Cannon Beach to Astoria

This is a prefect ride to connect the two most popular destinations on Oregon's northwest coast. It can be done as a day trip, or you can add an overnight in either town. Amtrak's Point Bus provides daily bus service to Cannon beach, Seaside and Cannon beach.

The ride begins at Cannon beach and heads north along Hemlock street. You'll ride right past the iconic Haystack rock. If you want a close up view, head left on Center street down to a stepped footpath to the beach.

Continuing on Hemlock, you pass several inns and a couple restaurants before coming down the hill into the arts district. Cannon beach is filled with galleries, restaurants, a grocery store, library with Wifi, and plenty of amenities for a distance ride or overnight stay.

Once you've explored town, head north on Hemlock until in meets US 101. For the next several miles, you'll be sharing the highway with cars, trucks, and RVs, but there's no avoiding this until you get to Seaside. As you enter seaside, watch for the beginning of the alphabetical streets. You will turn right on S street, also labled Sundquist street. It turns left onto Wahanna road.

You'll follow Wahanna road until it reaches an intersection with Lewis and Clark road, where you'll turn right. The ride is pretty straightforward from there as you wind up and over the mountain. For several miles, you wind along the Lewis and Clark river, staying on the road of the same name. Pay close attention as there are seveal diaganol roads that lead off of the main road, but you will stick to Lewis and Clark all the way to Miles corssing. The diaganol that confuses most is the fort Clatsop road which breaks away right before you cross the Lewis and Clark river the only time you will cross it on this ride.

From Miles crossing, head north on US business 101 over the old Young's River bridge. To get to downtown Astoria, you can turn left onto the Nehalem highway (202) for the flat rid into Astoria or you can opt to go over the hill on 9th atreet adding 500 feet to the end of your ride.

Once in Astoria, you can check into your hotel, or if you're just visiting, see the Astoria rides. When you're ready to return to Portland, you can catch either the Amtrak Point Bus or the Columbia County Rider.

The Columbia County Rider is half the price of the Point bus, and they don't charge the $5 bike fee. The down side is that it takes longer, and you have to transfer busses. It is certainly the more interesting experience as the atmosphere on the bus is pretty social with many of the locals who all know each other. The Point bus does provide air conditioning and WiFi, and you get a guaranteed spot for your bike.