Short Sand Beach at Oswald West State Park is the reason a lot of people fall for this stretch of coast. You park on Highway 101, walk half a mile down through Sitka spruce and cedar big enough to make you quiet, and come out on a sheltered cove with surfers bobbing in the swell. Locals call it Shorty's. It's ten minutes north of Manzanita and it belongs on your first-day plan.
Getting there and parking
Oswald West has a few parking lots strung along Highway 101 about four miles north of Manzanita, at the base of Neahkahnie Mountain. The main lot for Short Sand is on the west side of the highway, with an overflow lot across the road connected by a tunnel under 101. Parking is free. On summer weekends and any sunny Saturday the lots fill by 10am and cars line the shoulder. Go early or go late. There are vault toilets at the trailhead and none at the beach.
The trail
From the main lot it's about half a mile, gently downhill, along Short Sand Creek through genuine old-growth forest. The path is wide and mostly gravel, fine for kids and dogs and anyone carrying a surfboard, which you'll see plenty of. A wooden bridge crosses the creek near the bottom and then the trees open onto the cove. Round trip with beach time, plan two hours minimum. Round trip if you just want to look, forty-five minutes.
The beach itself
Short Sand is a crescent of dark sand tucked between two headlands, Cape Falcon to the north and Neahkahnie to the south, which is why it's calmer than the open beaches and why surfers love it. The break is consistent, mellow enough for beginners on small days and fun for everyone on bigger ones. Several shops in Manzanita and Cannon Beach rent boards and wetsuits. The water is cold year-round. You want a 4/3 at minimum.
Not a surfer? The tide pools at the north end of the cove are excellent at low tide, with anemones, starfish, and the occasional nudibranch if you look closely. There's a waterfall, Blumenthal Falls, that drops onto the north end of the beach. Driftwood forts get built and rebuilt all summer. Dogs are welcome on leash and this is a good beach for them because the surf is gentler than the open coast.
Safety, briefly
Sheltered doesn't mean safe. Sneaker waves happen here, the logs move, and the rocks at the ends of the cove get cut off by the incoming tide. Keep an eye on the water and don't let kids climb the wet rocks near the falls. Our beach safety post covers the details, but the summary is: face the ocean, know the tide, and stay off the logs.
Add-ons if you have legs left
- Cape Falcon Trail: From the Short Sand junction, about 2.5 miles out to the tip of Cape Falcon with views back over the cove and south to Neahkahnie. Muddy in winter, wildflowers in spring. Roughly 5 miles round trip.
- Neahkahnie Mountain: A separate trailhead a couple miles south on 101. Steep, about 3 miles round trip, and the summit view over Manzanita and Nehalem Bay is the best on the north coast. Fog can erase it entirely. Check before you climb.
- Devils Cauldron: A short spur from the southern Oswald West lots to a fenced viewpoint over a churning sea cave. Five minutes, big payoff.
Making a day of it
Morning at Short Sand, lunch on Laneda Avenue in Manzanita, afternoon on the seven miles of dog-friendly beach in front of town, then the hot tub. Puffin Lane is our four-bedroom in Manzanita, about a ten-minute walk from the beach, with a cedar hot tub and a yoga studio for stretching out whatever Cape Falcon did to your calves. Sleeps seven, dogs welcome.
For the rest of the area, from Nehalem Bay kayaking to the Tillamook Creamery, our Manzanita things-to-do page has the full list. And if you're chasing the end of the day, we've mapped out our favorite sunset spots too.
Short Sand is the kind of place that makes people move to the coast. Fair warning.