Oregon beach sunsets, simply put are breathtakingly beautiful. Sorting files and saving my recent Hawaii adventures, I stumbled across my file of sunsets.  It’s a big one and this is where I’ve decided take you on a sunset tour that begins in Oregon.  Beach sunsets in Oregon are some of the most incredible sunsets I’ve ever seen.  “My” beach is Manzanita.  We have a little house in this quintessential beach town and it is heaven.

A Manzanita Oregon orange ombre beach sunset with finger-like projections off the top of a crashing wave that appear to cradle or hold the sun.

Cradling the setting sun in its watery fingers of a crashing wave, the ocean bids a good night.

First stop, Manzanita

About 1 hour west of Portland and 20 minutes South is the town of Manzanita. Occasionally called the Banana Belt of the northern coast,  the town is protected from the North winds by Neakahnie Mountain and warmed by the winds that blow down the south side of the mountain. These warm winds keep the marine layers at bay.  On occasion, they produce warm, sunny days despite the cold and cloudy rain that shroud nearby towns to the North and South. Manzanita is also one of my favorite spots to watch the ocean waves roll in. I love watching too, as the sun bathes in the sea on its way to bed producing stunning Oregon beach sunsets.

Glowing orange sunset over the ocean at Manzanita, Oregon. The bright yellow sun sits just above a varied set of clouds hovering over the horizon lighting the edges of the tops of the clouds in a sparkling glow. Gentle waves roll in onto the beach with silhouetted sea grass blowing in the foreground at the bottom.

Sending summer good-night vibes from the setting sun over a cloud lined horizon over the ocean.

Manzanita’s Charm

Quaint shops and restaurants line the main street of Laneda Ave.  Fresh fish, pizza, Mexican, good coffee, ice cream, and a candy shop that carries the sweets of everyone’s childhood can be found here.  It’s the beach for me though.  Long and sloping, the winter’s wild surf steals the sand away and then the summer’s gentle waves bring it back.  Because of the long shallow slope of the beach, the summer sun warms the shallow waters making for fun memories of dancing in the waves, building sand castles, and endless hours of the dogs chasing balls.  In addition, on breezy days, you will find wind and kite surfers cutting through the waves. The sunsets though…

A warm sunset setting with large crashing waves rolling in onto the beach in Manzanita, Oregon as a silhouetted woman in a sundress and the breeze catching her hair dances with a silhouetted man on the beach.

Dancing to their own music, a couple enjoys the setting sun on Manzanita beach in Oregon.

If you’d like to adorn your wall with a gorgeous Oregon sunset (or other lands – follow along to see), visit my Sunset shop