Just found out my travel partner made our reservations for next month in Seaside (at the Holiday Inn Express) instead of Cannon Beach. (No doubt this was a cost-saving strategy.) I see that the two towns are only 8 miles apart; is there any difficulty in finding parking in CB? I had wanted to explore the town on foot. Any specific recommendations for restaurants or things to do in Seaside?

There is no problem finding parking in Cannon Beach. Ecola State Park, near CB, is a beautiful place to visit.

Search "Seaside Oregon" and "kimamom" for things to do and restaurants in Seaside.

HTTY

i would plan on spending most of your time in CB...seaside is not nearly as attractive and does not have the same caliber of restaurants.

I feel your pain! There should be no problem finding parking in Cannon Beach, provided it's not a sunny weekend day. Best bet is in the lot behind the Coaster Theatre. Or, park in the lot across the road from Surfsand Resort, and begin your "exploring" at Icefire Glassworks. Walk the several short blocks into town, then return on the beach.

I like Pacific Way Bakery and Cafe a couple miles north in Gearhart better than anything in Seaside.

I would change the reservation to Cannon Beach if possible. Seaside is over run with tourists and hence tacky shops and arcades. Cannon Beach, on the other hand is beautiful.It would be worth the extra dollars.

On the other hand, Seaside is centrally located for visting both Cannon Beach and Astoria to the north. Astoria is worth a day to see the Lewis and Clark National Park exhibits on both the Oregon and Washington sides of the river, the maritime museum, Cape Disapointment, and the Fort George Brew Pub. Also, Gerhart - next to Seaside - has a great place to eat right on the main intersection (Pacific Way Cafe) and a cool McMenamins and nice golf course. So - your partner didn't do so bad!

Distances are close & for economy reasons you have accomodation in Seaside, it should be fine.

CB is easily walkable. Can easily be done in the am and then stop for lunch or do in pm and stop for dinner.

Loved a couple of the art galleries in CB. Lovely unframed small size prints for souveniers.Postcard pictures of the area were lovely to put by my desk as a reminder of the trip.
Just south of Cannon Beach is my all time favorite "On the Beach" hotel Stephanie Inn. Peek and if you can try to get dinner there. Very small restaurant and the chef has changed but when we were there it was 4 star.
I beleive there is a public beach access too.

http://www.stephanie-inn.com/

tickkity tock...

Is there any way you can change the reservations to Cannon Beach?
Look into Schooners Cove.. a friend and Portland local stayed there just this past weekend, she posted about it but not sure where ... they ate, drank, walked on the beach and ate and drank some more.. all in Cannon Beach which in my humble opinion is much much nicer than Seaside..

There is one person who posts here all the time about Seaside and Astoria but they also own vacation rentals there, so I take those reviews with that in mind.

I just got back yesterday from Cannon Beach. This was a girls trip and we were trying to keep expenses down, but still managed quite well in Cannon Beach. If you can, I would change the reservations. We stayed at Schooners Cove this time instead of our usual Surfsand, and it was a great place.

I agree, the parking lot across from Surfsand, next to the glass blowing studio, is probably your best option. Even this weekend when it was beautiful, there were spots there when there were not in the usual larger lots in downtown.

There is also street parking and a large public lot on North Spruce Street between East 2nd and East 1st Streets--behind Mariner Market in the main shopping area.

So my travel partner told me that the reason she gave up on Cannon Beach is that every place she tried required a 3-day minimum stay, and our trip will only allow for two days. In addition, the places we really wanted (Surfsand and Schooner's Cove) had no availability. So it looks as though Seaside will be our overnight accommodation. Sounds like we'll have no trouble parking in CB, though.

azzure--That makes sense. One place that I have not stayed, but often does not have that minimum stay requirement, is Ecola Creek Lodge. It is a bit removed from the heart of downtown and not in the same class as Surfsand or Schooners Cove, but it gets good reviews. Not sure if your friend had looked at it or not, but you might give that a try.

you might try checking back with cannon beach properties closer to the date of your trip for cancellations and/or two night 'gaps'.