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Rockaway Beach is a quaint, old-fashioned Oregon Coast
town, with cozy coffee shops, family owned restaurants
and a great selection of fun antique, thrift and classic
beach-town fudge/taffy shops. At the center of town, right
off Highway 101 is the Rockaway Beach Wayside, which is
a great public beach access with ample parking, and summertime
artist markets. The Wayside is also a stop for the Oregon
Coast Scenic Railway, a vintage locomotive that takes
tourists on a scenic round trip along the coast from Tillamook
to Nehalem. The beautiful Twin Rocks monoliths stand just
off the shore of the south end of Rockaway Beach, and
is a wonderful spot for beach combing, with a lot of shells
and driftwood washing ashore. Rockaway Beach is one of
4 small towns in a stretch along Highway 101 that are
becoming a tourist destination for their great selection
of antique and vintage shops.
Rockaway
Beach is the perfect location on the northern coast, being
only 90 minutes from Portland, and within an hour's drive
up or down the coast from the other Oregon Coast popular
destinations, such as the Tillamook Cheese Factory, Astoria's
Historic Fort Clatsop and Fort Stevens, and Newport's
Oregon Coast Aquarium. The northern coast is also a great
stretch for taking in the many historic light houses Oregon
has to offer.
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Below are links to many of the popular destinations along the
Northern Oregon Coast.
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Activities
- Beachcombing on Rockaway Beach and Twin Rocks
- Hiking and mountain biking trails within minutes from
the cottage
- Canoeing and swimming in nearby Lake Lytle and Spring
Lake (1 mile away)
- Crabbing and fishing at Nehalem Bay & Garibaldi
( 4 miles away)
- Ride the Oregon
Coast Explorer Scenic Railroad from Downtown Rockaway
Beach
- Take a short stroll to Downtown Rockaway Beach?s coffee
shops, restaurants, and unique gift shops
- Critter and birdwatch right from the Cottage deck
- Explore Rockaway Beach?s wetlands reserve with it?s
many hiking trails
- Visit nearby Tillamook?s
Cheese Factory and the Tillamook
Air Museum (12 miles away)
- Tidepooling at Bar View (2 miles south) and Arch Cape
and Haystack Rock (15- 20 min. drive north)
- Tour Cape
Meares Lighthouse and State Park and the Octopus
Tree
- Visit the Latimer
Quilt and Textile Museum
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Links
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A History of Rockaway Beach
Before the jetties were built in the early 1900's, there was
a wide sandy beach all the way from Garibaldi to Nehalem Bay.
This beach served as the only access to this area, which was
then known as "Garibaldi Beaches." The area remained
nearly isolated to all but a few hearty souls who would drive
up the beach by horse and wagon or walk during low tide.
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After several unsuccessful plans for a railroad line from
Portland to Tillamook, the Pacific Railway and Navigation
Company promoted by Elmer E. Lytle opened to Hillsboro in
1906, and the first steam engine was delivered to the Tillamook
end about 1907. The coastal land homestead claims, once considered
near worthless, took on a new value, and a flurry of subdividing
into townsites took place from 1909 on. About 1910, the Pacific
Railway and Navigation line ran flatcars as far as Salmonberry,
and the first train from Portland arrived in Tillamook in
October, 1911. The railroad was the vital factor in the development
of the Rockaway area.
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The train from Portland back in the teens and 20's was the
main mode of transportation to the coastal communities. It
was an all day, dusty, long trip by car over gravel and plank
roads, so the old steam trains played an important role in
those early days. The train left Portland around 9 a.m. and
arrived in the Rockaway area about 2:30 p.m. An extra engine
was used to help it over the summit.
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The first passenger train came to Rockaway in 1912. At all
the beach resorts in those days, it was quite an occasion
when the Friday afternoon train arrived, bringing the daddies
who were joining their families for the week-end, thus earning
the name of "Daddy-Train."
Today you will find "The Little Red Caboose" that
serves as The Rockaway Beach Chamber of Commerce office set
up at the Wayside as a symbol and tribute to these beginnings.
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Today, the City limits of Rockaway encompass the sundivisions
or townsites from north to south named Manhattan, Highland
Park Addition to Manhattan, Moroney Town, Lake Lytle, Beal's
Addition to Lake Lytle: Seaview Park, Rockaway Beach, Elmore
Park, Tillamook Beach (known as Saltair), Midway Beach, Twin
Rocks, and a small portion of Ocean Lake Park. Information
about these developments was gleaned from old abstracts, plat
filings and records, as well as the stories of the early settlers
and "summer people."
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