Cape Kiwanda in Pacific City is fifteen minutes north of Neskowin and completely different in personality. Neskowin whispers. Pacific City has a brewery on the beach, a wooden fleet that drives boats up onto the sand, and a dune so big that people descend it in a controlled fall. It's the loud, fun day trip in a quiet-coast vacation, and it's worth the parking fee.
The dory fleet
Pacific City's dories are flat-bottomed boats launched directly from the beach into the surf, a tradition going back more than a century. Fishermen back their trailers to the water in the lee of the cape, push off through the breakers, and return hours later at full throttle, sliding the boat up onto the sand. Landing is the show. Late morning through early afternoon is when you'll see the most returns, depending on ocean conditions and what's biting. Stand well back; they come in fast and the drivers are not looking at you.
Dory Days, the town's festival celebrating the fleet, happens the third weekend of July with a parade, a fish fry, and boats everywhere.
Climbing the dune
The big sand dune on Cape Kiwanda's south side is the thing everyone does. It's steep, it's soft, and it takes most people ten to fifteen minutes to get up with a lot of two-steps-forward-one-back. At the top you're on the cape with views south over Haystack Rock (Pacific City has its own, offshore) and the whole beach. Coming down takes about ninety seconds and is the most fun part. Go barefoot or in shoes you don't mind filling with sand.
The sandstone and the fence
The cape itself is soft sandstone eroded into cliffs, arches, and a bowl the ocean punches into. It's beautiful and it has killed people. After a series of deaths, the state fenced off the most dangerous areas at the top. The fence is there because the rock crumbles without warning and the drop is fatal. Stay on the sand side of it. Take your photos from behind it. That's the whole rule, and every local will tell you the same thing.
Practical stuff
- Parking. The main beachfront lot at Cape Kiwanda charges a day-use fee (Tillamook County runs it). Bring a card. It fills by late morning on summer weekends and sunny Saturdays year-round.
- Timing. Weekday mornings are calm. Sunset is stunning and crowded.
- Dogs. Allowed on the beach on leash, and there's usually a water bowl outside the brewery.
- Driving on the beach. Permitted in a designated zone near the cape for launching boats. Don't do it in a rental car, and watch for vehicles when you're walking.
- Restrooms at the lot. Showers for sandy feet.
Food and drink
Pelican Brewing's original pub sits right on the sand facing the cape and is the reason a lot of people come. Expect a wait on weekends; put your name in and go climb the dune. Across the street and up the road there are a couple of solid breakfast spots, a taqueria, and a market. The Stimulus coffee shop is the morning move. For a quieter dinner, drive back to Neskowin and cook, or hit Lincoln City.
More than the beach
Bob Straub State Park sits at the south end of Pacific City on the Nestucca Spit, a long dune-backed beach with almost nobody on it, and it's the dog's favorite spot. Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge is just south of town with a short overlook trail and winter geese; see Nestucca Bay: birds, elk, and quiet. Surf lessons and board rentals operate right in town for the gentler breaks south of the cape.
Back to Neskowin
The drive home along 101 is short, and the evening at The Weekender is the reward: rinse off the sand, light the stove, hot tub, sleep. Pacific City for the day and Neskowin for the night is the right way around. Our Neskowin things to do page has the rest of the neighborhood.
Cape Kiwanda is the Oregon Coast at full volume. Climb the dune, watch the boats, respect the fence, and drink the beer. Then go back to the quiet.