Home Base

Designed to capture the feel of a 1940s beach resort, the Craftsman-inspired Ocean Lodge (888-777-4047, theoceanlodge.com) skews romantic in the summer, but come storm season its covers all the key notes: oceanfront views to look upon the fury, private beach to get some spray in your face and gas fireplaces in all the rooms to help the drying and warming process along. And your reward for braving the elements? A never-empty jar in the lobby stocked with warm cookies.

As tempting as it is to stay ensconced, you're here for the action: don hat and rain slicker, and beachcomb the wide expanse of sand in the shadow of magnificent Haystack Rock. This imposing, 72-metre-high dome is home to many birds, including tufted puffins, gulls and cormorants. But stay off—while the rock is temptingly accessible during low tides, the Coast Guard regularly airlifts stranded climbers from its precipitous sides.

Warm Up with a Cup

This area worships coffee all year, but a warm mug becomes a necessity come winter. Sleepy Monk is Shangri-La for the caffeine-fuelled, with specially roasted, certified organic and fair-trade beans and fresh local pastries stacked high and deep. Their new restaurant, Irish Table, is just next door and seems created for the blustery, wet days—hunks of soda bread to dip into a bowl of curried mussels and a Guinness float (which is exactly what is sounds like) for dessert (1235 S. Hemlock St., 503-436-2796, sleepymonkcoffee.com).

In the Thick

Everyone wants to know how to surf, and the Cannon Beach shore break, boring for serious surfers, is perfect to learn on. The winter waves are best, and the water is pretty much the same temperature it is in August. Cannon Beach Surf (1088 S. Hemlock St., cannonbeachsurf.com) will set you up with easy foam boards, fat wetsuits and some lessons. You'll go from kook to grommet in no time. (Or is it the other way around?)

Fix It

Cannon Beach Hardware seems created by a Hollywood set designer looking to channel a hardware store from the good ol' days. You can get firewood, a pint of local microbrew, a can of paint and, if you want to sit down and watch NFL, peanuts and popcorn. They also have the finest dogs on the coast. Almost makes you want to build a fence somewhere (503-436-4086, cannonbeachhardware.com).

Stretch

Just outside of town, hikers should explore the four-kilometre Clatsop Loop Trail, a new interpretive trail that winds along the coastline. It's Oregon in a nutshell: a forest of towering trees, some historic World War II gun batteries, and an iconic view of the Tillamook Rock lighthouse to cap it off.

Parting Shot

People may argue about the best meal on the coast, but the best view, hands down, is at the Wayfarer (503-436-1108, wayfarer-restaurant.com). With Haystack Rock as a backdrop, peruse a wine list heavy in pinot noirs from the nearby Willamette Valley. It's the postcard-perfect ending to a winter weekend. wl