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Seaside had all the makings of a great beach town. There is a huge beach that stretches as far as the eye can see. There are lifeguards. There is a great promenade along the beach. There are a bunch of really cute shops. The whole town looked adorable.
And yet, at the same time, it all looked artificial. Like a beach version of Disneyland. I can almost understand how that came to be however. Seaside as we know it today, is built from Seaside House, a summer resort that once stood here.
The beach was gorgeous though. I’ll give them that. I loved seeing Tillamook Head looming high above the beach on the left. It seems so far away and despite walking closer and closer to it, it doesn’t seem to be getting any nearer.
But when it came to the town, I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would. Everything seemed a little too perfect and a little too fake. Like Disneyland, but minus the rides and abundance of people in costumes.
I can see what they were after. A fun and vibrant seaside holiday town. Maybe it was at one point in its lifetime exactly how they planned it. However, now, it seems almost forgotten. Wandering the streets at night and the air is still and quiet. Wandering the streets in the morning is equally quiet, but at least the sun is out. It wasn’t even that late (8-9 pm) nor that early (9-10am).
This was one of the few places open “late” aka after 9pm.
Where do all the people go? Do they just come for the day and then leave? Disappear into their hotel rooms? Our hotel said that they were completely sold out so there must be people. So where were they?
Perhaps it was bad timing. We had arrived at the tail end of a huge running race that happened that weekend. We could see the crew cleaning up whatever that was set up on the beach. Maybe it was because it was a Monday and everyone had gone back to work.
Clean up time!
Even this sand sculpture was left abandoned.
The one place we did find a lot of people was at the local arcade. We could hear it before we could see it. On one side, it was a dark room, wall to wall of wooden playing boards, lights flashing, people cheering and a caller. The other, was the glitzier arcade room with the typical games.
We sat down where the people were. The premise was easy. Make a line of lights light up in a row kind of like bingo. You need to get the ball through the corresponding hole in front of you to light it up. In reality, it was extremely frustrating. The ball never went where you wanted it to go! Each game was only 25 cents and I can see how this could easily dissolve into an addiction. The more I played, the more I wanted to win. Later, I learned this game is called Fascination. Who knew?
Where we hung out most of the night. I do quite like the retro vibe going on through most of the town.
A little further inland, the Necanicum River bisects the city and there is another dock and water area. Ready for people to have a little bit of water fun. When we drove into the Seaside, we saw plenty of fishermen hanging out on the bridges. I wonder how successful they are at catching fish.
There’s also a small mall with a carousel in the middle.
Otherwise, I found Seaside to be a sleepy town, with the potential to be more. Perhaps my visit was coloured by a terrible run in at a restaurant the night we were there (pro tip: I would not recommend eating at Twisted Fish Steakhouse in Seaside). You can read about our whole experience in this review my friend left. Regardless, I was eager to leave Seaside and to see what the rest of the coast of Oregon had to offer.
Good to Know
Getting here: Seaside, Oregon is located a 2 hour drive from Portland. It is a relatively easy drive through the mountains on Highway 26. You can’t miss it.
There isn’t much to do in the town other than going to the beach and the water activities in the river. Playing Fascination at the arcade was pretty entertaining though.
Have you ever been somewhere and really wanted to like it? Has a bad encounter in a restaurant ever completely ruined your time in a town?
This post is a part of #TheWeeklyPostcard.
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It *is* pretty 🙂 the beach is gorgeous, for sure.
Yea, it really is! And the sand is so soft.
It looks adorable, in a kitschy fake-seaside-resort kind of way. But I hate places that lack stuff to do, so I understand why it underwhelmed you! I also think this is the first blog I’ve read about Oregon as a travel destination- as a Brit it isn’t somewhere I’d really read about before!
Yea, that’s the perfect way of describing it! Thanks! I think Oregon is definitely underrated as a travel destination. It is a gorgeous state and plenty to do (just maybe not in this particular town unless you like the beach).
