Haystack Rock rising from the sand at Cannon Beach, Oregon

North America · Field guide

Cannon Beach

Cannon Beach · United States

Photo: Dima Sergiyenko (credited on Commons as “DiscoverWithDima”) / Wikimedia Commons

The useful short version

A broad Pacific beach anchored visually by Haystack Rock, with cool water, a large tidal range and an unusually direct connection between town and shore.

SandTanFine to compact coastal sand
WaterCold Pacific surfNo numerical clarity score assigned
SwimmingCold and condition-dependent; not a warm-water swimming beachVerify the day’s local signals
SnorkelingTidepool observation is more relevant than snorkelingQualitative, not a generated score
FamiliesGood for shore exploration with close wave supervisionSupervision and conditions still matter
Best monthsNot verifiedUnknown is not replaced with a seasonal guess

Photography as evidence

The character of Cannon Beach

Each image is tied to this place and carries a reviewed commercial-use license record.

Wide sandy beach and sea stacks at Cannon Beach, Oregon
The wide sandy beach and sea stacks of Cannon Beach, Oregon. Photo: King of Hearts / Wikimedia Commons
Close view of bright green sea anemones, smaller pink anemones and mussels in a shallow rock pool
Green anemones and mussel shells in the tide pools around Haystack Rock. Photo: John Manard / Wikimedia Commons

Conditions & seasonality

What the year does to the light.

The atlas holds no live feed for weather, water temperature, waves, tides or water quality at Cannon Beach, and will not print a believable default in place of one. Two things can be said honestly: the shape of the year at this latitude, and exactly where to check the day itself.

Hours between sunrise and sunset, computed from latitude 45.882 alone. This is astronomy, not weather: no temperature, swell, rainfall or “best month” claim is implied for Cannon Beach. Longest around Jun (15h 30m), shortest around Dec (8h 30m) — a 7.0-hour swing across the year.

Before the sand

Access, use & constraints

A practical field is only as strong as its source and verification date.

Access
Multiple public access points from town
Accessibility
Some level access points; sand remains a barrier
Parking
Town and access-point dependent
Lifeguards
Not verified
Crowd pattern
Popular on summer weekends and clear days
Coast type
Open coast with sea stacks
Orientation
West-facing
Surfing
Surf occurs locally; expertise and cold-water gear matter

Read before visiting

What changes the decision

Safety context

Cold water

Safety context

Sneaker waves

Safety context

Respect tidepool and nesting-wildlife rules

Wildlife

Intertidal species

Wildlife

Seasonal seabirds

Protection

Haystack Rock marine and wildlife protections

Geography

45.88194, -123.95944

This marker uses the verified coordinate in the record; no approximate fallback is shown.

Open in Google Maps ↗Apple Maps ↗OpenStreetMap ↗

Provenance

Sources behind this profile

Dynamic facts are not implied by these static sources. Retrieval and confidence stay attached to each record.

  1. Cannon Beach and Haystack RockCity of Cannon Beach ↗

    Municipal source for local context; tidepool and wildlife restrictions should be rechecked before a visit.

    Verified Authoritative · Retrieved 2026-09-01
  2. OpenStreetMap place and coordinate dataOpenStreetMap contributors ↗

    Coordinates checked through the Nominatim service; map data remains attributable to OpenStreetMap contributors.

    Verified Secondary · Retrieved 2026-09-01

Continue by relationship

Similar context, different coast

Related records share geography, sand character or activities. They are not random links.

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Sand
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Water
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Sand
Pale with localized pink tones
Water
Very shallow lagoon water in places
MapPhotos