The town is a resort and fishing center, famous for its dory fleet. Rather than navigate the roundabout Nestucca Bay channel, anglers launch their dories directly into the Pacific surf around 6 a.m. and return in the afternoon. These flat-bottomed boats came into use in the 1920s, after gill net fishing was banned in the bay.
Bob Straub State Park, at the south end of town, occupies the sandpit separating Nestucca Bay from the ocean. Some of the longest waves on the Oregon coast make Pacific City a surfing center. Hang gliders congregate around Cape Kiwanda.