Seaside or Cannon Beach, Which Place is Best for You?

I mentioned in my previous blog post that my wife’s parents once owned a home in Cannon Beach, Oregon, and we visited them frequently. We became pretty familiar with Cannon Beach over the years. Once they sold their home, we went down less frequently. Now, however, when we do go down, we stay in Seaside which is about ten minutes north of Cannon Beach. Despite the fact that the towns are fairly close to each other, they are different in some very specific ways. Both towns have some great sites and experiences so read on to see what they have to offer.

One of the immediate differences is the price of accommodations. The reason we stay in Seaside after my in-laws sold their home is that we can find less expensive options there than in Cannon Beach. There may be a few explanations for that. Seaside, in general, is an older town. The homes there seem generally smaller, and the the mid-century version of the roadside motel seems more apparent in Seaside. Many of these older motels are trying to modernize and update, but even as they do, they still don’t command a high nightly rate. One can certainly find more expensive places in Seaside. However, if you are looking for a lower priced room, Seaside is your best bet.

While we were able to book a room in January in Seaside for around $100 a night or lower, that wasn’t possible in Cannon Beach. Looking online it was hard to find anything under $200 a night. Cannon Beach hotels are generally newer and provide more amenities. The old style motels one finds in Seaside are not available in Cannon Beach. Many of the hotels in Cannon Beach look out over the ocean, and of course a view costs. So if you are looking for more upgraded accommodations, Cannon Beach would probably be your choice.

While both towns are right on the beach, there are differences here as well. One of the well known elements of Seaside is its boardwalk. This cement walkway runs most of the length of town and is a straight, wide walkway so it is easy to walk or bike. There is also a short wall on the beach side of the boardwalk. One can easily sit on it to look out or be somewhat protected from the wind. For those for whom a beach walk in the sand would be challenging, Seaside is the place to be. That doesn’t mean you can’t walk on the beach. You can, and there is a nice wide beach to walk for some distance.

The boardwalk offers one great views of the evening sunsets. We were able to enjoy two different sunsets on our recent stay in Seaside. The colors were amazing.

Cannon Beach has no boardwalk. If you want to walk along the water, it will be necessary to walk on the beach. However, Cannon Beach has something that Seaside doesn’t have, Haystack Rock. In fact Haystack Rock is the iconic image of Cannon Beach. It is a large sea stack with some smaller sea stacks around it. It is the center point of walking on the beach. At low tide, tide pools are revealed around the base of the rock. This is always a great place for kids to explore. I remember my kids looking for hermit crabs in the tide pools. They could spend a lot of time exploring the marvels of nature here. Sadly during our January visit to Cannon Beach the beach was quite foggy, but it made for interesting photos.

One thing I noticed about both beaches was that they are popular with dogs. There were a lot of people walking with their dogs on the beach. However, Seaside may have the edge when I saw a stick library for dogs. That was a new one for me, but a fun idea.

When we were visiting Cannon Beach years ago it seemed like the business area was trying to be an art colony. There were quite a few art shops that were selling all forms of art from glass to pottery to paintings. Some were shops selling only one artist while others were more eclectic. One of the artistic endeavors we did enjoy in town was the community theater. There were a couple of times that we took in a play at the theater during our visit. They were always well done and a lot of fun.

On our recent visit it seemed that there were less focus on art throughout the town. While there were still some art studios, there seemed to be fewer such shops, and other stores have taken over that space. The theater is still there, but I am not sure they are doing any plays at the moment due to COVID. Places are always evolving. During our recent visit Cannon Beach was quite busy, but it seemed like the busy places were restaurants not the shops in town. Time will tell how the town changes in the future.

While Cannon Beach seemed to be the art town, Seaside seemed to be the family friendly beach town with the fun activities. Walking down the main street will lead visitors to an indoor carousel, various arcades, and fast food stops for candy, ice cream or hot dogs. Video game arcades were quite popular when my kids were young. They would save up points they earned playing the games and then buy a prize with their points. They would even save them from one trip to the next so they could get a better prize.

On the Seaside beach there is an area set up for volleyball that visitors can play. The town also has a movie theater which Cannon Beach does not. These kinds of amenities are great for those with kids who are tired of playing on the beach and want some other things to do.

Seaside also boasts a convention center in town which hosts a number of events throughout the year including the Miss Oregon contest. Along the boardwalk visitors will be invited to visit the aquarium with a special invitation to feed the seals.

One final consideration is the shopping opportunities at each town. Cannon Beach has its downtown shopping area which is mostly clothing, gift shops, and art studios. There is one local grocery market in the downtown area, but it’s not very big. There is no major grocery store in town or any kind of a major chain store. It is mostly small locally owned stores which offer an interesting shopping experience.

Seaside has a major grocery chain along highway 101. It also has an outlet mall so there are some major brand stores in it such as Nike, but there is no department store as such. The downtown area has a number of clothing and gift shops as well as a number of antique places including an antique mall. Anyone who needs groceries will probably come to Seaside for those.

One of the things to note is who visits these towns. The largest number of tourists probably come from Portland, but I would guess that Seattle visitors are not far behind. These visitors bring their tastes and expectations with them so I think that the differences between the two towns have diminished some over the years. Seaside has elevated some of their shops and restaurants while still keeping their fun kids activities while Cannon Beach has less of its artsy vibe.

The truth is one doesn’t need to choose between the two towns. They are close enough that spending time in both is quite easily done. Perhaps the biggest difference is in the cost of one’s hotel room. Once you have made that decision, the rest will follow. Just enjoy the time at the beach and hope for sunny days.

What are your thoughts on these two coastal towns. Which one are you more likely to stay at? What experience do you like the best? Which beach do you prefer? Join the conversation and share your thoughts below. They are always welcome.