Rockaway Beach Gets a Walking History Guide: Stroll Into Oregon Coast's Past

Published 07/13/26 at 5:55 p.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Rockaway Beach, Oregon) – There's always been something about Rockaway Beach that's been old-timey. Like no matter how spryly they paint the exteriors, the buildings of this Oregon coast burgh still give you an old town Americana feel that's a little reminiscent of “Back to the Future.”

Which is why the over-100-year-old Rockaway Beach has come up with a way to take a history walking tour with your own private guide.

City officials in Rockaway Beach have launched a new online historic walking tour, the Rockaway Beach Historic Walking Tour, offering residents and visitors a fresh way to explore the town’s past and dive more deeply into the vibes using their phones — no app required.

The digital tour highlights 11 buildings along the northbound side of Highway 101, each with a backstory reflecting more than a century of change. The Tie Breaker Restaurant, for example, once operated as a gas station and mechanic’s garage. The Sea Breeze previously housed a card room and pool table run by “Red-Headed Ruby,” a local bootlegger during Prohibition.

Screen grab from the app below

Mayor Charles McNeilly said the project grew from a desire to make Rockaway Beach “a fuller, richer experience” for visitors. He worked with local writer and historian Scott Fisher and tourism consultant Nan Devlin to develop the first segment of the tour.

“Rockaway Beach has been a favorite town of Oregonians since the ‘Daddy Train’ brought families by rail to the coast for summer vacations,” McNeilly said. “Sharing the history of how this town has persevered through many changes over its 117-year history is a story in itself.”

Beginning of Rockaway Beach: N. Oregon Coast History Includes a Science Mystery

Fisher compiled the historical information from public domain sources, including the Oregon Encyclopedia, government archives, the Tillamook County Pioneer Museum, library collections and stories from longtime residents. Additional segments are planned over the next year in partnership with STQRY.com.

Lytle Hotel

The town officially formed in 1909 out of a half dozen little “resorts” in and around it, including what is now teeny, tiny Brighton. In fact, that whole stretch from Nehalem Bay to beyond Rockaway Beach was called Garibaldi Beach. From just before 1900 through at least another decade or two it had that name, finally resting on the current moniker.

Yet it never tore down some of its key buildings – and that's how you get some of this roving historical feast. See the app: Rockaway Beach Historic Walking Tour

The tour can be viewed from home or used while walking through downtown Rockaway Beach. It is available through VisitRockawayBeach.org, where a link appears at the top of the homepage.

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