INDIAN BEACH, OREGON

Before I started looking into my trip to Oregon, I googled the phrase “emptiest beaches in Oregon.” A whole list of beaches popped up, and I scrolled through all of them, but one stuck out to me—Cannon Beach. The haystack rocks looked incredible, and there was a little Airbnb nearby in Seaside (we actually did end up staying there, and you can see a previous blog post about it here!).

As I started talking to one of my coworkers about it a few months later, he told me that Cannon Beach was one of the most tourist filled beaches in Oregon. I was so sad! I wanted to sit on a quiet beach with my mom, not on a quiet beach with hundreds of strangers. Then, someone told my mom about a little hideaway called Indian Beach. We decided to put it on our list, and it was probably our favorite part of the trip.

As we headed toward the beach, we walked down some boardwalk steps hidden in the trees. Then, we found our way through a little tunnel of hedges full of bright green leaves that were practically sparkling in the sun. There were people walking with surfboards, and it was just the right temperature.

When we reached the end, everything opened up, and we took our shoes off to walk in the sand. The water and the sky were so blue, and the large rocks towered over the horizon. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.

The beach was empty enough that we could wander without bothering anybody, and after moving closer to the shoreline, we found some tiny seashells. We even found one that looked like a sparkly mermaid scale. Who knows, maybe the mermaids have been hiding out at Indian Beach all along.

Out in the ocean, we could see Tillamook Rock Lighthouse. It really peaked our interest, and I found myself staring at it for quite some time. I learned that some Native Americans believed that when rocks like Tillamook rise from the ocean, there are ocean tunnels underneath inhabited by spirits that came to the surface. I always love colorful legends like that.

After capturing some photos of the magnificent rock and climbing on a few, I was sold (if I hadn’t already been before!). The strong waves were incredible, and the colors of the ocean were pretty much all of my favorite colors together. We put our feet in the cold water for a while before trekking back through the sand to lay a towel out in the sun.

This was only my second time seeing the ocean. The first time I saw it, I was a little girl, so I barely remember it. This time it was different. It was magical. I took more in this time. The way the ocean went on forever, the way the air felt on my skin. Everything about it was just what I had hoped it would be.

Finally, we headed to the other side of Ecola state park to view Cannon Beach and Crescent Beach from the overlook. It was so beautiful that I didn’t even mind the tourists. The rocks in the ocean looked like the perfect spot for a mermaid to sit.

Unfortunately, my dress and my cover-up are both sold out! You can shop some other cover-ups that I think are cute here, here and here.

Going to Oregon was one of my favorite summer adventures of all time. Thank you for following along with me!
xx, Haley