South on 101 | Cannon Beach + Ecola State Park

Cannon Beach is a small town community known for its seaside vistas, art galleries and Haystack Rock; a 235 foot monolith towering over the beach that long ago was a part of the actual coastline. This sea-stack is home to nesting birds and abundant with inter-tidal marine wildlife.

When visiting Cannon Beach we got a tip to check out Crescent Beach at Ecola State Park. We followed a curvy road from town for about two miles through a coastal rainforest to reach the parking lot and vista at Ecola Point. The trail to hike down to Crescent Beach is well marked from here. 

It was a chilly gray day and our first encounter with the type of weather you'd expect from the Pacific Northwest. On this PNW rainforest hike with piercing green colors, lush ferns and the towering evergreen canopies I am developing an even deeper fondness for the Oregon Coast. Once you reach Crescent Beach you're secluded among the sweeping shores and magnificent views of the rocky coastline and infinite ocean. 

10 miles south of the chevron shores of Cannon Beach in Oswald State Park are a couple of hikes I had noted that we did not make time for: Cape Falcon and Neahkahnie. (Maybe next time!) We chose instead to take in the towns and vistas along Route 101 in the day light. From the car we checked out Manzanita, Tillamook, Cape Meares State Park, Depoe Bay and Otter Crest Loop. All of these towns are potential stopping points on a road trip. We arrived to view Devil's Punchbowl at Cape Foulweather around dusk before continuing to our next home base-town of Newport. 

Our 3 mile roundtrip hike in Ecola State Park surrounded by an ethereal forest (to which photos do no justice!) leading to outstanding Crescent Beach had us feeling so much enthusiasm, amazement and pride as we continued to discover the wonder that is the Oregon Coastline.