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CLAMMING, CRABBING, FISHING: Netarts Bay - clean & pure - is great for crabbing & clamming. Check to make sure it's allowed because sometimes there are certain plankton in the water (called red tides) which make the shellfish toxic to eat. Josi's Deli in Netarts usually has clam shovels for sale - and they would know if the bay or ocean are closed due to red tide. Netarts Bay RV Park, 503-842-7774, rents boats with crab rings. You can not really harvest oysters because they are commercially farmed here. You can buy fresh oysters in the shell to take-out from Whiskey Creek BBQ & Grill, however. You can find fishing guides or charter trips, both for river and ocean fishing, on the docks in Garibaldi or via Tillamook Chamber of Commerce (link provided below).
KAYAKING: There are kayak rentals in Tillamook on Hwy. 101 North. Lake Meares by Cape Meares is a quiet lake for kayaking without waves. Flat water paddling on Dougherty and Harquarton slough is a unique experience. Since you are not part of a group, you can choose your start and finish times, you can paddle at your own speed and you can choose your own route! The Dougherty and Harquarton Sloughs are calm and serene and a great place to kayak and leave civilization behind. Explore the exotic and ever-changing estuary with soaring eagles, hawks and a wide variety of birds, plants and water life. 503-812-3913 Kim Combs. The local community college can book kayaking instructions for you and/or for your group: http://www.tbcc.cc.or.us/%7Ewater/
GOING TO THE BEACH: Happy Camp in Netarts is one great place to access the beach. There is a public parking lot and there are restrooms too. You can walk for miles along sandy beaches on most days.
Cape Lookout campground has a great day use parking area and you can hike 2.5 miles to the end of Netarts Spit where herons & sometimes pelicans frequent, and seals bask on the beach.
Of course, there's the Oceanside wayside (also with restrooms) where you can go through the tunnel (at your own risk, of course).
Farther North you can park by Radar Road and use the stairs to go through a natural cave at low tide - but it fills up very quickly and without warning with the incoming tide so be extremely careful! There are tidepools in the cave with starfish & sea anemone.
Finally, driving North to Cape Meares you can access the 5 mile spit and hike down to where the town of Bayocean used to sit prior to being washed into the sea. We've been told that one can still find remnants of the foundations of the old town. There are no bathrooms there, however.
REMEMBER TO BE CAUTIOUS at the beach, especially with children! NEVER turn your back on the ocean. Sneaker waves can surprise you and pull you out to sea. Also, check the tide tables before going for walks or climbing on rocks, you could become stranded as the tides come in without warning. It is definitely not obvious the tide is coming in, especially if you're paying attention to other things. NEVER climb on logs because a sneaker wave can cause one to roll over you. Please stay clear of bluffs due to falling rocks.
OTHER HIKES: Try hiking around the bluffs and through the woods by the Cape Meares Lighthouse.
FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS: Our favorite restaurants within 1/2 hour drive are:
Roseanna's, Oceanside (Sunset Magazine said it's one of the best on the coast)
Whiskey Creek BBQ & Grill, Netarts - lunch & dinner
Rachel's Family Restaurant, Netarts - breakfast (good ol' fashioned style)
Alice's Country House, 8 mi. W of Tillamook (ditto)
La Mexicana, Tillamook (Great seafood dishes)
La Tea Da, Tillamook - lunch, tea (delectable - you can usually order scones to take out if you call ahead)
Blue Heron, Tillamook - lunch (homemade bread on their roast turkey sandwich)
Tillamook Cheese Factory - lunch (best ice cream in the world with homemade waffle cones)
Pelican Pub, Pacific City - lunch, dinner (pub style fare, delish)
The Riverhouse, Pacific City - dinner (very rich & European - best French onion soup)
Grateful Bread, Pacific City -breakfast & lunch (the name says it all)
Artspace Cafe & Gallery, Bay City (4 mi N of Tillamook)- dinner (gourmet fare)
Pacific Oyster, Bay City - lunch (fresh fresh fish & crab)
Pirate's Cove, Garibaldi (approx. 9 mi N of Tillamook) - lunch & dinner (fabulous view, incredible seafood meals)
FRESH SEAFOOD: Either at Pacific Oyster, Bay City or on the dock in Garibaldi.
PERSONAL CHEF: Take a vacation from cooking! Coastal Cuisine Personal Chef Service is a new business catering to visitors to the Netarts-Oceanside area. Chef Linda Shaffer (and husband, Nick) provide a selection of menus for you to choose from. They will shop for, prepare and store your meals in your vacation rental home for a weekend or a week! Specialties include: seafood, creative side dishes, desserts and authentic Mexican food. Linda is a graduate of the Culinary Business Academy and a member of the United States Personal Chef Association. Coastal Cuisine is bonded and insured. Phone: 503-842-9993 or 503-801-2677. E-mail address: coastalcuisine@iinet.com.
One reference came directly from one of our Sea Haven Guests, Mary Price from Portland, OR:
"First of all, thank you for the use of your beach house on Friday night! It was absolutely gorgeous and I will definitely be recommending it to anyone looking for a beach escape. It was spacious, clean and had such an awesome view... Secondly, please let Linda know that the food she had prepared for us was spectacular! Everything tasted as delicious as it looked. Her note was very helpful and everything warmed up just beautifully. The brownie cake was a wonderful surprise! I would recommend her service most highly to anyone wanting to pamper themselves with delicious, well-planned meals while vacationing at the beach!"
SPECIALTY GROCERIES: Fred Meyer & Safeway are well stocked but pretty limited as to specialty items, catering mostly to very basic preferences.
On Thursdays, Mikki Gruber delivers farm fresh eggs & salad greens & other organic veggies to your door. Her email address is: gruber@oregoncoast.com .
Otherwise, in Netarts, there are 2 small "mom & pop" grocery stores. Between the 2 of them you can usually rustle-up enough fresh foods for a great meal.
Also, there is a small grocery store in Pacific City which seems to carry a few more gourmet type items than the Tillamook grocers.
Four Seasons & Haggen in Hillsboro, however, are excellent for stocking up with things you can't find in Tillamook (like Asiago cheese) on your way through. Haggen is very near the freeway (Hwy. 26) off the 185th exit.
HORSEBACK RIDING: So many people ask, but no one seems to rent horses in this area any more - insurance rates have gone so high! There is a group riding program at the Nehalem Bay State Park, which is about 40 minutes North of Oceanside: http://www.horserental.occybercafe.com/horse.shtml .
WHEN IT RAINS: Swim at the Y in Tillamook, go bowling on 3rd Street, snuggle or play a game with your family by the fire, take in a movie in Tillamook... or, there might just be a play at the local Performing Arts theater: http://www.tillamooktheater.com/iolanthe.htm .
Want to see more of Oceanside & Netarts before you decide? Check-out the surf cam on this web site: http://www.oceansideoregon.com . In addition to the wealth of information, the Live Surf Cam and Aerial Tour are worth the wait: http://www.virtual-oceanside.com/community.asp .
LOCAL NEWSPAPER & CHAMBER OF COMMERCE LINK:
http://www.tillamookheadlightherald.com
http://www.tillamookchamber.org
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