I used to spend a week at Arch Cape every summer as a kid, so just reading your post brought back memories.

Best hikes? I don't know if they're the best, but Oswald West, Ecola, and Saddle Mountain State Parks all come to mind as possibilities. I'm sure you can find hiking info on each at Oregon State Parks website. Or, just wait for dengay to respond. :-) He's THE forum resource for that type question.

Almost all restaurants have seafood on the menu, so I'll list what I think are the best. The distinction between fine dining and casual is in food, not expected attire, as casual dress is fine no matter where you go.

Nehalem River Inn in Nehalem, and Newman's @ 988, Bistro, and Gower St. Bistro, all in Cannon Beach: fine dining;

Wayfarer in Cannon Beach and Pacific Way Cafe in Gearhart: upscale casual;

Ecola Seafood Restaurant & Market in Cannon Beach: very casual.

There's a small market/deli/general store almost next door to where you'll be staying. I'm sure you could get the makings for a campfire & picnic on the beach there, from wood to wine.

Willamette is the name of a river and a valley, and a whole bunch of other stuff, including a Willamette Valley Vineyards. You'll need to be more specific, but I'd guess that your friends' winery will be close to two hours drive in any event.

Favorite outdoor activities: photography, and whatever hiking it involves, kite-flying, tidepooling, and sunset-watching-glass-of-wine-in-hand. I'm sure you'll find some of your own!

Hi there! I have reviews with photos of the majority of the restaurants in Cannon Beach, Seaside and Astoria. I also have one of our last meal at the Nehalem River Inn this summer. :)

Check out Taste of Tuscany in Seaside, it's great Italian food with excellent presentation and flavors. If you like Korean food, Kim's Kitchen in Warrenton has really great Short Ribs. You will have views of the Marina at Kim's.

For Mexican food, check out the place in Cannon Beach right across from Mo's. La Siesta, I believe is the name of the place. I know they have remodeled recently.

One of my favorite ways to enjoy the outdoors on the coast is with my beach mat, my tanning oil, my ipod with Jack Johnson music and a few good novels from the Seaside library. A nice bottle of white wine with some fruit and cheese is always nice for these times, also.

We also love to surf, boggeyboard and fly our kite. I have a Del Sol beach cruiser that I enjoy tooling around on, it's great fun. Enjoy your trip! :)

For hiking you are in luck!! As mistletoe pointed out, Oswald West State Park, which borders Arch Cape to the south, has over 15 miles of premier hiking trails. Most are broken into 3-4 miles segments and are not difficult at all. The hike from Ecola State Park in Cannon Beach over Tillamook Head to The Feldenhiemer Forest Preserve is also a wonderful hike. If you are up for a bit of a challenge, the hike to the top of Saddle Mt may fit the bill. From the top, which is the tallest point in the northern Coast Range, the views are fantastic. Finally, the newest addtion to the north coast hiking array is the Fort to Sea Trail. It's a 6 mile long trek from Ft Clatsop National Park to Sunset Beach along (roughly) the same route followed by Lewis and Clark.

One word of caution regarding bonfires....we are currently in the height of fire season and it will most likely continue through September. Right now, small isolated fires are permitted only in designated campgrounds and on the wet sand portion of the ocean shores (beach). All this could change tomorrow. I suggest you refer to this website just b4 you leave to check on current conditons: http://egov.oregon.gov/ODF/FIRE/fire.shtml

Den

I love it when posters use these questions as an opportunity to give their own little trip reports, even if it is only about their bicycle.

Hadley, I would go with the answers from mistletoe and Dengay, long time residents of Oregon.

And check to GoLists and Insider Pages on here for good info with photos!

tripadvisor.com/Travel-g51790-d294417/Cannon…

Hadley,Ms Scarlett is right on,you can take to the bank the advice from Dengay and Mistletoe.I often print the info for my Oregon travel file

Our favorite restaurants (in Cannon Bch, about 4 miles N of Arch Cape) are JPs (great seafood chowder, great cheesecake filled chocolate cake) and the Bistro (their chowder is excellent and their seafood dishes are great too). The Wayfarer is also good. You might also try Newman's (don't let the awful yellow house dissuade you, it's very good) or the Sylvia Beach Inn.

Bonfire / evening picnic - I'd suggest stopping by Laurel's (next to the Bistro), getting a bottle of wine and then the grocery store for some nibbles or contact one of the above restaurants (probably Wayfarer or Sylvia Bch since they are hotels) about putting together a picnic. The grocery store sells wood that can be used for a bonfire.

Willamette University, the Willamette Valley or the Willamette River?

You're thinking of the Stephanie Inn, right Sparkle? Sylvia Beach Hotel is in Newport. Stephanie Inn does have a very nice restaurant; we've been there two or three times, though not within the last couple years. Just feels too pretentious to me these days. Food is good for sure, but not quite as good as they seem to think it is.

Sparkle have you tried Stephanie Inn since Crystal Corbin took over for John (Newman's @ 988)? We also like Laurel's by Bistro. She led us to a very nice Auxerrois by Adelshem that was perfect to sip on down at the beach. :)

There is also the Wine Shack next to the Coaster Theater that has a nice selection of wines and the owner is very friendly and informative about local happenings. BTW, Sparkle do you know how Ecola State Park is after the fire that was started there awhile back? :)

Yes, for some reason I always get Stephanie Inn and Sylvia Beach mixed up. We rarely go to the Stephanie Inn for dinner and I haven't been to Newport for years so I erroneously use the names interchangeably. (Dining habits die hard and ours are JPs & The Bistro although I'd really like to start going to Newman's more as we had a great dinner there not too long ago).

We haven't had dinner at the Stephanie Inn for probably a year. All summer we've been going to our usual haunts (JPs, Bistro with the Wayfarer thrown in occasionally) except for our one time at Newman's. It's even possible that the last time we had food from the Stephanie was on Christmas (we do take-out so we can eat in our PJs by the fire after sleeping through our reservations one year).

I don't care for the Wine Shack as much. Probably because I really like Laurel. I've met the Wine Shack guy once or twice but Laurel's is so convenient since we can pop in there right before dinner at The Bistro.

Unfortunately, we haven't had the opportunity to do any hiking, etc these days (I'm very pg and tire easily) so I don't know how Ecola is. We're headed to the beach on Wednesday for a night or two. Maybe DH will go for a hike. If so, I'll ask him to report back to me if he heads in that direction.

Syrahgirl--Looks like you will have to be the one to go to the Stephanie Inn and let us know how it is. I know your one dinner there was ages ago (before crystal), so we would love to know what you think of it now, with the changes:)