Oregon – Day 10 – Cannon Beach to Astoria

Hey Guys!

This post will conclude our time in the amazing state of Oregon!

Once again, I was up before my hubby so, I made my coffee and headed straight for the balcony!

It was so peaceful!

Each spring, Tufted Puffins return to Cannon Beach’s Haystack Rock to lay eggs and raise their chicks.

So, I pulled out my old Cannon Powershot camera with a 50x zoom lens to see if I could spot them on the rock.

I knew there would be a very slim chance of me seeing them because, at the time we were visiting, there were only 2-4 puffins on the rock and there are thousands of birds that nest on the rock.

After scanning the rock with my camera for several minutes, I spotted two of the puffins!

I couldn’t believe that I spotted them amongst the thousands of other birds that were on the rock!

I couldn’t get a great picture but hey, at least I spotted them!

Tip: For those who remember the iconic movie, The Goonies, you may recognize Haystack Rock…the rock has been featured in countless novels, television programs, and movies such as The Goonies and Kindergarten Cop.

After my hubby finally got up and had his coffee, we headed to our first stop of the day, Seaside.

Seaside is approx. 15 mins from Cannon Beach.

Seaside was a cute little town!

I loved the cool lights they had strung across the streets!

Once we arrived, we found a parking spot alongside the street and headed for the “Turnaround”.

The Turnaround was the final stop on Lewis and Clark’s epic journey to the west.

There’s a statue of Lewis and Clark that was raised to commemorate their travels..There is also an interesting time capsule buried there that will be opened in 2121.

At the same location is the sign for Seaside

You have views of Seaside beach from the turnaround.

Tip: 5 mins from Seaside is a beach called Gearhart beach where you can find tons of sand dollars….unfortunately, we found out about it after our trip!

After taking our pictures by the turnaround, we headed back to our car.

But, we were stopped by the smell of cinnamon rolls at a little bakery called, Beach Day Coffee!

So, we walked in and ordered one cinnamon roll to share and some coffee.

Sadly, we were disappointed as the cinnamon roll wasn’t that great and the service was not good either!

Read reviews here

After leaving here, we headed to our next stop, Astoria.

Once we arrived to Astoria, which is 30 mins from Seaside, we headed to the Astoria Column.

The Astoria Column was built in 1926 and is 125-foot-tall.

The exterior of the column is a work of art in itself, with murals depicting early exploration of the region.

Admission to the park is free, but visitors are required to purchase a 1-year parking pass for $5 per vehicle.

You can climb the 164 steps to the observation deck at the top, which provides a spectacular view of Astoria and the Columbia River.

Tip: The gift shop sells biodegradable wood glider planes for $1 each, that you can release at the top of the tower and watch as they swoop through the air.

However, we decided not to climb it because that was way too many stairs for us and it was foggy so we figured we wouldn’t get to see much if we climbed to the top!

The surrounding views

Next, we headed to our next stop, the Goonies house!!

On the way, we spotted the “Welcome to Astoria” sign so we had to stop and take our picture in front of the sign!

After our picture, we continued our drive to the Goonies house!

We were so excited to see the house that the Goonies was filmed at!

We are huge fans of the Goonies…and it’s coming back in theaters this month!! (Sept 2023)

Once you arrive, you will see a sign telling you where to park!

Yes, it’s popular enough that the new owners have put up signs!!

Once we parked, we headed to that iconic house where memories from our childhood started flooding back…(I was 15 yrs old when this movie came out and I’m now in my 50’s!)

We took 986 pictures of this house at every angle!

We even took pictures of that steep driveway!

Go see the movie and you will understand!!

After reminiscing and taking all of our pictures, we walked through the neighborhood.

We loved all of the colorful houses!

We then drove a very short distance to the school where scenes from Kindergarten Cop were filmed!

Tip: If you’re into movies and want to see some famous filming locations around Astoria, then download the SetJetters app (it’s free!). It shows locations where movies have been shot all around the world. And Astoria has quite a few pins! Click here for a list of movies filmed in Astoria.

After leaving the school, we headed to another Goonies filming location.

On the way, we passed the Custard King. It was originally opened in 1951.

A few minutes later, we arrived to the next film location, the county jail.

The county jail was the jailhouse where Jake Fratelli was held until his family helped him escape.

It’s possible to visit the cell where he was held and a replica of the jeep that was used by the Fratellis is usually parked out in front of the jailhouse.

It even has the bullet holes!

The jail is now home to the Oregon Film Museum which celebrates the history of film-making in Oregon.

The self-guided tour of the museum is short at less than 30 minutes but visitors can see the cell where some of the Goonies scenes were actually shot.

We passed on visiting the museum but took our share of pictures in front of the jail!

Read reviews here

After taking our pictures, we walked across the street to another film location, the Flavel House Museum.

In the movie, the Goonies cycle down the hill past the museum in search of One Eye’d Willie and Mikey’s father, Mr Walsh, worked as a museum curator.

You can do a self-guided tour of this historic house that lasts around an hour….we passed on the tour.

The house is incredible!

The house was built in 1884-85 for Captain George Flavel and his family. The Captain, who made his fortune from his occupation as a Columbia River bar pilot and through real estate investments, had the Flavel House built as his retirement home at the age of sixty-two.

