A seattle to oregon coast weekend is a longer drive than the Washington coast and, in our completely biased opinion, worth every mile. Manzanita gives you seven miles of dog-friendly sand, a walkable main street, real restaurants, and a house with a hot tub, all roughly four and a half hours from downtown Seattle if you beat the traffic. Here is how to do it in a weekend without spending the whole thing in the car.
Route one: I-5 to Portland, then Highway 26
The default. I-5 south through Tacoma, Olympia, and Vancouver to Portland, then west on US-26 through the Coast Range to Highway 101 and south to Manzanita. About 290 miles. The Portland stretch is where you lose or win the day. Coming through the Rose Quarter at 5pm on a Friday adds an hour. Time it for a mid-afternoon or post-7pm pass and the whole trip runs about four and a half hours.
Highway 26 west of Portland is two lanes for long stretches, winding, and dark. Watch for elk near the summit and drive it before you are tired. Camp 18, the log restaurant near milepost 18, is the classic pie-and-coffee stop.
Route two: I-5 to Longview, then Highway 30 through Astoria
The scenic escape hatch. Exit I-5 at Longview/Kelso, cross the Columbia to Rainier, and follow Highway 30 along the Oregon side of the river to Astoria, then 101 south past Seaside and Cannon Beach to Manzanita. Slightly longer in miles and minutes, but you skip Portland entirely. Astoria makes a great dinner stop (Fort George Brewery, Bowpicker fish and chips if the line is short), and the drive down 101 through Cannon Beach at sunset is a strong argument for this route on a clear Friday.
The Friday plan
Leave Seattle by 1pm if you can. Tacoma and JBLM traffic starts building by 2:30. Pack a cooler with dinner ingredients or plan to eat on the road, because Manzanita's restaurants mostly close by 8 or 9pm and the small markets close earlier. Our homes have late check-in via smart lock so a 9:30pm arrival is fine. First thing on arrival: cover off the hot tub, glass of wine, listen to the surf.
Saturday: the full day
- Morning: Coffee and a pastry on Laneda Avenue, then walk the beach south toward Nehalem Bay with the dog. Low tide is best for the wide firm sand.
- Midday: Hike to Short Sand Beach at Oswald West (about a half mile through old growth to a surfer cove) or climb Neahkahnie Mountain for the big view. Both are ten minutes north.
- Afternoon: Rent kayaks or bikes at Nehalem Bay State Park, go crabbing off the Nehalem docks in season, or drive up to Cannon Beach for Haystack Rock at low tide and a browse through town.
- Evening: Dinner in Manzanita (make a reservation; the good spots fill), then a beach bonfire if conditions allow, then the hot tub. Our Laneda Avenue post has the food rundown.
Sunday: leave late
Sunday northbound is the mirror of Friday: I-5 through Portland and Tacoma jams by mid-afternoon. Either leave by 10am or, better, have a long brunch, one more beach walk, and leave after 2pm, arriving Seattle around 7 or 8pm. Stop at Tillamook Creamery on the way out if you are taking 26 (it is 30 minutes south but the cheese curds justify the detour) or at Astoria if you go north on 101.
Why not just do the Washington coast?
Fair question, and we like Long Beach and Westport fine. But Manzanita has a few things going for it: a compact walkable town with a real food scene, dog-friendly beach for all seven miles, no sales tax (yes, that matters when you are buying wine and a rain shell), and a lot of well-kept rental homes with hot tubs two blocks from the sand. It also has the Neahkahnie headland, which gives the beach a dramatic backdrop the flatter Washington beaches lack.
Making the drive worth it
Four and a half hours each way is a lot for two nights. Two ways to fix that: take Friday off and make it three nights, or build the drive into the trip with Astoria or Portland stops. Fall and winter weekends are also easier: less traffic, lower rates, storm-watching if you get lucky, and an empty beach. Our post on Manzanita in fall makes the case.
Where to stay
For a group or two families, Puffin Lane sleeps seven with four bedrooms, a cedar hot tub, a yoga studio for the one person who still wants to move after the drive, and a two-block walk to the beach. Dogs welcome, obviously. For everything else in the area, our Manzanita guide covers it, and you can check all our homes on the Manzanita rentals page.
Leave early, pick your route by the traffic, and do not skip the pie.