A visitor readies a picnic lunch at a table in a grove of shorepines just above New River.
There’s a lot more to the Oregon coast than sandy beaches and rocky shorelines. What’s even more intriguing is that you don’t have to travel far or make strenuous efforts to get to one of these unique places – the New River area south of Bandon.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) controls 1356 acres in what’s officially called the New River Area of Critical Environmental Concern. No development or woodcutting or mushrooming or any other sort of resource extraction is allowed, but there’s limited recreation, with four miles of easy hiking trails, a seasonally-accessible boat ramp, restrooms, observations shelters and picnic tables. Open for day use year round, there’s no entry fee. There are some seasonal closures to protect nesting shorebirds, about which more in a moment.
Still, this place is different from a lot of other parks and preserves on the Oregon coast. For one thing, the river runs the wrong way.
Actually, New River runs north, not necessarily wrong, but unusual. It’s the outlet of Floras Lake and Floras Creek, formed when a particularly rainy winter in 1890 increased steam flows. With its mouth clogged at the ocean, the creek carved a northward channel to find another way, and it’s now about 10 miles long. A local rancher supposedly took a look and exclaimed, “It’s a new river!”
New River flows through brushy dunes, dense coastal forests, open areas once used as ranchlands, and along the way feeds freshwater lakes, seasonal wetlands and pillowy meadows. It’s home to all kinds of four-footed critters, along with an impressive assortment of birds that live here year round and others that migrate.
The birdlife is so abundant, in fact, that it sometimes feels like you’re walking in a huge, open-air aviary. According to the Cape Arago Audubon Society’s guidebook, “Birding the Southern Oregon Coast,” waterfowl range from Mallard to Hooded Merganser, while dozens of kinds of migratory birds with memorable names like Wimbrels, Godwits, and Dowitchers pass through.
Getting There
From Bandon go south on US 101 about 8 miles and turn right (W) on Croft Lake Ln., which rolls through ranchlands and cranberry bogs. At a “Y” intersection in 1.5 miles, bear right, following a sign to New River. The road arrives at the Storm Ranch site, with a picnic area, restrooms, interpretive signs, the Ellen Waring Learning Center, and a camp host shelter. An excellent trail brochure is sometimes available, and a map/sign shows trail routes. Several trails make loops.
The access road continues west, passing trailheads for the Old Bog Trail and East Muddy Lake Trail, and in a half-mile comes to a “T” intersection, near the Muddy Lake trailhead. From March 15 to Sept. 15, the road is closed from here to protect nesting shorebirds, but since we’re in the non-restricted time of year, you can drive the remaining 0.3 mile to the edge of New River, where there’s an unimproved boat ramp, picnic tables, a restroom and a trail that weaves back to the interpretive center.
If you want to cross New River and visit the ocean beach, you’ll need some sort of watercraft. (The beach is also restricted during nesting season, but it’s open now.)
However you explore, you’ll have fun visiting the unique New River area, even if the river does run the wrong way!
(Shopper columnist Tom Baake is author of regional guidebooks)
As water rises during a King Tide event in the Coos Bay Estuary, a flock of Least Sandpipers crowd onto branches poking out of a submerged tree. In the background are the massive concrete footings of Catching Slough Bridge.
If you happened to be in Coos Bay last Saturday at about noon you saw what can occur when a very high tide meets runoff from very rainy storm: Flood!
Water came bubbling backwards out of stormdrains and flowed over driveways and sidewalks, and US 101 was even closed for a while as police redirected drivers to higher ground. It was all over in an hour or so as the tide changed, but it was a portent of things to come.
For this is King Tides season, with higher-than-normal tides occurring at predictable days and times.
What exactly is a King Tide? According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the technical name is perigean spring tide. They occur when a full or new moon is closest to Earth in its elliptical orbit.
The peak times this year are Nov. 15-17, Dec. 13-15 and Jan. 11-13, 2025. While these are the most dramatic, there are also significantly high tides throughout November and December. When driven by awesome winter storms, the ocean can respond in spectacular fashion, even if it’s not an official King Tide day.
This year many of the major events occur during daylight hours, making it more enjoyable to view the storms. Higher high tides also mean they’ll be lower lows. Remember, no matter which kind, keep off jetties and beaches during king tides and storms. Sneaker waves can (and frequently do) trap unsuspecting beachcombers and bring dangerous heavy driftwood logs and debris with them. View the scene from somewhere safe, like the observation building at Shore Acres State Park near Charleston.
