Seaside, OR Trip Report
 

I've seen many posts here inquiring about Seaside vs Cannon Beach and other coastal towns.

Made our first trip to Seaside this weekend.
I must be completely missing something.

Incredibly crowded - relative to Cannon Beach which is just as close to Portland.

Filthy beach. Cigarette butts, beer cans. Yes, it was the Sunday of I'm sure a very busy weekend, but this was not yesterday's trash.
Hello Surfrider Foundation?!?

And that monstrosity of a hotel(trendwest?)!
For the locals integrity, I do hope someone at least put up a fight against that project. Too late now.

The enldless parade of teenagers riding up and down the main street on either extremely loud mopeds or in a car "bumping" the bass.

Well, Ok. I did have a blast on the bumper cars!

Seaside - See ya!

LOL, Lizzard! I hope you helped clean it up!! Did you catch a wave while you were there? ***kim***

I've always wondered if I should give Seaside a second chance since so many posters on here love it. I grew up about an hour from Seaside, but over the years Cannon Beach was always our first choice over visiting Seaside.

Actually, I enjoy all the northern coast, it's not a contest, LOL!! CB has beautiful scenery, Ecola State Park, quaint shops and some great candy shops!

Seaside is a FUN place! You have to have a sense of fun to enjoy it, yes, it does appeal to the younger crowd,it's FUN there. There is the prom, aquarium (two baby seals were just born, Lewis & Clark) Lots of Pronto Pups, cotton candy, salt water taffy, a couple of rides and some really cool shops. The recently remodeled Ter Hars is REALLY nice.

For fine dining, John Nelson's Kalypso is very good. The pan-fried oysters are the best. The new TrendWest highriser, does look really out of place there. It has brought in tons of tourists, it's a huge place.

We prefer the more remote areas for the beach, such as Avenue U and down by 12th street if you get tired of the croweds. It's never a problem for us, as we have our own little private stretch of beach down from our cottage.

Seaside also has the great outlets and the Wine Haus for a sampling of wines from all over the world. I also love to ride my bike, from beginning to end down the prom, it's very invigorating to be able to ride right by the ocean.

Astoria, is in a class all by itself. It was recently featured in the NYT, and has become a major destination spot from visitors all over the world. The Lewis and Clark Bi-centennial will bring over a million additional visitors to the town.

Amazing changes to Astoria over the past five years. The Maritime Museum, Fort Clatsop and the Astor Column are all very interesting. Lots of antique shops, the newly renovated Libery Theater is bringing lots of culture to the town, we saw Pink Martini there in December and loved it!!

Of course, there's nothing like being right on the Colubmia River, it's just an awesome place with beauty everywhere you go. I love the whole northern coast, and even the WA is gorgeous with MANY things to do and points of interest to visit. You just have to know where the hot spots are!!

If you do go to Seaside, don't forget to ride the carousel at the mall. It's actually one of the prettiest carousels I've seen! ***kim*** :)

Kim--Your wording might confuse people a bit. All Oregon beaches are public, unlike in WA and other states. But I am guessing that you mean that near your cottage is in a quieter area? Not trying to be a pest, but didn't want people to be confused:)

I usually avoid the Oregon Coast at high season, preferring to go off season when the weather is often still pretty good on the right day. But in my many visits to Seaside, I don't recally thinking, "Wow - how dirty!" unless you mean the seaweed that has washed up on the beach. Could be that the recent swell of tourists and Portlanders escaping record heat are pretty messy and clean up efforts just can't keep up?

And of course it was crowded - what do you expect at this time of the year???

I like both Seaside and Cannon Beach but they are very different. Seaside is more like a traditional beach town, with lots of fun "kids stuff" whereas Cannon Beach seems more adult and quaint. Both have great beaches. Cannon Beach's is more picturesque due to Haystack Rock, I guess.

BTW, the new Trendwest dwelling at Seaside is not a hotel but a time share. I accepted $40 to sit through their hour sales pitch right before they opened. (It was a rainy day when I got to Seaside, after my walk on the rainy beach I didn't mind getting warm!) Anyway, I didn't buy into it - doesn't seem worth it.

Andrew

I agree about Trendwest, Andrew. We missed going to the coast one year, came back the next year and thought what is that monster! LOL The thing that strikes me as funny is how the BBQ's are all on the little decks on the high-riser, overlooking the shops.

There's just something about the whole building that doesn't fit there, IMO. Of course, I'm partial to our beach cottage, where we have a huge deck with privacy at the end of a cul-de-sac, right by the river there.

As far as the beaches, both are nice, it depends where you go. I don't like CB by Mo's, and the turnaround does get VERY crowded in the summer.

Avenue U is gorgeous, with Tillamook Head right there and the rolling ocean waves and down by Haystack Rock is really pretty. ***kim***

I LOVE Seaside, OR but I have only been there during the Spring and Fall so I have never encountered crowds. The place we like to stay is the Promenade. I think it is next to Trendwest. It's very nice & clean and has balcony facing the ocean.

