Arch Cape: Coastal Trails and Maritime History

Arch Cape is located on Highway 101 between Cannon Beach and Manzanita. For hotel searches, the town offers a destination with a range of highlights: hiking trails, a distinctive cove, nature watching, and maritime history. Arch Cape was named after a natural rock arch. When planning your trip, you can weigh whether the coastal scenery and hiking or the town’s historical events will have a greater influence on your choice.

Coastal Trails and Views

A 13-mile section of the Oregon Coast Trail begins in Arch Cape and runs south toward Manzanita. If a longer hike is a factor in choosing your destination, this combination of distance, starting point, and direction offers a specific point of reference. Oswald West State Park has many hiking trails with views of the Pacific Ocean. The focus here is on several trails with ocean views. This lets you distinguish a clearly defined route with a set distance and direction from trails where views of the Pacific take center stage.

Conditions on the Oregon Coast Trail can change. Check the latest conditions before your hike.

Beaches and Nature Watching

Short Sand Beach is in a sheltered cove bordered by volcanic basalt and sandstone cliffs. Its sheltered setting and rocks made of two types of stone shape the landscape. The beach is popular and lively on weekends and summer days. If the atmosphere during a beach visit matters to your travel decision, keep these busy periods in mind.

Hug Point State Recreation Site offers easy access to the beach; beach conditions depend on the tides. Check the tide level before your visit and take it into account when planning. Beach selection therefore involves different considerations: the crowds at Short Sand Beach on weekends and summer days, and the effect of the tides at Hug Point.

At Cape Falcon, visitors can watch storms and migrating whales. Whale sightings are seasonal and variable. You can therefore plan them as a possible nature-watching activity, not as a guaranteed experience on a particular day of your trip.

Maritime History

A large portion of the Shark wreck washed ashore in the area of present-day Arch Cape, south of Cannon Beach. In December 1863, a cannon was spotted and reported at what is now Arch Cape Creek. A recovered cannon later stood in front of the Austin House Post Office in Arch Cape for several years.

These events give maritime history specific local connections: the area where wreckage washed ashore, the creek, and the post office. Along with the natural rock arch after which Arch Cape was named, they offer a historical perspective on the town alongside its coastal trails and scenery.

Discover more destinations: Astoria, Warrenton, Gearhart, Cannon Beach, Seaside

Go to the main travel overview: Clatsop.