US’s Pacific Northwest has only around three months of predictable beach-weather. If it is not summer, you might want to look up the forecast to see if the rain will permit you to go to the beach. If it’s a good day, here’s a recommendation — Cannon Beach on Oregon’s Coast. Cannon Beach is not just a beach but a whole city by the sea in Northern Oregon and is just around an hour and half’s drive from Portland, OR.
As it is not very far from Portland, Cannon Beach is a great place for a day trip or even a weekend trip. It was on a May day that we drove westward to the coast and then got onto Oregon Coast Highway and drove south for a bit to get to the small town of Cannon Beach and its dramatic coastline.
What adds drama to Cannon Beach’s coast are some igneous rocks that rise from the water and paint a picture of the Pacific Ocean meeting the Oregon Coast along with an army of rocks.
The most famous and probably the most photographed features of this Beach must be the Needles and the Haystack. The Haystack is the most prominent silhouette of the landscape. It is a rock that’s 235 ft tall and near it are these smaller and more-pointed-in-comparison-rocks that came to be christened The Needles.
The Needles and Haystack, Cannon Beach
Here are the other members of the lithic fraternity:
All these pictures are from a part of the beach south of the town of Cannon Beach. For lunch, we drove up to the little town and found ourselves a table at The Wayfarer, which was adjacent to the Needle and the Haystack hence the view was simply great. It seemed like the best seat in town.
After lunch, we walked around the part of the beach near the restaurant, and this is what it looks like around there:
Linking to
They look very similar to rocks on the beaches of Thai islands but the waters here seems to be more aggressive..
Oh yeah? With rocky features like this? Nice to know, Prasad. 🙂
Amazing pics.
Amazing pics.
Thank you so much, Rupam. 🙂
Lovely captures, Divya. That view from The Wayfarer indeed seemed like one of the best views in town. You not only have a way with camera but with words too. Liked the way you describe the meeting of the Pacific Ocean with the Oregon Coast.
Thank you so much, Ravish. 🙂
Seriously, that has to be the best seat because it overlooks the best sight — the Needles and the Haystack.
Thank you so much for your kind words, Ravish. 🙂
What a wonderful day trip! Definitely fun with kids.
The rock formation is amazing.
Scenic seaside indeed. The rocks are absolutely what makes this place so unique.
Thank you, Indrani for stopping by. 🙂
Wow! Such a amazing place to visit! Nicely captured.
Thank you so much, Shubhangi. 🙂
Nice captures.
Thanks, Arun. 🙂
That’s a beautiful beach and some really interesting rock formations. I have a particular fascination for photographs taken from a window. Loved the one you took from the restaurant.
Hey Puru, long time!!
Those rock formations are what I found most attractive at Cannon Beach.
And that table in the picture must be one of the best ones in town. 😉 What a great view of the Needles and the Haystack. 🙂
Thank you so much, Puru. 🙂
I am always amazed by with such kind of scenes with such heavy rocky patches spread around at the coast. I start wondering, whether it was always like this or the sea slowly over the time eroded a very huge rocky construct and fragmented into small ones. Pretty amazing. Scenic, beautiful.
One snap taken from the restaurant window says a lot. You have a gift to see the beauty and share it!
Rocks!! I have a thing for them too, Doc. 🙂
I’m sure there’s erosion happening there. But those are also igneous rocks, I hear.
Actually this area can be called a part of the ‘Ring of Fire.’ It’s where the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate meet. And there are lots of volcanoes on a mountain range not far from here. Interesting geography here. 🙂
Amazing place indeed. 🙂
Thank you so much for the kind words, Kaustubh. 🙂
Wow! A Gorgeous sight, Divya. The view from the restaurant was great. I would love to dine at such a place 🙂 Thanks for sharing 🙂
It sure is.
Next time — west coast, also, ok. 🙂
Thank you for stopping by, dear Parul.:)
Amazing Place !! Looks like paradise
Amazing! I agree.:)
Thank you for visiting, Yogi. 🙂
It would look amazing in the rains too Dee 🙂 Nice clicks and the wine 🙂
It sure would. Only it may not be a great time to be on the beach. 🙂
Thank you, Shweta.
How have you been?
jaws dropped…what a beautiful place !!!!! the giant rock is so beautiful.Amazing creation of nature.
Very nicely captured.
Nature sure knows how to drop some jaws. 🙂
Those rocks and the Ocean look great together.
Thank you, Jyotirmoy. 🙂
Magnificent rocks!
Absolutely.
Thank you for passing thru’ Rajeev. 🙂 Have a good weekend.