How to Bike
Seaside in Every Season
If you like to ride a bike, there’s something for everyone in Seaside and something for every season, too. Be it a family of five, an avid mountain biker, friends on a weekend outing, a couple on a date, or someone who likes to combine biking and outdoor exploration, Seaside’s trails and roads, paved and otherwise, have you covered. In fact, there are plenty of reasons to enjoy biking in Seaside throughout the year. Here are some great biking experiences recent visitors have enjoyed in and around Seaside. Get inspired to plan your own trip.
Every summer, I bring my four kids to Seaside for a weeklong vacation. They range in age from 9 to 17, so I need something that they all can enjoy. And year after year, it’s the surrey ride! We get the Double Surrey from Wheel Fun downtown. With a front and back bench seat, four pedals, four wheels, and two steering wheels, there’s room for all five of us under the bright yellow cover. From the rental shop, we cross Broadway and head toward the Aquarium. Then we take a right toward the Convention Center and a left onto Necanicum Drive, riding along the river.
It’s always a clunky ride with kids of varying ages and pedaling abilities trying to move this huge metal bike, but it’s not too difficult and everyone loves it. We start to circle back at 12th Ave. and make our way to the shop via Holladay Dr. There’s usually a lot of laughter and lively banter as we navigate the roads, pay attention to traffic, and try to stop and start without causing a scene. We still have a good laugh about the time we couldn’t turn a corner. We weren’t as coordinated when we first started! We all had to jump out and push the surrey around the corner. Years of practice make us experts now.
This year, I was pleased to have my eldest, Bryan, step up and offer to teach the others how to boogie board in the broken whitewater waves near the shore down by Avenue U. We rented boogie boards and a beach wagon to load all our gear in and headed down to the beach. It took the kids a few tries to get the hang of the boogie board. Caitlin, my youngest, had the most trouble. My heart warmed as I watched Bryan patiently show his sister, over and over again, what she needed to do. When she finally sailed all the way onto the sand on the board, the two of them screamed with delight. This was an incredible way to end our day.
-Liza, 47, Seattle, Washington
For the Family
For the Avid Mountain Biker
Now that I’m retired, I try to get out for a mountain bike ride a few times a week. This time I made a weekend of it in Seaside with some friends of mine—Joe and Dwayne. We’ve been riding together for 10 years on trails all over Oregon, trying to one up each other as we tackle the mountains. After much debate, we chose to bike the Upper Lewis and Clark Mainline, a trail on Lewis and Clark Timberlands. It’s a private tree farm owned by GreenWood Resources, so we made sure to get our permits in advance for our October ride. The timing couldn’t have been better—the weather was perfect and the trail was empty. The payoff at the top was the amazing view from the Coast Range Mountains.
We took the longer loop—22 miles beginning and ending at Entry Gate 71—so by the end of our challenging climb, we were ready to kick back and relax. The bright lights of the Times Theatre and Public House in the heart of downtown Seaside called to us like a flashing bike light. SISU beer is brewed on site in fermentation vats located behind the movie screen. It’s a really cool set up. Their brats are locally made and hit the spot after our vigorous ride. We had such a great time, we’re already planning our return visit for when the new dedicated trails open up in Klootchy Creek County Park.
-Dave, 66, Portland, Oregon
Since my high school friends and I returned to Portland after college, we’ve reunited every spring for a fun weekend getaway. At a minimum, we require a beach and a microbrew. My friend Audrey just got back into biking and remembered riding on the Prom in Seaside when she was younger, so that was our destination this past year. She wanted all of us to join in the fun. I was a little doubtful—we usually relax on these weekends. Plus, I hadn’t ridden a bike in years! I was worried about what to wear and having helmet hair.
We rented bikes from the Prom Bike Shop, owned by a local family who has been operating it since 1968. They’re located just a few blocks off the North end of the Prom, so we started our trip there, heading South. To the West is the huge expanse of sand and ocean, to the East are hotels and picture-perfect beachfront homes. The salty sea air felt so refreshing as we pedaled along. I was actually enjoying myself. Just past the Aquarium we cut onto the streets to check out downtown by bike. Minutes later we were caught in a rain shower!
Helmet hair was going to be bad enough, but soaked too? I wanted to get out of the rain fast! Luckily, we were only a few blocks away from the Seaside Brewing Company, a place we’d put on our “must try” list for the weekend. Although the restaurant is located inside the former jail, I thought it was a cozy way to escape the rain. I loved their Marionberry Hefe and devoured the Wild Salmon BLT. I forgot how hungry being outdoors makes me.
The rain stopped and we were ready to see the rest of town, so we headed down Broadway, around the turnaround, out to the Times Theatre and then turned right to head back south and rejoin the Prom to follow it to the end. On the return trip, we pointed to homes decked out with nautical gear, and chose which one we’d want to own. By the end of it, I was having so much fun that my helmet hair worries were a distant memory.
- Felicia, 28, Portland, Oregon
For the Friends' Getaway
For the Nature Lovers
My partner, Steve, and I are up for a bike ride any time of year, so when he suggested we take a ride this past December on a recent trip to Seaside, I was stoked about the coastal habitats we could explore. We rented a couple of cruisers and rode the whole length of the beach. We stopped along the way to look for sand dollars and crab shells, walking our bikes head down as our eyes scanned the beach. We practically had the beach to ourselves, with the occasional sea bird swooping overhead to check out whether or not we had any snacks.
The real treat, though, was at the north end of the beach in the estuary. This is where the Necanicum River and Neawanna Creek come together, where the freshwater meets the saltwater of the ocean, and where the wildlife gathers, too. It’s such a diverse habitat. We saw cormorants, buffleheads, harlequin ducks, and two blue herons! I impressed Steve with my random fact that cormorants are used in China for fishing.
After we watched the birds, we rode back down the beach and out 12th Avenue. We headed north again at Holladay to check out the view of the estuary from the entirely different viewpoint across from Seaside High School. We’d spent so long examining the fine details of this rich environment that it was nice to take a step (or a ride) back and view the whole picture from a sweeping vantage point.
- Chris, 53, Vancouver, Washington
Last year, my boyfriend, Jorge, and I had been working so hard over the summer, we didn’t get much of a break. So, we decided to take a romantic fall weekend trip to Seaside. Both of us have biked before, but I suggested we try something new—a tandem bike! Given our busy schedules the past few months, I figured this would be a good way to get in sync again. It took some getting used to, but after a while we finally got the hang of starting and stopping together.
Jorge gained some serous points as he navigated us through town. We took a peaceful ride along quiet streets toward the Cove. He had found the perfect spot for a romantic picnic lunch, complete with a great view of the beach and town. I loved that we had finally found time to reconnect amid this beautiful backdrop and soundscape of crashing waves.
I had such a great time that I convinced Jorge to try the Fun Cycles the next day. It was quite a different experience, but maybe even more fun! The low-to-the-ground recumbent bikes picked up speed easily with the wind at our back, making for an exhilarating ride. Plus, I could make donuts in the sand! I had fun getting Jorge’s clothes wet as we rode through the water left behind by the receding tide. This was just the break we needed.
- Claudia, 36, Hillsboro, Oregon
For the Couples
Choose how you'd like to bike seaside
