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Text and Photography Copyright Tom Guffey - All rights reserved.

Situated on one of the most beautiful stretches of beach on the entire Oregon coast is a wonderful little town called Cannon Beach. The town is off Highway One and will bring you back in time to what small coastal towns were all about.

The area has an abundance of natural wonders, wildlife and a reputation for a fine art community. There are offshore rocks, including "Haystack" and the other sea spires that rise dramatically out of the oceans churning waters. At the foot of the sea spires and Haystack are hundreds of wonderful intertidal pools created as the tide comes in and goes out everyday. You can view local fish, crabs and multicolored starfish in these pools, so be sure to check the local tide charts.

On "Haystack's" grassy slopes, Puffins in bright plumage can be seen each spring during the breeding season. They are the equivalent of a flying brick - stubby wings going a hundred miles per hour just to keep airborne. To the north of the rock, toward Ecola State Park, there are huge colonies of "penguin like" mures on the crowded and so-called Bird Rocks, just offshore. It is a bird lover's paradise. From time to time there will also be large flocks of Brown Pelicans that land on the estuaries that run to the ocean at both ends of town.

To the north of the town is the famous Tillamook Lighthouse. This is viewable from Ecola State Park, which has stunning views and provides access to many hiking trails through the coastal rainforest. Bald eagles can be seen in the Headlands, along with deer and elk in the adjacent meadows. From these high points in the park, you can also observe the annual migration of Gray Whales, which pass the coast every winter and spring.

Travel north or south of the city and spectacular views are everywhere. To the south there are numerous panoramic vistas from the roadside pull-offs. There are also a number of Oregon State Parks for camping, all with access to the beaches and adjacent trails. To the north, the long stretches of beach finally reach historic Fort Stevens and the mouth of the Columbia River. Crossing over the long bridge in Astoria takes you to the coast of Washington State and a number of accessible and very photographic lighthouses.

A well-planned trip to Cannon Beach will yield a number of wonderful photographic opportunities for everything from wonderful landscapes, to lighthouses, to Bald Eagles.

The lodging and restaurants are plentiful and run the full range - from economy to high- end accommodations with spectacular ocean front views. There are also numerous art galleries in this wonderful, small coastal town, with festivals running throughout the year. If you've never witnessed a "small town" 4th of July - this will bring back memories of one's childhood.

This is one of my favorite spots on the west coast, and for the travel photographer - you will never run out of images to shoot.

About the photos - The images to the right are thumbnail links to larger images with descriptions, which are presented in a slide show format.

About the Author

Tom is a west coast published photographer whose work includes cards, calendars, and large format landscapes. His work can be seen at the Artist's Gallery of Seattle and in a number of major hospitals and medical centers across the Pacific Northwest. Tom is a member of the Professional Photographers of America (PPA), International Association of Panoramic Photographers (IAPP), North American Nature Photographers Association (NANPA) and the Royal Photographic Society, Great Britain (RPS).

Tom Guffey is a TPN Staff Member . More of Tom's work can be found on his website , and his online portfolio can be viewed at photoportfolios.net .

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