Cape Meares

The sleepy village of Cape Meares is tucked along the northern side of the Cape Meares National Wildlife Refuge and Cape Meares State Park. This small, but impressive park is home to both the shortest lighthouse and the largest Sitka Spruce in Oregon. Its viewpoints overlooking the Pacific Ocean are known as a prime whale-watching spots during migration seasons. This area is also a favorite nesting ground for sea birds, including the Common Murre, Bald Eagle, and Peregrine Falcon. It is home to the “Octopus tree,” once featured in Ripley’s Believe It or Not, and was a Native American meeting place.

This village has spectacular and secluded beaches, spanning many miles, and is a perfect location for beach combing, kite flying, camp fires and storm watching. The beach borders the Bay Ocean Spit, separating Tillamook Bay from the ocean, and offers mile and miles of hiking trails among forested sand dunes.

A ten minute drive to the nearby cities of Oceanside and Tillamook offer all the dining and shopping options of a larger coastal town. Some great, rainy-day activities are nearby, such as wine tasting at the Blue Heron French Cheese Factory, cheese tasting and tours at the famous Tillamook Cheese Factory, and airplane buffs should not miss visiting the Tillamook Air Museum.