Seaside/Cannon Beach/Tillamook

Seaside/Cannon Beach

On arrival in Seaside... (Promenade, Bumper Cars & Taffy)
Seaside, Oregon's first seaside resort, dates back to the mid 1800s. With a beachfront stretching 1 1/2 miles, a real Tilt-A-Whirl and the closest thing Oregon has to a boardwalk, you'll be nostalgic for the golden days. It's the standard-issue getaway for Portland kids (& adults) forever. But unlike Portland, Seaside hasn't changed over the decades. It's still full of shops selling kites, Roxy board shorts and trashy T-shirts. Where else can you ride a surrey while eating a caramel-apple and proudly wearing neon-green sweatpants and sweatshirts that say "Seaside".
Possible Seaside Stops

Cannon Beach Area:
On arrival in Cannon Beach...Stops include:

Ecola State Park / Tillamook Rock Light house ('Terrible Tilly') view - Wildlife watching and ocean viewing at Ecola State Park. Certain to please bird-watchers, history buffs & photographers. Ample picnicking and romping space.
Historic Downtown, Haystack Rock:
- HAYSTACK ROCK - Head down to the beach for some selfies. At low tide, there are pools of sea anemones and seastars at the base of the 235 ft basalt tower. At high tide, you can wonder around looking at cool dogs frolicking in the surf.

EATS:

Dooger's or Buoy's Best in Seaside
Tom's Fish & Chips in Cannon Beach & Seaside
All Eateries

Buoy's Best- Freshest seafood in Seaside

Tom's

Friday's all-you-can-eat Fish & Chips
$3 Taco Tuesday's,
$6 Wednesday's Burger, Beer & Fries

4pm-close

Tom's Menu

South of Cannon Beach

Neakahnie Mtn. & Oswald West State Park- One of the best preserved coastal rain forests in Oregon:
– Experience some of the more breathtaking spots on the entire Oregon coast with a guided hikes to Hug Point, Smuggler's Cove and Devil's Cauldron. The 'easy' hikes give an up close and personal glimpse to the connection between land and sea.

Stops may include:

Hug Point -

Walk along the beach to the waterfall, sea cave and old postal road that "hugged' the coastline before HWY 101 was built. Explore Hug Point! View the waterfall, sea caves and tire ruts on the rocks at Hug Point carved into the rocks where the cars drove, “hugging the point” to get to towns further south than Cannon Beach when the tide was low.
Tides: Also, you can only explore the road and caves around Hug Point at low tide. You can check the Oregon Coast tide chart for predicted times of high and low tides.

A SECRET SMUGGLER'S COVE*

Join me or follow the signs on an easy, meandering 1/2 mile path. Hike through old-growth Sitka Spruce forest and climb over some handsomely weathered ocean debris towards this picturesque cove . Legend has it there's buried treasure there of the 17th century Manila (Spanish) Galleon Santo Cristo de Burgos - Reader

*The secret smuggler's cove - Add this easy 1 mile RT hike - "If we had to pick a spot that embodies almost everything that defines the Oregon Coast; the old-growth cedar, hemlock, Douglas fir & Sitka spruce forest culminating with the the picturesque, crescent shaped smuggler's cove with never-found Spanish Galleon buried treasures, is it--which almost no one knows about--a secret location. This forest & cove is as fine a temple as nature can create... This is one of our most treasured places at the coast."

Devil's Cauldron -

The Devils Cauldron (AKA Pirate's Treasure cove) is a cliff-backed cove just south of Short Sand Beach. The ocean swells churn and froth around a handful of sea stacks, including Cube Rock, making this a spectacular view on a fine day. The viewpoint can be reached by a semi-steep, rocky and often muddy trail, so wear appropriate footwear. Hike is about 5 minutes each way.

For scenic value, this new section (right) will be the equal of anything offered along the 400 miles of Oregon's coastline"
The Oregonian, 1941

Sitka Spruce Forest

Hug Point

Galleon Santo Cristo de Burgos

Smuggler's Cove

Neahkahnie Viewpoint

New section of highway

Devil's Cauldron-Treasure Cove

NEAHKAHNIE MOUNTAIN & Neahkahnie Viewpoints

Renowned for its views (right) at Neahkahnie Mtn., we'll pull off at the 1st pull-out and hike to the 4th for a variety of wonderful views. Hike only takes about 10-20 minutes and is easy. This engineering feat was the largest in Oregon up to that time.
Whale watching* (mid Dec - mid Jan & late February - May) -please inquire.

Tillamook

Villages of Manzanita, Wheeler, Garibaldi, Rockaway Beach & others

On arrival in Manzanita...

Eat a secret dessert

Save room for dessert at the Sand Dune Pub, which has a killer, silky-smooth peanut butter chocolate pie that sits off-menu, because it was too popular. The pie should be washed down with a $5 pint and enjoyed on the patio.

SEE THE CENTURY-OLD LIGHTHOUSE, OREGON'S BIGGEST TREE & ONE OF THE CHOICEST VIEWS AROUND

Next is the Cape Meares Lighthouse (right) in the Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint & Wildlife Refuge. Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint is situated on a headland 200 feet above the ocean. Cape Meares provides an excellent view of a colony of nesting common murres (the site is one of the most populous colonies of nesting sea birds on the continent). Bald eagles and peregrine falcons have also been known to nest near here.
Located here is 'Big Spruce', Oregon's largest Sitka Spruce
& the 'Octopus Tree' are more terrific attractions in the area we will see. The Octopus tree is a giant Sitka Spruce that is 50 feet in circumference, and has six limbs that are 12-feet around, and no central trunk!

TAKE IN A FOREST FIRE
If time permits; a visit to the Tillamook Forest Center (about 35 minutes east of Tillamook along Route 6; milepost 22; Hours) is worth the stop-FREE. The highlight is a 15-minute film about the series of massive wildfires from 1933-1951 that scorched 350,000 acres of old-growth forest beginning in 1933, known collectively as the Tillamook Burn. There's also exhibits and a fire lookout. The movie is played in a surround-sound theater that glows an infernal red and is scented with smoke. If you had a 3rd round of drinks last night it may be too much for you--in which case a hike along the Wilson River may be at hand (link below).
Possible Tillamook Stops

DISCLAIMER: Not all stops listed above are on your itinerary. Time restraints and other factors typically limit the sights we see. Above are only potential stops. Priority stops should be communicated to My Chauffeur ahead of (preferred) or during your tour so we can make time for them. No stop is guaranteed.