Is there an upside to a king tide? For example, a popular saying in the Pacific Northwest is “When the tide is out, the table is set.” According to several reference sources, the saying goes back to an 1890s article about the Puget Sound, and refers to the ease of low-tide digging for clams, mussels, and other delicacies, even seaweed. But what good is high tide?
As for recreation, high tides can put a crimp on beach walks. The beaches get covered with water! However, for kayakers, canoeists and stand-up paddlers, the temporarily-flooded estuary wetlands have more areas to explore. You can get into places not normally covered with water.
Not every day is stormy. Try to get out on one of those calm days of lingering Indian Summer.
Bandon Marsh is a good example. Start your paddle trip from Bullards Beach State Park on the last couple of hours of an incoming tide. At high tides, the floodplain surrounding the main channel of the Coquille River gets inundated, and you can paddle into and over what is normally low-lying terrain of the Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge. Explore short channels and poke along the shorelines, but be careful of old broken-off pilings, remnants of an earlier era when log rafts were lashed up awaiting final transit to sawmills or sailing ships. Weathered Indian fishing weirs harken back to an even earlier time. A quiet approach may reward you with up-close sightings of blue heron, egrets and other birds and waterfowl.
And when you feel the tide begin to turn, simply turn yourself around as well, and ride the river current and tidal ebb back to your starting point. A fun trip, fit for a king!
(Shopper columnist Tom Baake is co-author of the guidebook “Oregon South Coast Canoe, Kayak and Stand-up Paddle Guide,” available at the Coos Bay Visitor Center.)
The new directional signs feature pressure-treated posts set into a mound of artificial rocks.
Negotiating the sometimes-confusing system of hiking trails at the three state parks near Charleston -- Sunset Bay, Shore Acres and Cape Arago – is getting easier, thanks to the installation of what will eventually be 14 distinctive new trail signs and markers.
In an interview, parks manager Lee Ricci said the lack of signage was a concern over the years. In addition to vandals and souvenir hunters breaking or making off with them, the signs had to endure harsh weather.
The parks are bisected by the Oregon Coast Trail (OCT), but some of its signposts look as if they’ve been there since the OCT was first developed in the 1970s, while others were missing. Through-hikers and day trippers could also get confused in a few places criss-crossed by side trails, as well as at unmarked intersections.
“Locals know where to go, but it was difficult if you’d never been on the trails,” said parks manager Ricci. Also mostly missing were “confidence markers” installed in places to reassure hikers they’re on the right path.
Simply replacing missing or worn-out signs could be a challenge, Ricci said, because of cultural issues. “We have to be careful not to disturb the terrain,” she said. In some instances, a tribal archeologist had to be present if any earth-altering activity was occurring.
Parks personnel considered affixing signs to adjacent trees, among other potential solutions. Parks manager Ricci credited beach and trails ranger Jake Caldwell with the idea of using above-ground markers.
In most instances, the posts are pressure-treated and affixed with metal shields with directional arrows, mileages, and destinations, and set solidly with adhesives in a mound of artificial stones.
Ricci said the signs “will probably last a long time” if not disturbed or stolen. “We made them as rot-proof as possible,” she said. “It’s possible they’ll last 25 years.”
Meanwhile, she said, there’s plenty of “old-school trail maintenance,” such as brush removal and footbridge replacements.
Another concern is the bottom end of the trail down to South Cove near the tip of Cape Arago. It leads down to a fun little beach and sizeable tidepools.
It’s mostly paved, with switchbacks to ease descents and ascents, -- and benches to rest on – but it’s punished by weather and erosion, requiring realignments. The final stretch negotiates rough footsteps notched into the cliffside. Other solutions were tried. “We do what we can to keep the ocean from taking it,” said Ricci.
Along with meticulous management of the fabled Shore Acres gardens, trail system maintenance is an ongoing process. Yet the challenges rarely seem to deter a steady stream of visitors from enjoying these three jewels of the state parks system.
Getting there
To visit the state parks, from US 101 in either Coos Bay or North Bend, follow directional signs to Charleston, State Parks and Beaches. Keep going through Charleston on what is now Cape Arago Highway.
You’ll first encounter Bastendorff Beach County Park, and a few miles beyond, Sunset Bay State Park. A couple of miles farther is Shore Acres State Park, with the road continuing past the sealion overlook before ending at Cape Arago State Park.
