RESTROOMS ACCESSIBLE
The restrooms in Manzanita and Wheeler and in Loop A of Nehalem Bay State Park meet access standards for persons with disabilities.

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ROAD CONDITIONS
Weather from early November through late March can make driving hazardous, both along Highway 101 and on roads leading through the Coast Range.

On Highway 101, watch for spots of ice, especially on bridges. Locals know that the bridge just south of the Oswald West parking lots may have ice when the rest of the road is dry for miles.

On Highways 26 and 6, watch for ice, especially on stretches that haven't seen the sun for days. These two highways run east/west. Trees shade the road from the low winter sun.

Call for road conditions and pay particular attention to freezing levels. Highways 26 and 6 both have summits at 1,600 feet. Call 503-977-6368 for ODOT road report, or 503-842-3451 for Tillamook County only. You can also call the AAA report at 503-222-6721.

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ROLLER BLADING
Try your wheels on the paved bike path in Nehalem Bay State Park. Park in the parking lot and skate the 1-1/2 mile loop around the airstrip and along the bay.

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RUNNING
The long sandy beach, quiet roads and forest trails offer a runner's paradise.

On the beach. Four miles from the foot of Laneda Avenue to the north jetty.

On roads. Run the roads closest to the beach. It's 3.5 miles from the north end of Reed Road to the south parking lot of Nehalem Bay State Park. Add 1.5 miles by running the paved bike path that loops around the airstrip in the park.

On trails. The easiest trail leads 2.4 miles from the Oswald West parking lots to Cape Falcon; hardest leads over Neahkahnie Mountain. From Highway 101 over the mountain and along the highway back to your car makes a 5-mile loop. Lots of exposed roots make the trails very slippery when wet.

SAFETY
To protect yourself and your family, please follow basic safety precautions.

In the water. Swim only on incoming tides, Getting sucked out to sea means trying to avoid drowning while you also try to survive hypothermia. Water temperature rarely goes above 65 degrees and frequently is in the 40s.

On the beach. Don't get stranded by the incoming tide, especially when you've walked around small promontories or out onto the rocks. Watch for sneaker waves and logs in the surf, especially on incoming tides. And never, never, stand on a log or stump to watch the water swirl around your feet.

Around driftwood. Driftwood logs are very slippery when wet and very heavy if the ocean drops one on you.

On shoreline rocks. Every rock seems more slippery than the last, especially when the incoming tide makes you hurry.

On cliffs. Stay on trails, especially when the cliff hangs over the ocean. There may be only two feet of dirt and roots and 200 feet of air between you and the shoreline below.

SALMON
The ocean off the Oregon coast contains five species of salmon: coho, Chinook, chum, sockeye and pink. Anglers prize cohos and Chinooks the most. Chums are not good eating. Sockeyes and pinks are rare, preferring waters off Canada and Alaska.

All salmon have similar life cycles: born in rivers and streams, they mature in the ocean and return to streams to spawn and die.

Cohos, also called silvers, spawn from November through February. Fingerlings stick around home for about a year, then move downstream into estuaries where they become smolts. Once in the ocean, the smolts grow rapidly before returning to their birth stream three or four years later.

Chinooks, also called kings, spawn throughout the year. One river may have only a fall run, while another may have both spring and fall. Fingerlings and smolts also vary in their life patterns, staying anywhere from a few months to a year in streams and estuaries. Adults return to spawn when they are four or five years old.

SANDCASTLE DAY
The Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce sponsors Sandcastle Day every year during late May or early June. Organizers choose a date on which a relatively low tide occurs early on a Saturday morning.

Sandcastle Day may be the most popular single event on the Oregon coast. Teams build castles on 21 by 21 foot plots. Over 20,000 people stroll the beach to view their efforts. If you plan to join the crowd and want overnight accommodations, make reservations at least four months ahead. If you drive to the coast for the day, plan at least an extra hour travel time.

You can cut your driving time from the Portland area and increase your walk on the beach by driving west on Highway 6, instead of Highway 26, then north on 101. Park at Hug Point or Arcadia State Park and walk north to Haystack Rock.

