Oregon Coast tour from Portland: Goonies House, Cannon Beach

Walk a four-masted shipwreck and time Haystack Rock to the tide

An 8.5-hour small-group tour from Portland to the Oregon Coast for up to six travelers, with a live English-speaking guide and door-to-door pickup. The route covers Astoria's Goonies House and waterfront, Fort Stevens State Park's Battery Russell and the Peter Iredale shipwreck, then Indian Beach and Ecola Point before ending at Cannon Beach, where the guide reads the tide table that morning to time your arrival at Haystack Rock's tide pools.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Oregon Coast landmarks

• View Goonies House exterior
• Visit Hanthorn Cannery Museum
• Climb Pigeon Steps for views
• Explore Battery Russell at Fort Stevens
• Walk around Peter Iredale shipwreck
• Visit Indian Beach in Ecola State Park
• Admire views at Ecola Point
• Stop at Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock

Stops and time spent at each 8 stops

1. Goonies House 10m
2. Hanthorn Cannery Museum 20m
3. Astoria 10m
4. Fort Stevens State Park Entry included 30m
5. Peter Iredale Ship Wreck Entry included 25m
6. Indian Beach Entry included 30m
7. Ecola State Park Entry included 30m
8. Cannon Beach 30m

What’s included

• Bottled water.
• shared small-group transportation in an air-conditioned vehicle.
• Oregon State Park day-use fees at Ecola State Park and Fort Stevens.
• all parking.

Times

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• Every day 09:00

Information

Small-group Oregon Coast tour from Portland visiting the Goonies House in Astoria, Fort Stevens' Battery Russell, the Peter Iredale shipwreck.

Group Up to 6

Live guide English and Chinese

Meeting point and pickup Hotel pickup included. See the pickup points

Book up to 1d before

Ages Adult (12 and older) · Child (3 to 11 years) · Infant (under 3)

Cancellation and refunds Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund. It may be canceled due to bad weather or if the minimum number of travelers isn't reached. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Good to know

Low physical effort Infant seats available Public transport nearby

More information The pickup points, the operator’s instructions and every other detail are in the full listing. See the full listing

Traveler reviews

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The experience

What makes this tour work is the tide. Haystack Rock transforms twice a day: at low water the pools around its base fill with sea stars, anemones and crabs, and from April to early July tufted puffins nest on the upper slopes. Your guide checks the tide table on the morning of your tour and times the final stop to it, so you get the version that day actually offers. The rest of the route builds toward that moment: eight stops that move from film locations inland to the open coast, each one a reason to step out of the van.

The day starts at the Goonies House in Astoria, a white Victorian on a bluff above the Columbia River where the 1985 film opens. You view and photograph it from the public street. The current owners restored the exterior to its 1985 appearance and the guide points out the porch, the attic window and the driveway the kids pedal down. From there the route moves through Astoria's waterfront: Pier 39's Hanthorn Cannery Museum with its preserved equipment and vintage labels, the boardwalk where you can spot working tugboats and listen for sea lions beneath the pier, and Pigeon Steps, a historic staircase overlooking the city and Columbia River. Fort Stevens comes next: Battery Russell is a concrete gun emplacement you can walk straight into, with stairwells, magazines, observation posts and gun wells all open. On the night of June 21, 1942, a Japanese submarine surfaced offshore and fired seventeen shells at this battery: the only mainland U.S. military installation shelled by an enemy during World War II. The shells fell into sand. The confirmed casualties were a power line and a baseball backstop.

The Peter Iredale is the most photographed shipwreck on the West Coast and the easiest to reach: the rust-red ribs of this four-masted steel barque sit right out on the open beach where you can walk up and put a hand on them. She went ashore here on October 25, 1906, in a sudden gale, and every crew member survived. At low water you can walk the full circle around her with the wreck doubled in the wet sand. Indian Beach, inside Ecola State Park, is where Twilight filmed First Beach at La Push: a small cove of dark sand between two headlands with surf breaking over black basalt. Bring a jacket. It is colder and windier than Cannon Beach. Ecola Point offers a scenic overlook high above the ocean where you can see Cannon Beach, Haystack Rock and the historic Tillamook Rock Lighthouse offshore. The tour ends on Cannon Beach itself, four miles of flat sand where the Goonies finale was shot, and where Haystack Rock (235 feet tall and an Oregon Marine Garden) waits for the tide your guide timed that morning.

Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English and Chinese.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (3 to 11 years); Infant (under 3).

What happens if it rains?

It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.

What is the Peter Iredale and why can you walk right up to it?

The Peter Iredale is a four-masted steel barque that ran ashore on the Oregon Coast on October 25, 1906, during a sudden gale. The rust-red skeleton of the ship sits on the open beach where you can walk up and touch it. At low tide you can walk the full circle around her with the wreck reflected in the wet sand.

Can you actually see tufted puffins at Haystack Rock?

Tufted puffins nest on the upper slopes of Haystack Rock from April to early July, making it one of the most accessible puffin colonies in North America. Your guide times the final stop to the tide that day, so you arrive when the tide pools are full and visibility is best.

Why does the tour visit Fort Stevens State Park?

Fort Stevens guarded the mouth of the Columbia River from the Civil War until 1947. Battery Russell is the part you can walk straight into: stairwells, magazines, observation posts and gun wells, all open and quiet. On June 21, 1942, a Japanese submarine surfaced offshore and fired seventeen shells at this battery, making Fort Stevens the only mainland U.S. military installation shelled by an enemy during World War II.

Is Indian Beach the same place as the Twilight filming location?

Indian Beach, inside Ecola State Park, stood in for First Beach at La Push in the 2008 Twilight film: the driftwood shore where Bella walks with Jacob. The production moved here from Washington because it was closer to the rest of the Oregon schedule. Point Break was also filmed here.

How does the tour handle the Goonies House visit?

The Goonies House is a private residence in Astoria, so you view and photograph it from the public street. The current owners are fans who restored the exterior to its 1985 appearance. Your guide points out the porch, the attic window and the driveway the kids pedal down at the start of the film.

Operated by JIUZE Tours. Explorevia does not run this tour: we compare it with similar options, and you book it with our booking partner.

Prices and times updated 3 days ago