Fall in Cannon Beach: Cottage Tour, Stormy Weather & the Quiet Season

Fall in Cannon Beach has a rhythm all its own.

After Labor Day, the pace begins to shift. The summer crowds thin, mornings become a little quieter, and those of us who live here start settling into what I think is one of the best times of year on the Oregon Coast.

There are still plenty of things happening around town, but fall feels different—more local, a little slower, and wonderfully easy to enjoy.

Two events in particular have become Cannon Beach fall traditions: the Cannon Beach Cottage Tour in September and the Stormy Weather Arts Festival in November. They are very different experiences, but together they offer a wonderful glimpse into the history, homes, art and community that make Cannon Beach such a special place.

Cannon Beach Cottage Tour: September 11–13, 2026

The Cannon Beach Cottage Tour is the Cannon Beach History Center & Museum's largest annual fundraiser and one of my favorite local events.

For anyone who loves architecture, historic beach cottages, interior design or local history, Saturday's tour offers a rare opportunity to step inside a carefully selected group of Cannon Beach homes.

One important clarification: Cottage Tour does not mean private homes throughout Cannon Beach are open to the public. Only the homes officially participating in that year's tour are open to ticket holders, and only during the designated tour hours. That limited access is part of what makes this event so special.

The weekend begins Friday, September 11, with the Opening Night Benefit Bash at the Cannon Beach History Center & Museum from 5:30 to 8 p.m. The evening includes live music from the RJ Marx Jazz Trio, food from Rainy Day Boards & Bakery and Cannon Beach Chocolate Café, drinks from The Wine Shack and Pelican Brewing Company, and a silent auction—all helping support the museum and its work preserving Cannon Beach history.

Saturday Is the Day the Cottages Open

Although Cottage Tour is a weekend event, the actual home tour takes place during one five-hour window: Saturday, September 12, from noon to 5 p.m.

This year's tour focuses on Cannon Beach's Midtown neighborhood along with several homes in the Presidential Streets.

One of the things I like about this event is that the museum changes the featured area from year to year. That gives visitors a chance to experience different Cannon Beach neighborhoods, architectural styles and pieces of local history—and means the same homes and streets aren't opened to tour-goers every year.

On Sunday, September 13, the weekend wraps up with watercolor workshops led by Oregon artist Nora Sherwood, using historic black-and-white photographs of past Cottage Tour homes as inspiration. Sessions are scheduled for 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., with attendance limited to 20 participants per session.

A Few Things to Know Before You Go

Tickets for the Cottage Tour are currently $55 and increase to $60 on the day of the tour.

Tour maps aren't released in advance. Beginning at noon Saturday, ticket holders can pick them up at the Cannon Beach History Center & Museum at 1387 S. Spruce Street or at the ticket booth outside House of Orange Gallery at 266 N. Hemlock Street.

Your map also serves as your admission to the designated homes on the tour, so keep it with you throughout the afternoon.

A shuttle runs along the tour route through a partnership with Suzanne Elise Assisted Living Community, which is especially helpful if you'd rather not walk the entire route.

A Different Part of Cannon Beach Every Year

The Cottage Tour has been a Cannon Beach tradition for more than two decades, and the changing neighborhoods are part of what keeps it interesting.

This year it's Midtown and a portion of the Presidential Streets. In other years, completely different pockets of Cannon Beach have been featured.

For me, that's part of the fun because Cannon Beach isn't really one neighborhood. Each area has its own personality, architecture, history and relationship to the beach. Midtown feels different from downtown, Tolovana or the Presidential Streets, and getting to see inside a few of these homes offers a perspective you simply don't get walking or driving by.

It's also a reminder that homes here are often more than real estate. Many have been part of families for generations and have stories woven into the larger history of Cannon Beach.

And because Cottage Tour is the Cannon Beach History Center & Museum's largest annual fundraiser, attending is also a way to help preserve those stories for the future.

Stormy Weather Arts Festival: November 6–8, 2026

About seven weeks later, Cannon Beach shifts gears again for another longstanding fall tradition: the Stormy Weather Arts Festival.

Where Cottage Tour celebrates homes and history, Stormy Weather celebrates another important part of Cannon Beach's identity—its arts community.

The experience is also quite different. Cannon Beach's galleries are open throughout the year, so Stormy Weather isn't about gaining access to places you normally can't enter. Instead, the festival brings everything together over one weekend.

Galleries throughout town host artist receptions, demonstrations, talks and special events, with many of the artists themselves on hand to talk about their work. Larger festival events include the Stormy Weather Fashion Show and a featured concert.

The result is a completely different energy in town. Galleries that might be quiet on an ordinary November afternoon fill with people moving from one exhibition and reception to another.

It's a wonderful weekend to wander without too much of an agenda. Stop into a gallery you've walked past a dozen times, meet an artist, have dinner somewhere local and see where the evening takes you.

And Then There Is the Quiet Part of Fall

As much as I enjoy Cannon Beach's festivals, I may love the weeks between them even more.

From mid-September into early November, the coast settles into a quieter rhythm. The Halloween Treat Trail brings families through downtown on Halloween afternoon, but it feels much more like a community tradition than a major festival.

Otherwise, much of the calendar opens up.

This is when you can decide at the last minute to go out for dinner. You can walk the beach in the morning and sometimes have an enormous stretch of sand nearly to yourself. The galleries are quieter, parking is easier, and when the first real fall storms arrive, there's something pretty wonderful about watching them roll in from somewhere warm.

It's also one of the best times of year to get a sense of what it actually feels like to live in Cannon Beach.

Summer is beautiful, of course. But living on the Oregon Coast is also foggy mornings, spectacular fall sunsets, rain on the windows, running into people you know around town, and taking a beach walk simply because the weather unexpectedly turned gorgeous.

That quieter rhythm is a big part of why so many of us choose to call this place home.

Thinking About Making the Oregon Coast Home?

Real estate here is about more than finding the right house. The towns along the North Oregon Coast—and even the neighborhoods within them—can offer very different experiences.

Cannon Beach, Arch Cape, Manzanita, Gearhart and Seaside each have their own personality. Understanding those differences is an important part of helping my clients decide not just which property works for them, but where they will feel most at home.

If you're beginning to think about buying or selling a home on the North Oregon Coast, I'm always happy to start with a conversation. Sometimes the best place to begin isn't with a list of properties at all. It's talking about how you want to live here and finding the place that fits.