"LITTLE GEM BETWEEN THE CAPES" Oceanside by mtncorg

Oceanside Travel Guide: 11 reviews and 17 photos

Three Arch Rocks lying offshore at Oceanside

Oceanside is a small little town that pushes up the south side of a headland next to Three Arch Rocks. It is about 10 miles to the west of Tillamook - about 1.5 - 2 hours west of Portland - lying just south of Cape Meares and north of the entrance to Netarts Bay. The town used to be a very quiet collection of mostly vacation homes, but has grown into the somewhat overbuilt affair of today. Now, you won't mistake this for a New Jersey or Massachusettes beach, for sure, but you won't see it in its more pristine state of 40 years ago, either. Damn, I am getting old!!!! Times change and sprawl we must.

There is a plethora of vacation homes you can rent - even over the internet, simply use a search engine and input 'Oceanside Oregon rental'. The beaches to the south are wide. Tidepools lie along the rocks around the headland - Maxwell Point - with an amazing variety of life within. Rock cliffs and sea stacks are rookeries for thousands of birds. Sea lions are numerous and sea food is fresh. Nearby to the north - one mile - is the Cape Meares lighthouse and the long sand spit of the Bayocean peninsula separating the Tillamook Bay from the open ocean. To the south, Netarts Bay and Cape Lookout provide an estuarine ecological encyclopedia.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Sealife, tidepools, beaches, bays and capes
Cons:Getting too popular for its own good
In a nutshell:Still one of the best weekend coastal destinations from Portland

Intro Updated May 22, 2005
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Reviews (6)

Boat passing 'rock' of 100 sea lions at low tide - Oceanside

SEA LIONS Warnings and Dangers (1)

Sea lions are really only a danger if you are a fisherman with a fish on your line. At one point, these mammals were on... more travel advice

Mussels cooked in Belgian ale attracting bread - Oceanside

SEAFOOD DINNERS Restaurants (1)

The ambiance is dependent upon your skill in finding the correct vacation rental, either via the internet or other... more travel advice

Waves crash against the north side of Cape Lookout - Oceanside

CAPE LOOKOUT Things to Do (4)

Cape Lookout State Park lies about 12 miles west of Tillamook on the south end of Netarts Bay. It is semiwild, the road... more travel advice

Vacation homes hug north bayshore of Netarts Bay - Oceanside

NETARTS Things to Do (4)

Just a couple of miles to the south from Oceanside is Netarts, occupying a not quite-so dramatic site at the entrance to... more travel advice

Comments (5)

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XenoHumph Nov 8, 2006 at 10:56 AM

Just the page I need, my husband & I just booked a motel there between Christmas & New Year! Can't wait to see the sea lions!!!
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Jonathan_C Aug 28, 2004 at 12:59 PM

Cape Lookout looks like a fantastic spot. You are hereby warned that we'll be polluting your lovely Oregon beaches with our own kids in the near future!
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ZanieOR Apr 1, 2004 at 8:11 AM

I had to laugh at your description of Oceanside as "overbuilt"! Most urban VTers probably wouldn't agree. One of my favorite Oregona coast towns, off the main drag. I remember a memorable mussel stew there over 30 years ago.
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mim95 Dec 15, 2003 at 6:34 AM

So have you harvested any mushroom on this trip?
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ettenaj Nov 18, 2003 at 12:44 PM

Nice pictures, but it looks rather cold.