Creating Family Vacation Memories That Last Forever

When I was 10 years old my family started going on vacation to the Oregon coast. It began with vacation rental homes in Seaside and Cannon Beach all the way to whale watching in Depot Bay and Newport Oregon!

This tradition continued for 20 years. Later it only made sense that my wife, Alyssa and I wanted our kids to have the same memories that my family gave me with our incredible Oregon Coast experiences and trips! 

In this guide to visiting the Oregon Coast we’ve included some of our favorite places to stay, beaches and things to do with our family.  This guide is organized by area and underneath each area you’ll find some of our favorite attractions, experiences and things to see while you’re there! 

The very best thing about this is that even if you decide to stay in one location nearly all of these are within 2 hours of one another on a clear driving day! We hope that you can choose a place to stay and few experiences to help you make lasting memories with your own kids and family! 

How to Choose Where to Stay? 

Every single beach is completely different. There’s the literal differences, like Seaside is wayyyy larger than Arch Cape, but then each area has a completely different feel along with it! 

Here’s the beaches according to how we’ve experienced them. We love them all but you can choose the style that works for your next family vacation to the coast with your kids! 

Cannon Beach – Upscale, Trendy, and Sophisticated… Plus Starfish!

Even when Alyssa and I stay at another beach, we nearly always visit Cannon Beach. With great little shops, the infamous Haystack Rock and one of the least rocky beaches up and down the northwest coast, it’s a hit every time with our kids and us!

We love that they have great little restaurants and the kids love the sea life that happens at low tide at Haystack Rock. Whether your intent is to stay in a hotel (our fav is the Surf Sand Resort), Air Bnb vacation rental home or a campsite, Cannon Beach has you covered!

Family Fav #1 – Haystack Rock

When you look at pictures of the Oregon coast, Haystack Rock is one of the most photographed and most recognizable picturesque sites. It’s so much more than just a pretty picture though! Be sure to check the tide tables when you visit because when you walk up to the rocks at low tide you and your children will get to visit a whole other world of sea life normally covered in salt water and unaccessible (unless you have a wet suit and are very ambitious with your diving skills!)

Family Fav #2 – Stroll Through the Town Stores and Restaurants

After you’ve spent a morning on the beach you can explore the the main street (Hemlock St.). Cannon Beach is always slightly less crowded than some of the other bigger beaches like Seaside. Anytime we’re there we always love to move through the walkable downtown area viewing the shops, restaurants and even watching them stretch taffy and candy. You’ll find kite shops, markets, galleries, toy shops, and a huge number of clothing shops (which your family may or may not care about!)

After walking through and getting a lay of the city why not eat lunch, you’ll be able to choose from pub style, delightful Italian, American, Mexican, Pizza, … whatever you’re family is in the mood for! 

A few of our favorites are Pelican Brewing Co. , Fultano’s Pizzeria, and Morris Fireside!

Family Fav #3 – Building Sand Castles

Not all of the Oregon Coast Beaches have fine sand that works well for sand castles! Cannon Beach is one that does and our kids are convinced it’s the best place carve out a chunk of beach to build sand castles complete with moats and towers! 

Manzanita 

Nestled just South of Neahkahnie beach and North of Nehalem Bay State Park, it’s a picturesque community that has many beach homes sloping steadily down the hill toward the Pacific Ocean. 

Manzanita is consistently been a great place to fly kites, run on the beach and play with the family without being surround by the immense crowds of Seaside during the peak season. 

It’s still large enough to have it’s own markets, interesting shops and a variety of small restaurants and vacation rentals of all types (especially on Air Bnb). 

Seaside – Family friendly with fun at all hours 

Seaside is known for many things ranging from the last stop on Lewis and Clark’s journey to the Wild West all the way to the 1.5 mile long promenade that parallels the beach that tourists walk and bike on all day and night! It got it’s name from the “Seaside House“, a hotel that railroad magnate Ben Holladay built in the 1870’s

Today it’s known as a family coastal destination across the United States. I’ve met families from all over that meet their mom’s, dad’s and brothers and sisters here every year! 

Family Fav #1: Surreys and Beach Bikes 

There are a variety of places in Seaside where you can rent a Surrey, which if you’ve never heard of it is a 4 wheeled bike that holds 6-8 people and everyone peddles. We did this one time with our kids and they’ve been asking to ride “on those things where everyone peddles” ever since! 

Another favorite are the three wheeled reclining beach bikes that you can ride extra fast. In the summer these are the yellow bikes with kids in them running all over the beach. A sure fire hit for the kids (and parents too!)

Family Fav #2: The Seaside Candy Man

Located just off of the main street in Seaside, the Seaside Candy Man has been selling 170 plus flavors of salt water taffy for well over 30 years! They are re-knowned world wide for their taffy however they also sell Jelly beans, ice cream and an assortment of other candies and sweet treats. 

When you go there make sure to let the kids spin the wheel (every kid gets a taffy and last time we were there my daughter won a whole pound of taffy!)

Rockaway Beach – Family friendly with fun at all hours 

Nestled just South of Neahkahnie beach and North of Nehalem Bay State Park, it’s a picturesque community that has many beach homes sloping steadily down the hill toward the Pacific Ocean. 

Manzanita is consistently been a great place to fly kites, run on the beach and play with the family without being surround by the immense crowds of Seaside during the peak season. 

It’s still large enough to have it’s own markets, interesting shops and a variety of small restaurants and vacation rentals of all types (especially on Air Bnb). 

Lincoln City – Family Beach Near Whale Watching 

Nestled just South of Neahkahnie beach and North of Nehalem Bay State Park, it’s a picturesque community that has many beach homes sloping steadily down the hill toward the Pacific Ocean. 

Manzanita is consistently been a great place to fly kites, run on the beach and play with the family without being surround by the immense crowds of Seaside during the peak season. 

It’s still large enough to have it’s own markets, interesting shops and a variety of small restaurants and vacation rentals of all types (especially on Air Bnb).