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Mission12

Haystack Rock

Explore the tide pools at Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach at low tide. Find a starfish and a puffin.

Time your visit for low tide and walk out to the tide pools around Haystack Rock. Each count how many colors of sea star you can find, and photograph the best one. Look, but don't touch or collect anything. Then get a photo of the rock reflected in the wet sand, walk the beach and grab something warm in town.

  • Date or adventure
  • Half day
  • Easy
  • Free
  • Outdoors
  • Daytime

Good with friends, family, and kids

Check before you go: weather and trail conditions

The tide comes back fast around the rock. Head in before it turns, and watch for sneaker waves.

Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach
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Kids' version

Tide pool hunt! Find each sea creature.

  1. The giant rock
  2. A starfish
  3. A green anemone
  4. A bird on the rock
  5. A selfie on the beach!

Checked November 2026

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About this place

Haystack Rock is a 235-foot block of basalt left by lava flows about 15 million years ago, standing right on the beach in Cannon Beach, about 80 miles from Portland. You might know it from The Goonies.

It's part of a national wildlife refuge, and the tide pools around its base are a protected marine garden, so don't climb above the barnacle line. From March to September, look up for tufted puffins nesting on the north side; in summer, volunteers in red are on the beach to help you spot them.

Also in: Free Date Ideas · Kid-Friendly Adventures

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