Golfing is about so much more than a perfect shot on the green. Seaside makes it easy to enjoy the links while relaxing with ocean or river views, watching wildlife or simply making memories with your family. To help you make plans for a coastal golf getaway, here’s a look at the range of courses around Seaside, with options for players of all ages and skill levels.
Relax With a Round at a Classic Public Course
Bask in Seaside’s natural beauty at the nine-hole Seaside Golf Club — a public course that dates back to 1923 and incorporates local scenery into its engaging design. The club sits on the site of the Seaside House, Seaside’s first hotel and the birth of tourism as we know it on the North Coast. This grand Italianate villa, built in 1871, was owned by railroad tycoon Ben Holladay, whose name you can still see on a major thoroughfare in town.
Today Seaside Golf Club offers a mix of holes that cater to beginners and seasoned veterans who’d like to sharpen their skills. Along the way, players follow the banks of the Necanicum River, pass stately stands of old-growth Sitka spruce and navigate fast-moving greens. An on-site pro shop provides rental clubs, carts and accessories.
Feeling peckish after a day on the links? You don’t have to travel far for a quality meal and cold beverage. The club’s on-site restaurant dishes American classics for breakfast, lunch and dinner and its Par Tee Room sports bar pairs traditional pub snacks with bottled beers and Oregon-made craft brews on tap in a friendly setting with five big screens.
Savor Open Ocean Views and Enchanting History in Gearhart
Just north of Seaside, a pair of courses offers a captivating mix of history and character in the community of Gearhart. The links-style Gearhart Golf Links was founded in 1892, making it the oldest course in Oregon and one of the oldest in the western United States. Today the 18-hole public course abuts the McMenamins-owned Gearhart Hotel and is beloved for its tight fairways, deep bunkers and rolling greens. Away from the course, you’ll find a fitness center, a pro shop, a challenging putting green and the cheekily named Sand Bar, which sits at the edge of the course. There you can stop for a frosty pint and discuss the game around a cozy wood stove.
Also in Gearhart, Highlands Golf Club offers views of the mighty Pacific. The nine-hole public course welcomes beginners with lessons by the hour, short holes, a separate putting green and lush fairways. Any golfer will enjoy occasional peeks at the Pacific Ocean and views of Tillamook Head to the south. The course is flanked by groves of Sitka spruce, and eagle-eyed visitors might spy resident elk passing through the surrounding forest. An on-site pro shop sells accessories, apparel and clubs, and push-cart rentals are available. For more athletic apparel and footwear, check out the nearby Nike Factory Store in the Seaside Outlets.
Afterward, celebrate your wins back in Seaside along the Necanicum River on the north side of town. There, a trio of adjoining businesses serve an appetizing mix of food and drinks. Mighty Thai & Sushi pairs its namesake cuisines with river views, while The Noodle House serves steaming bowls of pho and ramen that come packed with fresh, flavorful ingredients. If your round runs long, end your night at The Pearl, a casual, down-home bar that pairs hearty sub sandwiches and other snacky bar fare with a full drink menu.
Challenge Your Kids to a Round of Mini Golf
At the southern end of Seaside, the family-owned-and-operated Captain Kid Amusement Park hosts a mini golf course that was built in 2020 and designed by the park’s owner. Over the course of 18 landscaped holes — many of which are named for the owner’s grandchildren — golfers of all skill levels take turns navigating rocks, ramps and hills. None of the challenges are particularly technical, making the course accessible to younger golfers.
Other old-school attractions at the amusement park include a family-friendly roller coaster, go-karts and a faux mine where little ones can pan for treasures in the man-made stream. Nearby, the old-school Ruby’s Roadside Grill dishes burgers, shakes and a kid-friendly menu of grilled-cheese sandwiches, chicken strips and hot dogs — with plenty of seating next to a 16-foot-long fire pit on the eatery’s patio. Keep the fun going at the nearby High Life Adventure Park Aerial Challenge Course, whose namesake attraction features 30 platforms and numerous obstacles 20 to 40 feet in the air.
