Pets allowed
Allowed with Restrictions
Guided tours
Yes
Backcountry camping
Yes
Lodging
No
Please respect the outdoors by practicing Leave No Trace. Learn more about how to apply the principles of Leave No Trace on your next outdoor adventure here.

It is easy to miss Ecola State Park if you are headed to Cannon Beach for a day at the coast.  The road to the park is a subtle turn just after the Cannon Beach exit, but this unassuming road leads to some of the best views, trails and beach access on the northern Oregon coast.

The drive toward the park’s entrance winds through stands of Sitka spruce and western hemlock that create a green canopy that completely envelops the road. Once through the entrance, green gives way to blue as views of the Pacific stretch south past Cannon Beach, north toward Seaside, and west as far as the eye can see. Have a picnic and take a stroll here, or if you are interested in more activity, hike the Tillamook Head Trail or the Clatsop Loop Trail interpretive route. The trails lead to dramatic ocean viewpoints, including views of the decommissioned lighthouse.  In its day, Tillamook Rock Lighthouse was nicknamed “Terrible Tilly” for severe weather conditions and the dangerous commute that keepers and suppliers negotiated to maintain the lighthouse. The lighthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is also part of the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge. Watch for migrating gray whales from the higher ocean vantage points, and watch for Roosevelt elk and deer on the hiking trail. If you are interested in sea life, spend some time at the tide pools on Indian Beach, which is also a popular destination for surfers. The Crescent Beach Trail also accesses a less-trafficked nearby beach.

Ecola State Park stretches for 9 miles between Seaside and Cannon Beach, and you may choose to explore just a sliver of its terrain.  However you choose to experience it, you are sure to appreciate an area Captain William Clark believed to be “…the grandest and most pleasing prospects which my eyes every surveyed…”

Logistics + Planning

Preferable season(s)

Winter
Spring
Summer
Fall

Congestion

High

Parking Pass

State Park Fee

Pros

Hiking on Tillamook Head. Great views of Cannon Beach. Indian Beach.

Cons

Crowded in the summer.

Features

Backcountry camping
Historically significant
Flushing toilets
Lighthouse
Potable water
Picnic tables
Covered picnic areas
Surfing
Bird watching
Big Game Watching
Guided tours

Location

Comments

01/01/2019
Total amazing view of all the sea stacks including Haystack Rock in misty air.
06/12/2010
Recent erosion has led to many trail/viewpoint closures that severely limit access to expansive views. Sure glad I got to enjoy these views many years ago.
06/03/2017
Started at Tillamook Head trailhead in Seaside and hiked to the hikers campground and out the same way in the morning. Trail is still quite muddy in spots
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