Coastal City Alternative to Seaside/Cannon Beach

Family with 7-yo and 9-yo from Seattle. The past 7-years we%26#39;ve stayed in Seaside for 5 nights, usually on the prom. Great beach, easy walk to activities/dining in town. Easy, flat city for biking/pedal cars, nice short drive (just under 3 hours) from Seattle. It%26#39;s really a great beach destination for us. Oregon beaches are much nicer than Washington (WA Coastal towns are depressing).

Getting an itch to maybe try a different location this year. Been to Cannon Beach several times already, and Gearhart once. Cannon Beach doesn%26#39;t have nearly as many options as far as beachfront homes to rent like Seaside. Gearhart is nice but no prom, but at least it isn%26#39;t a longer drive than Seaside.

Maybe Seaside is just too good to pass up, but would anyone recommend other coastal cities, from Bandon north. We%26#39;d be willing to drive an additional hour if it was worth it. If not, Seaside it is. Some place with good selection of beachfront vacation homes to rent and at least some degree of activities/dining in town, realizing it will be lower key than Seaside in most cases.

Thanks in advance for the advice.

Coastal City Alternative to Seaside/Cannon Beach

Well, by only adding one more hour, you%26#39;re a bit limited. Lincoln City would be about your southern limit I think, and that%26#39;s edging closer to two hours farther on, which I don%26#39;t think you want to do?

Rockaway Beach has lots of oceanfront home rentals, but the attraction there starts and ends with the beach. Not much else in town, to be honest.

Pacific City might be an idea, I think there are a fair number of rentals there, but again, not much to the town other than homes. Very few activities for youngsters.

I did look up the Cannon Beach properties on VRBO and the prices were staggering, IMO!

It sounds as if for what your family enjoys that Seaside might still be your best bet :-)

Coastal City Alternative to Seaside/Cannon Beach

I agree with half-Brit that given your parameters, Seaside may still be your best option. You should also check on Manzanita http://www.neahkahnie.net/manzanita.htm . Though much smaller than Seaside, it is also less crowded and the beach is every bit as nice, maybe nicer. Since Manzanita is only 30 minutes south of Seaside, if you get the urge, you could always take a drive up.

I did a little more research and I%26#39;d agree, Lincoln City would be our limit, albeit more like 1.5 hours more than Seaside and you get to spend even more time on lovely I-5 :(

I read the Lincoln City really doesn%26#39;t have much of a town center as it is a string of communities along a 20-mile stretch which was dubbed the ';20 miracle miles'; but in more recent times, due to the congestion, might be called (especially by locals) more like ';20 miserable miles';. The Taft district sounds like it would be our best bet in the southern part, but as one pointed out, when you already have a good thing going, why mess with it. The extra 3+ hours total of time in the car would really suck should we find that Lincoln City didn%26#39;t have much more to offer than Seaside or Cannon Beach areas.

The rates do appear to be a little more reasonable in the Lincoln City area, maybe because it isn%26#39;t as close to two major cities (Portland AND Seattle)

';2O miles';? No. You%26#39;ve been reading Frommer%26#39;s?

';7 miles';? Yes, the town of Lincoln City stretches for 7 long, skinny, congested miles. Back in the 1960%26#39;s they combined five small towns into the one. There is no cohesive town center as such. The rest of the towns in the ';20 miles'; stretch are distinct from Lincoln City. BTW, I%26#39;m a ';local'; here ;-)

I had thought of Manzanita, but not much for the kids to do other than the beach, which is lovely. It%26#39;s a much smaller town and far quieter.

Neskowin to Depoe Bay = 20 miles? No, that%26#39;s more like 30.

To the OP: Stick with Seaside unless you%26#39;re willing to commit to Newport.