This place is pretty, but it is odd how vacant it is. This, however, would be perfect for me as I’m not fond of crowds or waiting in long lines for food or rides. I like how clean it looks and that it is well taken care of – all things I look for when booking a trip for our family:)
Hmm, that is a very good point. I guess it depends on what you’re looking for. I agree it would be a great place to take the whole family.
I agree with Jo above, I hadn’t thought about Oregon much, outside of Portland, but recently spent 4 days in Central Oregon and it is gorgeous and so much to do! We went hiking, white water rafting, caving and rock climbing. Next time I’m back in Oregon and I want to go to the coast.
Ohh, which parts of Central Oregon did you explore? I was very pleasantly surprised by everything in Oregon. It really has a lot to offer and most people don’t even think to visit.
We stayed in Sunriver and visited Crater Lake, Smith Rock, Lava Lands, Bend and drove through Mt Hood area and Columbia River Gorge.
I much prefer Cannon Beach. Seaside definitely has an artificial feel to it, even though the beach can be quite lovely.
I like the little beach towns in Oregon on the Pacific coast, but I hear what you say. They look a little too “made-up”. But I think I prefer that to a neglected town that has no attractions whatsoever. The beaches in Oregon are too wide, I’d prefer a smaller stretch of sand …
Great to hook up in this #TheWeeklyPostcard. I wrote my WeeklyPostcard on an area that Anda said reminded her of Oregon. I have not read about Oregon before and never been there so will be interesting to see what you think after reading my post.
I’ve found that a lot of small, seaside towns close early. I find it great because it forces me to get to sleep early so I can get up with the sun and enjoy the whole day. I love Seaside as well, I’m originally from the Pacific Northwest so it makes me happy when people explore the beautiful area. 🙂
That is a really great point. We did end up sleeping rather early that night and I was up early with the sun to explore.
Oooh, this looks absolutely darling. Cute village and a great beach. I like.
Found you throuh #TheWeeklyPostcard
we were in Seaside about a week after you and loved it. Seaside is what it is and nothing more. You go there to explore the amazing beach and ocean; the town is just a convenience. We had rented a house so made our own meals only going out for dinner once and had a great prime rib dinner at the Bigfoot Steakhouse. Seaside is best to be used as a jumping off point to see the other parts of the coast. I would go back in a heartbeat. if only to enjoy the most amazing sunsets over the ocean.
I think if we had a kitchen and cooked our own meals it would have been a lot better. I do agree that Seaside is really good place to start down the Oregon Coast on though.
I used to live in Seaside, so I have some tips if you want a return visit! You actually had perfect timing to avoid the crowds; usually it is crazy packed. Mondays and Tuesdays are a bad time to visit for shopping and activities, since most places are closed due to them being open over the weekend for tourists. You nailed the vibe of Seaside, which is a tourist town but worth at least one visit. There is an amazing used book store (two story, floor to ceiling books), kitschy tourist souvenirs, lots of Lewis and Clark stops/history, tucked away beaches that have sand dollars by the dozen, an aquarium that you can hand feed seals, a pretty boardwalk etc. But timing is everything, depending on if you want to avoid the crowds or get lost in them. As far as beaches go, though, I feel Seaside is a little dirty due to the amount of people they get. For a little more privacy and amazing beach combing I would recommend going to Fort Stevens State Park, and checking out the places there (outside of Warrenton, look for lots of signage), about 15 minutes north of Seaside. Plus, there is a Fort to check out, as well as Battery Russell. You don’t want to miss them!!
Wow, thank you so much for these tips Nicolette! I’ll definitely keep this in mind if I’m ever in Seaside again. I wish I had known about that book store. I love a good used bookstore (though, on second though, I would probably spend too much there haha!). I did manage to go to Fort Stevens and the shipwreck in the park. I didn’t know about Battery Russell though – that looks really cool!