There are a number of ways to access the hiking trails. Make short out-and-back forays, or do more ambitious treks. The Cape Arago Pack Trail is another option. Its northern trailhead is well-signed, and begins about a quarter-mile beyond Shore Acres. You can also access the clifftop trail from pullouts and parking places along the highway past Shore Acres.
Space limitations here preclude more information, but I’ll make some recommendations in upcoming columns. Meantime, the State Parks office at Sunset Bay has brochures with maps. As added bonus, admission to the parks is free, although there’s a $5 parking fee at Shore Acres State Park. So whether you’re doing a short visit or have more time, enjoy these treasures of the Oregon coast.
(Shopper columnist Tom Baake is author of local guidebooks available at the Coos Bay Visitor Center.)
With the promise of a colorful show of autumn leaves, a kayak awaits an outing on Sutton Lake near Florence.
There are a lot of ways to enjoy the changing colors of autumn leaves, but taking them in on a tranquil South Coast lake might be the ultimate indulgence. That’s because you get to see everything twice. The real world and its upside down reflection in the still water.
The Florence area has the greatest concentration of lakes on the South Coast, ranging from beautiful Cleawox Lake in Honeyman State Park, to the twin lakes of Sutton and Munsel. Just south of town are Siltcoos Lake -- largest on the Oregon coast -- and Woahink, the deepest.
Some are ringed with custom homes and private docks, while others have wild, undeveloped shorelines. More than a half-dozen public boat ramps offer boaters and paddlers miles and hours of potential exploration, not to mention fishing.
But this is about the show of autumn leaves right now. Stately, big-leaf maples in all their golden glory grow right to the water’s edge, and as noted when the water’s flat and windless these magnificent specimens are perfectly reflected. The intense scarlet colors of vine maple add a fiery touch, while the leaves of other trees such as alders go quickly from green to yellow to brown and down.
The smaller lakes just north of Florence have the best opportunities to take in the seasonal spectacle. They’re more sheltered, giving visitors opportunities to experience the reflection phenomenon.
Of Munsel, Mercer and Sutton –– the three lakes on Florence’s north end –– 355-acre Mercer Lake, with 8.6 miles of shoreline, is the largest. All three share the characteristics of Dunes Country lakes, with dwellings and docks in many places, and dense forest and brush in others. There are innumerable small coves, but very few places to get out and explore. It’s either private property, or brushy embankments, or marshlands.
You can, however, enjoy fir, spruce, pine, madrone, hemlock, maple and cedar growing right to the water’s edge, sometimes even forming a dreamy canopy of draping boughs. Alas, wind and rain besiege them, with toppled snags laying aslant and half-submerged, sometimes with only the stubs of broken branches sticking out – watch it!
When kayaking, I go very slowly when venturing close to shore, especially if the water is shaded into darkness. That way I just gently bump submerged obstacles, not run up on top of them.
Plus, going slowly and staying quiet often results in spotting wildlife or birds. They don’t seem too rattled by watercraft. In fact it seems sometimes those blue herons are posing!
Getting There
Munsel Lake: Closest to town, and at 110 acres and 3 miles of shoreline, the smallest. From the intersection of US 101 and Highway 126 in Florence, go north on US 101 2.7 miles and turn right (E) on Munsel Lake Road and follow it 0.8 mile to the boat ramp. A Lane County Parks day-use permit or seasonal pass is required. (This is also the case at Mercer Lake. There aren’t ticket dispensers at the boat ramps but you can buy a pass at bait shops and Florence Bi-Mart.)
Sutton Lake: From the US 101/Highway 126 intersection, go north on US 101 5.6 miles to USFS Sutton Lake boat ramp. A USFS day-use permit or seasonal pass is required. From the boat ramp, proceed through the small western portion of the lake into a channel to the lake’s main body, with about 3.5 miles of paddling to circle back to the boat ramp.
Mercer Lake: From the US 101/Highway 126 intersection, go north on US 101 about 5 miles to Mercer Lake Rd., and follow it 3.2 miles to Mercer Lake boat ramp.
Other South Coast lakes offering this reflective experience include Eel Lake near Lakeside. And even if you don’t get out in a boat, kayak or SUP board, these lakes are all in nice settings, so enjoy the autumn show!
(Shopper columnist Tom Baake is co-author of “Oregon South Coast Canoe, Kayak and Stand-up Paddle Guide,” available at the Coos Bay Visitor Center.)
