Rockaway Beach, Oregon

Rockaway Beach has a beach that is more than 7 miles long and can be accessed from nearly two dozen places along its length.

Among the most popular annual events are the Kite Festival in May and the Fourth of July celebration, the latter of which includes a parade and daytime beach activities.

Currently in Rockaway Beach 47° A SHOWER Humidity: 100 Visibility: 7 Wind: WNW 10-day forecast

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Area Attractions Visit the Rockaway Beach tourism information site to learn about our 7 miles of pristine sand, our Twin Rocks, lakes, conference facilities, seasonal festivals and our family- & pet-friendly atmosphere. Tillamook Forest Center in Tillamook The Center, owned and operated by the Oregon Department of Forestry, offers an active program of interpretive events ranging from bluegrass concerts to wildflower walks. The Tillamook Cheese Factory is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the state with nearly a million visitors a year. Tillamook Air Museum The hangar was constructed for the U.S. Navy for the home base for blimps to be used in anti-submarine missions.

Nearby Lodging Silver Sands Resort Motel, in Rockaway Beach, is uniquely located on the Northern Oregon Coast. Whether you're visiting for business or vacationing in our scenic wonderland, the Silver Sands will make your visit a most pleasurable one. Best Western Inn & Suites - Tillamook A Three-story building with 51 spacious comfortable rooms. All rooms come with refrigerator, microwave, iron and coffee maker. Choose from a comfortable king bed or the convenience of two queen beds. Oregon Beach Vacations chooses our vacation rental homes with great care and always with guest comfort in mind. Working closely with each homeowner, we continually strive to maintain the high standards of each home, ensuring you a pleasantly relaxing vacation. In Pacific City Sandlake Country Inn Voted "Most Romantic Hideaway" by Inn Traveler Magazine! Nestled on the scenic Oregon coast near Pacific City, Sandlake Country Inn offers luxury and privacy rarely found.

In addition to its beach, Rockaway Beach has a series of lakes that run north and south adjacent to U.S. Highway 101. These lakes are the remnants of what was the ancient channel of the Nehalem River, which at one time emptied into the Pacific Ocean at Garibaldi. The largest of the lakes, Lake Lytle, has a boat launch facility operated by Tillamook County.

There are several small local parks in Rockaway Beach, including the Twin Rocks Turnaround at 19820 Breaker Ave., which offers a handicapped-accessible path to the beach. Other county and state parks are nearby, including Nehalem Bay State Park to the north, Tillamook State Forest to the east and Barview Jetty Park to the south.

HISTORY

In the beginning . . . 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.

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.

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.

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.

The City limits of Rockaway Beach now encompasses 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."