Sorry you didn't have a great time. If you ever go back, you might consider going in the off season to avoid the crowd.

HMC, I'm glad you enjoyed Seaside. Did you by any chance dine at Norma's Seafood Diner? We missed that one, but Coastal Living gave them rave reveiws for their clam chowder there.

I found the perfect clam chowder at a place in Seaview, WA called the 42nd Street Cafe. ***kim***

Seaside vs. Cannon Beach.

Seaside doesn't have Haystack Rock...I think its called a monolith.. the feature attraction at Cannon Beach. If you go there you will find yourself staring at it much of the time. In Seaside The closest thing to that would be Tillamook Head which is a boring point of land a couple of miles south of town that juts into the Pacific with a lighthouse on its tip.

Cannon Beach doesn't have the prom ...Seaside's homely, concrete boardwalk. It has emerged victorious over southwesters, high tides, spring break riots and salt water corrosion for an awfully long time.

Seaside is your bluecollar beach. Its very big with generation x er's.
In Seaside when you get tired of looking at the vanilla beach you can always.. as Petula Clark would say..go downtown. The place has just enough seediness to make it interesting. You've got lots of seafood and burger joints and souvineer shops with shelves jam packed with Tillamook Head lighthouse mugs , seagull lighters, and sea lion pencils and key chains. The young keep the place jumping cruising the main drag with maximum decible amplifiers.
At least something happens in Seaside.

Cannon Beach is a trendy, artsy-fartsy, embroidered pillowcase B&B kind of place. Dutiful husbands are seen following their wives through the myriad of high overhead gift shops and galleries,with their overstocked whale art.
So, if munching a mustard slathered corn dog washed down with a beer and the aroma of greasy fries riding the salt air tickles your fancy you're gona love Seaside.

Have you ever been to Carmel & Monterey? I'd be interested in your comparison of these two CA coastal places.

Could you do a review like this on Lincoln City vs. Newport? ***kim***

I have not visited Monterrey and Carmel for some time. When I was in the military at Fort Ord near Monterrey I enjoyed the 17 mile drive, Pebble Beach, Carmel, and Big Sur. I remember Monterrey had the cannery, a JC Penneys and a few 5 story buildings.
Nearby Seaside was known as the laundromat headquarters of the world.

I don't know how else to describe Carmel than to call it enchanting. You've got bookoo beach communities all over the world but there is only one Carmel.

As far as Lincoln City and Newport Oregon ..they are like peas in a pod. If you can picture a 20 mile long pod ..Newport would be the last pea on the south and Lincoln City could be found hanging out at the far north end. With all kinds of little beach communities like Gleneden Beach and Depoe Bay twixt and between. At first glance it would seem there was a whole of lot of sameness going on between these towns ..like sand, surf, and tourists..but..Newport has just been announced the winner by the judges because of its fine aquarium, bigger selection of eateries, and great deep sea fishing. But, really, how can you go wrong with either place in the most spectacular chunk of coastline on (sorry Carmel and Big Sur) the west coast.

Kim, what are your favorite destinations on the Oregon coast?

I enjoy the northern coast, from Newport to Astoria the most. Astoria, Seaside and Cannon Beach are my favorite destinations in that order. We have had a home in Astoria for about twenty years, and recently remodeled a beach cottage in Seaside, so we're pretty rooted in those areas.

Our next venture is in Cannon Beach, tho. We're relocating to Astoria in three years from CA when our youngest is out of high school.

BTW, we're head to the Carmel/Big Sur area next week for a night at the Tickle Pink Inn and dinner at the Sierra Mar. I can't wait, I have not yet been to either place.

We spent some time in Santa Cruz last week, but Carmel is still my favorite CA coastal destination, then Cambria. ***kim***

Sounds like the Jersey shore :)

I cannot wait to traipse down Cannon Beach with my husband trailing behind carrying all my packages~

Don't forget a stop at Bruce's Candy Kitchen for some of that delish chocolate fudge! We enjoyed a nice dinner at Cafe Mango, out on their very small patio. We watched all the shoppers and almost everyone of them had a pink and white striped bag from Bruce's!

Head over to Mo's for casual dining, with gorgeous views of Haystack Rock. The blackened salmon is very good there but their salads need fresher lettuce at times. ***kim***

Good news for Cannon Beach merchants. Lots of bonus bucks are comming your way. It seems that cruise ships putting in at nearby Astoria will provide land excursions to Cannon Beach.

What cruise ships are those?

Norwegian Cruise Lines and Holland America

Astoria has been a port for these ships for a long time. How nice that these tourists will be able to see some our beautfiul coast while they are touring the area.

I just read today that the "Globe Trekker" is doing a documentary on Fort Clatsop. ***kim***