Explore the long history of Cannon Beach this Memorial Day Weekend.

Memorial Day provides us with a time to reflect on the past and remember those who have come before us. If you find yourself on the Oregon Coast this weekend, take an afternoon to explore the past at the Cannon Beach History Center and Museum.

The center hosts several permanent and temporary exhibits related to Cannon Beach and its history. The Clatsop-Nehalem Confederated Tribes helped design a Native American longhouse, complete with replica artifacts created by regional Native American artisans. Another permanent exhibit, “Cannon Beach: A Place By the Sea,” describes the history of the area, from the time of the Tillamook Indians, through Lewis and Clark’s expedition, the logging boom, and two world wars, to the modern-day town with its significance in the arts and tourism.

The Memorial Day Weekend gives you the chance to see two temporary exhibits. If you’ve ever wondered how Cannon Beach got its name, the exhibit “Who Put The Cannon In Cannon Beach?” will put your questions to rest. Hear the troubled story of the USS Schooner Shark and how one of its cannons was lost and rediscovered — and how another two cannons lay buried in the tidal sands until only a few years ago. You can even see the original cannon on display.

A second temporary exhibit, “Beach Hop,” presents quilts from the Oregon Coast Shop Hop. Local artists and quilters created these quilts using panels from designated shops along the Oregon Coast. Themes of nostalgia and a love of Oregon are woven through this collection.

If you enjoy mixing modern context with your history lessons, take the historic walking tour of downtown Cannon Beach. Compare the town’s eighteenth-century landscape to today’s city. Much has changed in the last hundred years — but not everything.

The Cannon Beach History Center and Museum is open five days a week (closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays) fro 1 – 5pm, and admission is free.

The broad canvas of Cannon Beach, Oregon has tempted many an amateur sand castle architect, and once a year, sand sculptors gather here to celebrate their art.

You’re invited to join the festivities at the 2012 Cannon Beach Sand Castle Contest over the weekend of June 8 – 10, 2012. Spectators are welcome to watch the sculptors create not only castles, but also sea creatures, international landmarks, scenes from fairy tales, and other impressive expressions of creativity. You can try your own hand at shaping sand by signing up in one of seven sand-sculpting divisions, from “Sand Fleas” (open to anyone under age six) to “Sand Masters” (open by invitation to sculptors who have won awards in previous events).

Sculptors have about five hours to create their works, from 7am to noon on Saturday, June 9, during low tide. At noon, winners in each division will be announced, and by 6pm, high tide will erase the sculptures, so that Cannon Beach once again provides a blank canvas to aspiring sculptors.

Although the sand sculptures are the highlight of the weekend, visitors will find plenty of other activities to keep them busy. Read the rest of this entry »

Give you mother a spa getaway for Mother's Day.

Flowers fade — memories last. This Mother’s Day, treat your mom to an experience that will leave her refreshed and relaxed: a bed and breakfast getaway with a trip to the spa.

Whether she’s your own mother, the mother of your children, a mother-to-be, or your best girlfriend cum playdate coordinator, all mothers deserve a well-earned break. And what could be more relaxing, more rejuvenating, and more refreshing than being pampered by innkeepers and massage therapists?

Arch Cape Inn & Retreat offers in-room massages for two with its Couple’s Stress Reduction Package. Reconnect with your mother, wife, or best girlfriend on a weekend getaway to our luxury bed & breakfast outside Cannon Beach. Enjoy a sixty-minute classic massage in the Tuscan Spa, Tower, or Tapestry Room or at the Cannon Beach Spa, then share a bottle of of champagne, wine, or cider and a pair of roses by the fire.

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To truly appreciate the rugged majesty of the Oregon Coast, take a walk through the coastal forest. Immerse yourself in the cool forest air, rich with fresh oxygen and the scents of the nearby ocean. Feel dwarfed under the thick trunk and distant canopy of a Sitka spruce. Watch the ceaseless crash of the surf from atop dramatic bluffs. Discover things growing in surprising places: crowded colonies of mosses perch in the corrugated bark of Douglas-firs, and scraggly huckleberry shrubs reach up from ancient stumps. Even the ocean itself seems alive.

Find all of this on the Clatsop Trail, a 2 1/2 mile loop hike at at Ecola State Park. The trailhead is a scenic ten-mile drive up the coast from Arch Cape Inn and is just north of Cannon Beach, making it a perfect day-trip destination. Pack a lunch for a picnic on the beach, and plan for dinner in town.

View Hike at Ecola State Park in a larger map

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