Waves of Sand and Rock

Oregon Dunes Recreation Area

Lorena on her ATV

Leonard at the top of a Large Steep Dune

The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area spans 40 miles along the Oregon central coastline between Coos Bay and Florence, offering 5,900 acres of sand in which to play.  Not wanting to pass up the opportunity to play in the “big sand box,” we rented a car to visit the Park.  We were surprised to learn that ATV’s, UTV’s, and dirt bikes are still permitted to travel over these enormous dunes; the Park even includes staging areas and camp sites.  I decided the best way to see the Dunes would be to rent an ATV; how hard could it be?  I discovered it’s more challenging than it looks.  Speed is your friend when it comes to climbing a 30 degree plus slope; if you don’t make it to the top, you have to back down and get another run at it!  In addition to the speed necessary, the ATV is squirrely in sand but you don’t want to over steer or you will be in trouble.  After I got the hang of it, I was able to make it to the top of a big dune by the end of our hour’s rental time.  Leonard made it to the top of an unbelievably steep dune and down again!  I have to say it was worth renting the ATV’s to really appreciate the expansive and scenic dunes – waves of sand as far as the eye can see.  We also took a sightseeing trip by car around the large body of water called Coos Bay, crossing over the interesting McCullough Bridge and visited the town by the same name.  Another highlight was the drive out to Cape Arago (south of Charleston) where we found beautiful vistas of the rocky shoreline – we could see the ocean spray and various shaped slabs of rock from the Overlook high above.  The Cape and Overlook is part of the Shore Acres State Park and includes the estate botanical gardens of Louis Simpson, a pioneer lumberman and shipbuilder of the 1920’s.

Driving over the McCullough Bridge

The McCullough Bridge over Coos Bay

Cape Arago

Cape Arago