Summer's Unique Sights at Cannon Beach, a Changing Oregon Coast

Published 07/27/020 at 4:54 AM PDT
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Cannon Beach, Oregon) – Every summer, much of the Oregon coast gets shifted around, sometimes drastically. Rising sand levels do gobs of unique things, creating sometimes remarkable sights when compared to other times you’ve visited. Certainly there are distinctive aspects that pop into existence, and Cannon Beach has its own brand of wild surprises and new means of exploration.

Why does this happen? Summer simply drops off more sand because of calmer wave conditions. Sand builds up on the beaches and just offshore, creating great sand bars that keep the tide at bay and imitates low tides. But it’s not.

To illustrate all this, here’s a glimpse of extraordinary new looks these beaches have acquired in past summers. Here’s what to look out for.

At the top: the very southern edges of Cannon Beach, down well beyond the Tolovana area, where the streets turn into names of other Oregon locales. The rock structure you see in the distance is a prime example of how strange and extraordinary the beach geography gets at times. Here, there's a good 100 feet between the tideline and that blob-like structure.

When this happens, visitors are constantly encountering one tremendous and memorable moment after another.

In this photo above, you see the same blob where it usually is: right at the tideline. This shot, taken during spring, gives you a guideline to how drastically things can change. Another insider’s tip: if there’s the famed glowing sand / bioluminescent phytoplankton showing at night, and you find large pools of water around this object, try stomping your foot in it. If the phytos are there, you’ll see what looks like a small galaxy explode beneath your feet.

Since it’s a very dark beach, it’s easier to see the little things light up.

Lots of sand flats meant some extraordinary sights at the northern end of town as well, as here at Ecola Creek.

Tidepools are always a major attraction and much safer than usual to explore under these conditions as well. In the southern end of Cannon Beach, there can be bundles of places that host plenty of pools containing life of all kinds.

All that exceptional weather makes for simply beautiful sights along with the unique beach aspects. The concept of the “deep blue sea” never seemed such a constant along these shores during this particular summer years ago.

Just south town, Arcadia Beach has also been the recipient of some extraordinary sights during summer. Such as this rock structure, which is normally at the tideline. You can never see it from this point of view – looking eastward at it. But during the summer, this view can be quite common. Indeed, the pointy object frequently sits a good 80 feet from the tideline during sand events like this.

Down at Arch Cape, the scene is also engaging and jaw-dropping. The tide is kept out so far you could go around that normally precarious point and see the arch the little town was named after. Hotels in Cannon Beach - Where to eat - Cannon Beach Maps and Virtual Tours

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