Beach time at Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach

We spent three gorgeous days at Cannon Beach: sunshine, bright blue sky, light breeze, beach walks, colorful sunsets, an awesome view from our room and being able to check out Haystack Rock at low tide!

 I did a little research on Haystack Rock to share with you.

Haystack Rock at low tide

The rock is composed of  basalt formed by lava flows emanating from the Grand Ronde Mountains 10 to 17 million years ago. The lava flows created many of the Oregon coast's natural features, including Tillamook Head, Arch Cape, and Saddle Mountain. Haystack Rock was once joined to the coastline but years of erosion have since separated the monolith from the coast. Three smaller, adjacent rock formations to the south of Haystack Rock are collectively called "The Needles".

Two of the "needles"

Haystack Rock is a 235-foot (72-meter) sea stack in Cannon Beach, Oregon. It is claimed locally to be the third-tallest "intertidal" (it can be reached by land) structure in the world. The monolithic rock is adjacent to the beach and accessible by foot at low tide. The Haystack Rock tide pools are home to many intertidal animals, including starfish, sea anemone, crabs, chitons, limpets, muscles, and sea slugs.

The rock is also a nesting site for many sea birds including seagulls, cormorants, and puffins. It was entertaining to watch the mass of birds flying around the rock in the evening, picking their landing place for the night. Watching the puffins in the morning at low tide was a treat!

Hard to see, but all those tiny white dots are birds!

This seagull posed for us on our deck railing

Did I mention the view from our room and the sunsets? Perfect!

A lovely time!