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SAND DOLLARS
The disk-shaped shells of sand dollars form a mosiac of pastel colors that rewards even beginning beachcombers. But gulls often break the prizes to get the goodies inside

To increase your chances of beating the gulls to their supper, look from low tide line into the water. Watch for shells exposed by the waves as they withdraw into the ocean.

SCENIC VIEWPOINTS
As Highway 101 goes around the front of Neahkahnie Mountain between mileposts 40 and 41.5, it offers eight viewpoints 500 feet above the ocean. The largest lies halfway between mileposts 40 and 41 at the Historic Highway Site sign. On a clear day, you can see the Nehalem Bay jetties (6 miles), Tillamook Bay jetties (12 miles), Cape Meares (18 miles), Three Arch Rocks (20 miles) and Cape Lookout (28 miles). See also whale watching.

Although the Neahkahnie Mountain pull-offs are the only designated highway viewpoints, don't miss the stunning vistas from other vantage points. Stop in Wheeler to look across the bay and up the valley. Enjoy the vistas of Onion Peak and Saddle Mountain as you approach the Highway 101 bridge between Wheeler and Nehalem.

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SEALS
You often see harbor seals bobbing near the end of the jetties, in the ocean and the bay, and off the end of Neahkahnie Mountain. Seals show only their heads above water, whereas see lions show much of their backs as well. Both seals and sea lions eat fish. including lots of salmon and steelhead as they pass through the bay. Harbor seals are a protected species. Do not chase them or throw things at them.

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SHORT SANDS BEACH
Compared to the amount of sand on the Nehalem Bay spit, the beach in Oswald West State Park seems short indeed. The beach may be short, but it's a scenic gem - like walking through a post card from Oregon.

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SKATEBOARDING
Local boarders head for the covered ramps in the parking lot behind the community center in Nehalem. There are also popular ramps in Cannon Beach and Seaside.

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SOFTBALL AND BASEBALL
The ball field on the north side of Highway 101 between Manzanita and Nehalem is a public park available any time except during scheduled league games.

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STEELHEAD
The legendary steelhead has a life cycle similar to salmon. Eggs hatch in gravel stream bottoms, young fish find their way into the ocean, and adult fish return in three or four years to spawn in their natal water.

Here the similarity ends. Spawned-out steelhead drift back downstream to the ocean, eager to return next year and perhaps the year after for another spawning season.

Steelhead start their winter trip up the main Nehalem and the North Fork in late November and continue through late February. Fishing is best during December. You can drift or plunk the Nehalem down from the falls, drift the North Fork or wade below the hatchery.

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SURFING AND BOOGIE BOARDING
The waves off Short Sands Beach offer the most reliable surfing in the area. Also the safest, with small summer waves, a sand bottom and predictable rips. Park in the large Oswald West lot on the west side of Highway 101 and walk 1/4 mile to the beach. To learn when the ocean has brought favorable conditions, look for cars with surf racks parked at Oswald West. Mornings, before the wind comes up, bring the cleanest waves.

For safe, enjoyable surfing, please follow these guidelines:

Proper wetsuit. The ocean water is generally colder in summer than in winter. Surfers who wear a three/two mil wetsuit in winter waves switch to three/four or four/five mil wetsuit in the summer. Most surfers over the age of 12 like gloves, booties and hoods.

Show respect. The ocean temperature seldom gets above 65 degrees and frequently is in the 40s. Air temperature is not a guide to water temperature, which varies according to currents, not season. Local beaches have no lifeguards at any time of year.

SWIMMING

Indoor pool. The North County Community Center in Nehalem has a 30 x 75 foot pool with a wide variety of aquatics programs and recreational swims. Call 503-368-7008 or 503-368-7121 for schedules.

Show respect. The ocean temperature seldom gets above 65 degrees and frequently is in the 40s. Air temperature is not a guide to water temperature, which varies according to currents, not season. Local beaches have no lifeguards at any time of year.