The town of Manzanita is nestled at the base of Neahkahnie Mountain, a 1600-foot peak that juts out into the Pacific Ocean from the coast, providing a spectacular backdrop to the scenery along the beach. For hiking enthusiasts, trekking up to the Neahkahnie summit on a clear day is a must; the views along the shoreline down to Tillamook Bay are magnificent, and make the challenging climb well worth the effort. For those who prefer less strenuous activity, a long walk along Manzanita's beach stretches from the base of the mountain to the Nehalem Bay Jetty, where seals lounge on rocks as pelicans and eagles fly overhead.

The town itself has just enough retail and restaurant options to meet the needs of most travelers, while feeling considerably more intimate than the more developed downtowns of Cannon Beach and Seaside. Along the main drag of Laneda Avenue, visitors can enjoy cardamom cinnamon rolls at the Bread & Ocean Bakery, a cold pint at the San Dune Pub, and pick out a floatable Frisbee at Four Paws on the Beach; after all, Manzanita is one of the most dog-friendly spots along the Coast! The town even offers a natural-foods grocery and a few lovely bookstores, perfect for browsing on rainy days.

Manzanita sits just fifteen minutes south of Cannon Beach's upscale boutiques and galleries, and within half an hour of Seaside's bustling boardwalks. Heading south along Highway 101, the fisheries and seafood markets near Rockaway Beach are only twenty minutes away and the bigger-city amenities (along with a certain cheese factory) are within a forty-minute drive to Tillamook. Manzanita is just under two hours' drive from Portland, and four hours from Seattle, making it easily accessible but certainly isolated and intimate enough to provide a truly relaxing Oregon Coast experience.