We spent this past weekend (drove south on Friday, 11/20, drove back today, 11/22) in Cannon Beach, OR. I had checked the area for hikes and found one I thought would be interesting. Haystack Hill, which according to the trip reports culminated at a viewing platform placed directly across from the local attraction, Haystack Rock.
And I was so happy to find the platform. It was a slightly confusing (and therefore rather fun) route.
First, just finding the trail head was not easy. I walked south thru Cannon Beach, had to detour once because the street I was on disappeared for a couple of blocks. Then I had to follow a tsunami evacuation route through a couple of private backyards and, finally, someone’s driveway.
But I did eventually spy a trail and started up.
There were plenty of side trails and I checked them all out. One of them led to the top of the hill, elevation about 200 feet. Elevation at the trail head was 10 feet. A little different elevation profile than the one we are used to east of Seattle.
Anyway, the trail itself was OK:
All told, the round trip was just under 4 miles with not enough elevation gain to even talk about. I found out this morning, driving into Ecola State Park with Jan, that I could have had a much longer and tougher hike had I headed a couple of blocks west and then north. Good to remember for our next visit.
Here is the local attraction from the beach north of the rock:
And here, to jog my memory later, is where we had breakfast on Saturday – excellent stuff!
I love Cannon Beach, at least now I do, having experienced it off-season. Great town (we saw “Once Upon a Mattress” at the local theatre), great environment. We will be back.