Nehalem Bay State Park

Nehalem Bay is an area just south of Manzanita. It's a state park but it is well maintained and has plenty of parking. You pay a fee to use the facilities so you're less likely to find over-crowded conditions here like some of the other destinations along the coast. Also, getting to the beach is quite a challenge. You'll be climbing uphill through sand for what seems like forever though it probably is only about 100 yards or so. Once you get to the other side of the hill (beach area), take a good look back at where you came through the dunes. If there is not a lot of other foot traffic to the beach the wind will cover up your footsteps in the sand pretty quickly and you could end up spending a good deal of time and energy figuring out how to get back to the parking area! The day I was there it was very windy, the beach was empty, and the place had a desolate, "middle-of-nowhere" feel to it. (taken with Canon PowerShot SX150)