Oregon's North Coast Food Trail Celebrates 5th Year, Expansions - Video

Published 05/10/22 at 4:45 AM PST
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Tillamook, Oregon) – 80 places to gobble down or imbibe, about 100 miles of Oregon coast scenery, and five years later: the North Coast Food Trail has a lot to celebrate these days. From Astoria all the way down to Neskowin, this magnificent moving feast of sorts is a self-guided tour through the eats and drinks of Tillamook and Clatsop counties, and it's just reached its fifth year. Now, in spite of the ravages of COVID and other economic headwinds, this unique way to explore - created by Tillamook Coast Visitors Association and Travel Oregon - is seeing its biggest year yet, with more eateries and specialized food businesses joining in than ever. (Above: Garibaldi. All photos copyright Oregon Coast Beach Connection)

The North Coast Food Trail is a mix of culinary and agritourism experiences, bringing together farms, fisheries, bakeries, breweries, distilleries, wineries, retailers, cooking schools, lodgings, tours and of course restaurants into one extended fun fest of foods – held year-round. All of it is tightly focused on the local foods produced on the north Oregon coast, serving the regional economy in a dedicated manner.

Manzanita

Back in 2018, Travel Oregon put together a two-day conference where some 70 food businesses met to look into the future. Shortly after that, the food trail was launched and Tillamook Coast led the development of the trail, which included building the website, blogs, print brochures and recruiting members. Social media and video channel development took place at this time as well. Since its start, it's acquired the accolades of numerous national entities, including Sunset Magazine Travel Editors naming it the “best foodie tour” and featuring an article and map of the trail. Travel Oregon also lauded the trail's endeavors with the Best Product Development award at the 2019 Governor’s Tourism Conference.

Then came the harsh realities of the pandemic.

“When COVID hit, our food businesses were hit – really hard,” said Nan Devlin, executive director of Tillamook Coast Visitors Association. “But entrepreneurs on the Oregon coast are resourceful, adaptive, creative and hard-working. I’m happy to report not a single member of the North Coast Food Trail lost their business; in fact, several expanded.”

At first, the trail included Cannon Beach, all of Tillamook County (Manzanita, Nehalem, Rockaway Beach, Garibaldi, Tillamook, Netarts and Pacific City), along with Lincoln City just south of the county line. In 2020, Lincoln City became part of the Central Coast Food Trail, but Seaside joined in. In 2021, Astoria joined, creating a complete north coast experience.

Now, Tillamook Coast Visitors Association is finding itself partnering with Astoria-Warrenton Chamber of Commerce, City of Seaside, and Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce.

The various businesses involved are extremely diverse and are sometimes places you hadn't even thought of food options for the public, such as a working farm in Gales Creek or near Tillamook. There's even a food tour company, Farm2Fork Tours, that takes you around various food purveyors around the north Oregon coast.

Others are more common options but places you may not have heard of. For instance, the sweets and bakeries categories along the tour include Sea Star Gelato in Seaside, Grateful Bread and Bakery in Pacific City, Recess Food Truck in Tillamook, Sea Level Bakery + Coffee in Cannon Beach, and Buttercup Ice Creams and Chowders in Nehalem. MORE PHOTOS BELOW

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