heather's CafA©
, 271 N Hemlock St (tel 503/436-9353), makes a mean grilled-cheese sandwich. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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United States,
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