This huge tree sat on the same property of the Flavel House!

Read reviews here

After leaving here, we headed to find something for lunch.

We decided to once again eat at Mo’s!

We were seated by a window with views of the water and the Astoria-Megler Bridge.

After looking over the menu, we both decided on the fish & chips and shared a bowl of the delicious clam chowder!

It was so good!

After lunch, we decided to drive across the bridge into Washington state.

On the way, we passed by another Goonies filming location, the LCB Bowling alley.

The scene where Chunk, holding his pizza and milk shake, sees the car chase through the window, is shot from the Lower Columbia Bowling alley. The building is still operating as a bowling alley.

The Astoria Megler Bridge was opened in 1966 and stretches 4.1 miles from Astoria, across the mouth of the Columbia River, to Point Ellice, Washington.

Its construction was an impressive feat. The bridge’s main span is 1,232 feet in length, the longest “continuous truss” in the nation.

Crossing the bridge

Very soon after exiting the bridge on the Washington side, we spotted several eagles so we pulled over to watch them.

The area where we spotted the eagles was right outside the entrance to the Fort Columbia State Park.

There were several eagles flying around!

We saw several that were eating on fish!

We also spotted a kingfisher

We sat and watched them for at least 30 mins…it was so cool seeing so many in one place!

After eagle watching, we headed to our next stop of the day, Cape Disappointment Lighthouse located at the Cape Disappointment State Park.

Once we arrived to the parking lot, we had to pay $5 to park.

The hike to the lighthouse is only 1 mile round trip.

You can also hike 0.2 miles to the interpretive center.

Part of the trail is unpaved and leads you through old growth forest while part of it is paved and steep!

We spotted the US Coast Guard station along the trail.

It’s located at the mouth of the Columbia River and is the largest United States Coast Guard search and rescue station on the Northwest Coast.

Along the trail, you will see overgrown ruins of military bunkers.

Named for Captain John Meares’ first thwarted voyage to find the Columbia, Cape Disappointment is steeped in Northwest history.

This is the place to explore U.S. military and maritime legacies and to experience the story of Lewis & Clark and the effect of their Corps of Discovery Expedition on Native American tribes.

Arriving to the lighthouse.

Cape Disappointment Lighthouse was first lit on October 15, 1856, it became the eighth active light on the West Coast.

The brick tower at Cape Disappointment stands fifty-three feet tall & has a focal plane of 220 feet above the sea.

Sadly, the lighthouse has fallen into a state of disrepair.

The views nearby were incredible! In this picture, you can see the interpretive center.

After leaving the lighthouse, we headed back over the bridge to our next stop, the Peter Iredale Shipwreck located at the Fort Stevens State Park.

Tip: Approx. 3,000 ships have met their fate in Oregon waters. See a list of the sunken ships here

The drive takes approx. 45 mins from Cape Disappointment to the Peter Iredale Shipwreck.

Once we arrived and walked out to the beach, we were amazed at how big this ship was!

Of course, most of it is now rusted away.

The Peter Iredale was a four-masted steel bark built in Maryport, England, in 1890 and owned by British shipping firm Iredale & Porter.

On September 26, 1906, the Iredale left Salina Cruz, Mexico, bound for Portland, where it was to pick up a cargo of wheat for the United Kingdom.

The Iredale ran aground at Clatsop Beach in Oct 1906 hitting so hard that three of her masts snapped from the impact.

Fortunately, none of the crew were seriously injured. Captain Lawrence ordered that the ship be abandoned, and rockets were launched to signal for help.

It was so cool to see!

After leaving here, we headed back to our hotel.

The drive took approx. 35 mins from the shipwreck.

Once we arrived to our hotel, we headed to the beach.

A shot of our hotel from the beach

Tip: National Geographic listed Cannon Beach as one of the 100 most beautiful places in the world in 2013

The main attraction of this beach is Haystack Rock.

This basalt sea stack rises 235 feet from the edge of the shoreline. At low tide, you can walk right up to it and find colorful sea stars and other fascinating tidepool creatures.

Haystack Rock is protected as part of the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge, providing habitat and viewing of a wide range of seabirds, including the most accessible colony of Tufted Puffins in the Northwest.

Fun Note: One week after coming home, a cougar was spotted on Haystack Rock and elk were on the beach!

A shot of one of the other rocks near Haystack

We had a nice lady offer to take our picture in front of the rock

After walking the beach for a while, we headed to find something to eat.

We were tired of seafood, so opted for some deli sandwiches from the Mariner Market in town.

After making our purchases, we headed back to our hotel and had our sandwiches on the balcony.

Later that evening, we decided to purchase some firewood and s’mores kit from the front desk and have a fire on the beach.

We had never experienced having a fire on a beach so I was very excited!

My hubby trying to get the fire started.

After finally getting it started, we relaxed by the fire.

Later we roasted our marshmallows and made s’mores!

So good!

Once it got dark, you could see lots of fires along the beach.

After spending about two hours on the beach, we called it a night!

The next morning, we woke up early to get checked out as our flight home was leaving at 5 pm and we wanted to be at the airport by 2:30 to turn our rental car in.

The drive from Cannon Beach to the airport in Portland takes approx. 1 hr 40 mins.

We spent some time relaxing on our balcony before checking out.