Nine miles south from Seaside, the more upmarket and pleasant CANNON BEACH manages to retain its small-town air despite decades of relentless commercialism. The place is at its liveliest during the annual Sandcastle Competition ( ), a one-day event held in late May or early June, whose most notable sandworks have included dinosaurs, sphinxes, and even the Crucifixion. Cannon Beach's best natural draw is its 240ft Haystack Rock , a black monolith crowned with nesting seagulls - accessible at low tide, though definitely not climbable. To escape the town's inevitable crush of tourists, head four miles north to Ecola State Park , where dense conifer forests decorate the basaltic cliffs of Tillamook Head, or south to Oswald West State Park where there is a beautiful beach, rocky headland and coastal rainforest. Oswald West (tel 1-800/551-6949), a tent-only campground popular with surfers, has wheelbarrows to transport your gear to the site.

Accommodation is tight, especially at competition time. Cannon Beach Hotel , 1116 S Hemlock St (tel 503/436-1392, ; $100-130), is a petite, European-style hotel, while the popular Waves Motel is right on the seafront at 188 W Second St (tel 503/436-2205 or 1-800/822-2468, ; $100-130). For food , Midtown Café , 1235 S Hemlock St (tel 503/436-1016), has the best breakfast in town; the Bistro , 263 N Hemlock St (tel 503/436-2661), doles out a fine range of seafood; and Heather's Café , 271 N Hemlock St (tel 503/436-9353), makes a mean grilled-cheese sandwich.