Cannon Beach, Oregon
Haystack Rock, Tide Pools, and Cannon Beach
Check the tide chart for Haystack Rock, walk Hemlock Street's galleries, visit Ecola's forested viewpoints, and choose a stay within reach of the beach.
Cannon Beach, Oregon
Start with the tide, then choose town or headlands
Low tide opens the Haystack Rock Marine Garden. Before or after that window, walk Hemlock Street's galleries, drive to Ecola's viewpoints, or return to a room in downtown, midtown, or Tolovana.
Haystack Rock
Current tide guidance, puffin viewing, Marine Garden rules, and beach access.
Beach hotels
Oceanfront lodges, cottages, and quieter town edges.
Things to do
Ecola viewpoints, Hemlock galleries, beach walks, and rainy-day options.
Weekend plan
A tide-aware Friday-to-Sunday sequence with named stops in town and along the shore.
Six Cannon Beach experiences
Tide pools, puffins, art galleries, coastal trails, and Haystack Rock.
Haystack Rock
The 235-foot basalt sea stack rises directly from the beach. At low tide, the surrounding Marine Garden reveals sea stars, anemones, and hermit crabs. Tufted puffins are most visible from April into early July, with some chicks remaining later in summer.
Full Guide to Haystack Rock →
Tufted Puffins
Every spring, tufted puffins return to burrows high on Haystack Rock and the surrounding sea stacks. Bring binoculars: the birds are small at beach-viewing distance and stay inside the protected habitat.
Wildlife Guide →
Art Galleries & Town
Hemlock Street is lined with galleries featuring Pacific Northwest artists, sculptors, and photographers. The annual Sandcastle Contest is held on the beach in June.
Explore Downtown →
Ecola State Park
North of town, Ecola State Park has Sitka spruce forest, Ecola Point, Indian Beach, and views across sea stacks toward Tillamook Head.
Park Guide →
Tide Pool Exploring
The Marine Garden around Haystack Rock is a protected habitat teeming with purple sea urchins, ochre sea stars, giant green anemones, hermit crabs, and limpets.
Tide Pool Guide →
Pacific Sunsets
The open beach provides a broad western horizon, with Haystack Rock and the Needles forming a recognizable silhouette near sunset.
Plan Your Stay →Where to Stay in Cannon Beach
Downtown keeps galleries and restaurants within walking distance; midtown shortens the walk to Haystack Rock; Tolovana has quieter south-end lodging and larger room layouts.
