Day Trip To The Oregon Coast

Rugged Cliffs, wide open beaches, and grassy meadows. The Oregon coast is full of so many stunning sites. I often find myself heading back to the coast, it’s kind of a second home to me. I have spent many summers working on the coast exploring all the incredible places. Since then I find myself returning there frequently for day trips to continue the journey of seeing and capturing all it has to offer. I am happy to be sharing my favorite stops along the way, best restaurants to check out, and what to have packed in your bag for your day trip!

Note: This day trip can also be done in reverse ending your day at Cannon beach for sunset! As well as be modified to fit your specific wants.

Where To Start

Cannon Beach, Oregon

Cannon Beach is located on the north side of highway 101. I like to start there. This small beach town is just a 1.5 hour drive from Portland, OR. I leave early in the morning to have enough time to see everything I can. Getting out there around 9 AM, grab a quick coffee at Insomnia Coffee on the way to the beach. You can usually get the typically busy beach all to yourself this early in the day. Parking can be difficult if you find yourself there on a busy summer weekend. There are a few public parking lots that you can usually find a place at. There are some little beach shops that you could make a whole day trip just to cannon beach if you wanted to. Also not far from Cannon beach is Ecola State park, a beautiful little park with a few hikes and amazing over look of the town and ocean.

Oswald West State Park

Head down 101 south for your next stop at Oswald West State Park, making frequent stops at small beaches along the way like Arcadia Beach and Hug Point. Oswald west is a beautiful state park. If you surf then take the short hike to short beach for one of the best surf spots in Oregon. Or chose to take a hike to Cape Falcon (Pretty easy 4.6 miles) or my personal favorite the cliffs of Elk Flats. This short but muddy hike will take you to one of the most insane views in Oregon. This is an amazing place for sunset for another time.

Tillamook, Oregon

Keep going down the coast until you reach Tillamook. This small farming town is home to the tillamook cheese factory, a must stop for a little tour and some ice cream. Skip the food though and choose one of the many great local places. I've spent a lot of time in tillamook trying a lot of places over the years. I recommend Main Street for pizza, the Chinese Garden for Chinese food, Garcia's Cocina for Mexican food, The Dutch Mill for a 50’s style dinner, or Old Oregon Smokehouse for great seafood. After a quick stop for lunch, drive out to the beach. Depending on time, check out the cape meares lighthouse and a personal favorite hidden gem is a short beach where there is a small man made waterfall. Otherwise head out and check out Cape Lookout State park, which has an amazing hike that goes out to the end of the cape, about 5 miles RT.

Pacific City, Oregon

There’s nothing like finishing a busy day on the coast then spending the last few hours of daylight at Pacific City. This is by far my favorite place on the coast for sunset. Grab some ice cream from the small store across the street from the beach and hike up to the top of the dunes to enjoy the sunset. If you’re needing some dinner in town I recommend either pizza from doryland or tacos from Ben & Jeffs.

What To Pack

Packing for a trip to the Oregon coast will look different depending on the time of year. In the spring, fall, and winter you can almost always be guaranteed rain. Temperatures can vary from lows into the 40’s and as hot as a 90+ in the summer.

Packing for Spring, Fall, and Winter:

Raincoat: First things first, grab your raincoat. It can be rather cold or windy on the coast most of the year so having a good layer to help keep you dry is key.

Heavy puffy: I recommend bringing a warm puffy to keep you warm and to layer under your raincoat. You won't want this all the time when you're hiking but I always find it nice to throw on as I’m sitting waiting for sunset, or just after once it starts getting chilly. I use the Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer 800 down.

Hiking boots: If you are hitting any trail on the coast chances are it’ll be very muddy. Make sure you have good, sturdy, waterproof hiking boots to take on those trails.

Backpack: Pack your back the night before with your favorite snacks, drinks, and your camera. It’s not a bad idea to have a rain cover for your pack to keep all your gear dry.

Extra socks, shoes and hoodie: it’s a pretty great feeling after a long day of adventure out in the rain to change out of your wet socks and shoes, and put on a dry warm hoodie before hitting the road back home.

Packing for summer:

The weather on the coast can be very unpredictable. I have experienced over 100 degrees one day and pouring rain in the 50’s the next day.

Windbreaker: Summers on the coast is the warmest time to visit. However it can still be windy, so it's not a bad idea to use a light windbreaker.

Hoodie: For similar reasons to the windbreaker. A light jacket or hoodie can be nice to have later in the evening when the temperatures drop.

Backpack: The heat and sun can be extreme in the summer so make sure that you bring plenty of water and sun protection (hat and sunscreen)

Shorts/Pants: Check the weather before you head out to decide if you’ll want shorts or pants. I often still wear pants even in the summer to help protect against the sun.