day trips, north america, united states October 5, 2015

Cannon Beach: A Day Trip From Portland, Oregon

As of late, I have been spending time in Portland, Oregon with close friends. One day I decided to do a day trip to the Oregon Coast. At the time, I didn’t have a plan and just started driving. As I was driving along the 26 West Freeway to the coast, I saw some signs for Cannon Beach. I decided that was where I would spend the day.

If you’re visiting my blog for the first time, please excuse me. I have recently just lost my father so everything is a bit off kilter these days. Right after I got the news that my father died, I couldn’t focus on anything. Grief hit me pretty hard. My mind would wander and I couldn’t get my s&^t together (sorry). One thing that I often do to help me through these layers of loss is to get away, even for a few hours. I feel like leaving your “home” or base is vital for your well-being. Removing myself from sadness helps push me forward.

TRIP PLANNING STARTS HERE

HELPFUL GENERAL TRAVEL TIPS

Flights: Find a cheap flight using Skyscanner or Momondo. I like these two booking sites because they both search all websites and airlines around the globe including budget airlines.
Accommodations: I use Booking.com or Tripadvisor to find the best rates on hotels. Hotels.com offers a free night after booking 10 nights
Get up to $40 off your first Air Bnb stay by using this code!
Travel Insurance: Having gotten sick on my travels in the past, I never travel without being insured. You never know when something may happen. For my round the world trip and extended long-term travel, I use World Nomads. For other trips, I have used Roam Right and they cover activities like extreme sports.

Since I was a child with my parents, I have been visiting Cannon Beach on the Oregon Coast. When the movie The Goonies came out, I was obsessed with it. Being the awesome parents they were, mine took me to Astoria and Cannon Beach where some of the movie was filmed. My parents and I would do little weekend road trips either to Seattle, Portland, and the Oregon Coast. These places hold fond memories for me.

Reliving fond memories. A photo I shot of my father when I was 12

I love the Oregon Coast. Even when it’s busy, it’s so quiet compared to beaches in California. Each time I visit, I try to go to a new place (sans this day trip Cannon Beach) and each time I fall more in love. I drove out to Cannon Beach on a midweek day so there were barely any people in town. It was really quiet and peaceful. Going there was just the quick escape I needed. There is something about being in nature and by the ocean that helps me when I’m feeling a bit down.

Some helpful tips for visiting Cannon Beach:

Take the 26 West from Portland.
It’s about 1.5 hours and there are signs all the way there (even if you don’t have navigation or cell phone service, you can get there just by following signs). My cell service is pretty spotty once I leave Metro Portland, but I had service at Cannon Beach.
There are a couple of free parking lots. I parked by the one beside the skateboard park.
There are free bathrooms by the parking lot.
There are really cute shops, galleries, and restaurants that line the blocks before the beach. There’s a little market called Ecola which serves cooked and fresh seafood. I grabbed a chowder to go because I wasn’t hungry at the time. I bought a bowl’s worth to go but wished I bought a quart because it was amazing!