Tillamook Coast This coastal region is a watery, culinary, cheesy—and collaborative—wonderland written by James Sinks
Tillamook Coast Visitors Association
PRIOR TO statehood, there was no easy overland route to Tillamook Bay. So, before refrigeration was a thing, settlers had to rely on faster seafaring shippers to transport dairy and farm products to market in more populous Astoria and Portland. Thus, when traders said in the 1850s they’d no longer make the treacherous trek into the bay, it could have been disastrous. Cranky and motivated, the community came together and built its own boat, milling local lumber and scrounging metal and sails from nearby shipwrecks. Local tribal members even aided in the construction of what became the state’s first christened ship, and the Morning Star of Tillamook made its maiden voyage in 1855. It stands as an example of an apt oxymoron—independent cooperation—that still defines the Tillamook Coast. In 1909, family dairies teamed to create the Tillamook County Creamery Association, paying $10 each to get it started. Now, working
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together, they produce some of the best cheddar on the planet (and other delicious stuff to test your lactose tolerance). In the 1950s, after a series of “Tillamook Burn” forest fires scorched the coast range, the sawmill-supported community helped in the massive reforestation effort. More recently, independent food producers joined to showcase the region’s surf-turf-and-farm bounty, collectively calling themselves the North Coast Food Trail. And after years of reluctance, strongheaded locals who saw Tillamook only as a timber-and-farm economy have been swayed by a collaborative tourism sector. “Tourism used to be a dirty word here, but not anymore,” said Nan Devlin, director of the Tillamook Coast Visitors Association, before a recent gala awards banquet celebrating everything from breweries to bookstores to museums. The welcome mat is officially out. The mat also might be a little rain-soaked in these parts, but don’t let that dampen your excitement for a packed—and flavorful—itinerary. Prowl uncrowded beaches and trails. Ride the rails. Unleash adrenaline in the sand. Float the bay. Actually catch some dinner. And, of course, ignore calorie labels and your doctor, and sample the cheese and the ice cream with abandon. Tillamook is abundant enough to fill a weekend— and your cooler—and then some.
