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Where Lewis and Clark Go For Good Salt Water Taffy

By: Steven Rinella

Seaside, Oregon, has a distinction in the American West of being a nineteenth-century town designed specifically as a place for families to go for a good time. The town was developed in the 1870s near the western terminus of the Corps of Discovery’s travels by Ben Holladay, an eccentric railroad- and ship-builder from Portland. He had in mind a place where weekend-trippers out of Portland could go to experience Ferris wheels and corn dogs on the Western frontier. A couple of Seaside’s first structures were a zoo and a racetrack, and Holladay decreed that whenever a captain of one of his ships passed Seaside they were to fire off cannons.
Now, 130 years later, his vision lives on in expanded form, though (thankfully) minus the cannons. Seaside has only a few thousand permanent residents, but come weekends the population swells with nearby city-dwellers. In the summer out-of-state tourists make the town’s rim overflow as NO VACANCY signs kick on at what seems like thousands of hotels. Accommodation prices are directly proportional to their proximity to the water. Obviously, the closer you get the more you’ll pay. But it’s worth it for the scenery and convenience.
These throngs of people aren’t just showing up to feel crowded, so it’s easy to see that there’s a lot of stuff going on in and around Seaside. The town is basically laid out around the main street, Broadway, and a two-mile-long promenade that follows the Pacific’s shoreline. Broadway provides a good sample of Seaside’s economy; it’s a laid-back bustle of galleries, arcades, souvenir shops, antique stores, saltwater taffy vendors and ice cream stands. Even without the sugar, it’s enough to make the most mild-mannered kid go ecstatic. To wind down after the festivities of Broadway there’s a great beach with three on-duty lifeguards in Seaside. The water is usually super cold, but a quick dip wouldn’t kill anyone. From the beach you can launch sea-kayaking trips. It’s possible to rent virtually any mode of transportation in Seaside, ranging from land-based devices like mopeds and roller blades to aquatic implements such as water wings and two-person kayaks.
At the west end of Broadway is the Turnaround, an arbitrarily placed marker and monument to the end of Lewis and Clark’s westward journey. Eight blocks south is the Salt Works, a replica of the cairn used by the expedition to produce salt for preserving food. Flying overhead the monument is a 15-stared and striped flag, one of only three in the country that are allowed to be officially flown. Seaside also has a Lewis and Clark Historical Drama, performing reenactments of the final leg of the journey.
The Seaside Historical Museum has a surprisingly good collection of Native American artifacts and photos of Lewis and Clark reenactments, along with a piece of the largest Douglas Fir ever found, measuring in at 15’ 7” in diameter.
Another pretty cool thing near Seaside is the Tillamook Lighthouse. Anchored to a wave-swept rock, the lighthouse’s construction, begun in 1879, drug on for years because storms kept blowing the incomplete foundations away. They eventually got it right and the lighthouse still stands, though it’s accessed only by helicopter and only for the purpose of spreading the ashes of the dead. Whales frequently migrate past this point. They can be viewed from Tillamook Head as they travel between the Baja Peninsula and the Bering Sea. If the whales aren’t happening then maybe you can catch some Roosevelt elk at the Jewell Meadows Wildlife Area, which provides wintering habitat for a variety of wildlife species. Saddle Mountain is a scenic guarantee, as the highest peak on the coastal range stays put 365 days a year.
For the most part, cuisine in Seaside goes well with the carnival midway aura that dominates the town. There are lots of two-dollar fried starches and cotton candy, but you can also find some excellent, fresh seafood if you hunt around a little. And if the bustle and garish aesthetic of Seaside ever wears a little thin, there’s always Cannon Beach just eight miles to the south. It’s known for tasteful subtlety, classy art, and a pseudo-bohemian population that likes things slow and quiet. Just think of Cannon Beach as Seaside’s alter ego.