The Oregon Dunes beckon year round, but there are some fun seasonal phenomena that only happen in winter and early spring. There are also major challenges, namely that many low places, sand roads and hiking trails are routinely flooded this time of year.
Still, when the subject of the Dunes comes up, most people rightly think about sand. Hard to believe, but it’s mostly about water, beginning with the ocean, of course, which continuosly delivers and redistributes the sand to beaches up and down the coast, or “stores it” not far offshore, bringing it back in summer.
Then there’s fresh water, falling in rainy tons through winter and spring, coursing endlessly from mountains near and far. Along the way the runoff picks up silt and sand – fine grains of various minerals – which is tumbled seaward, only to be scoured and polished by the relentless ocean and washed ashore again to create beaches and dunes.
Although most of the water eventually flows into rivers and estuaries, some of it is slowed by more than 30 coastal lakes, and some soaks into the sand, replenishing a vast aquifer underlying what’s called the dunal sheet.
You can’t travel far without encountering water, be it salt, “sweet” or a brackish mixture. Still, the dunes are best known for dreamy reaches of sculpted sand, shifting by day and by season. The dune shapes actually change, and are described with such technical terms as transverse, oblique and parabola. Another unique feature are 11 “tree islands,” isolated remnants of older coastal forests now surrounded by sand.
What’s becoming less common are wide open stretches of sand, thanks to intrusion of European beach grass, planted to stabilize embankments of coastal rivers, but now a nuisance. Along with Scotch Broom – another invasive -- it spreads over more open sand every year. A multi-agency and public partnership currently under way is aptly called Save the Dunes.
Dealing with flooded roads, campgrounds and other low areas are among the many management issues faced by administrators of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area (ODNRA), who must also strike a balance between areas open to all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and sections closed to vehicles.
Most ATVers bring their own toys, and there are rental places at most access areas. Many campgrounds, such as the Boxcar Hill facility and the Horsfall Beach area campgrounds, are set up specifically for ATV access.
Most ATV accesses are easily reached from US 101. The Horsfall Beach access is an exception. The main access road is often flooded this time of year, although high-clearance vehicles can be seen fording the flooded section and continuing to the beach.
Here are directions: From the north end of North Bend, cross McCullough Bridge. In 0.9 mile turn left (W) on Trans Pacific Parkway. Follow it across a causeway, over a short bridge and across two sets of railroad tracks. Boxcar Hill is on the right (N), and just past it is the entrance to the Horsfall Beach access. A $5 daily fee or annual pass is required here and at most other ODNRA accesses.
Other ATV accesses include Ranch County Park near Hauser, the ODNRA Spinreel Campground near Lakeside; and Douglas County campgrounds at Half Moon Bay and Windy Cove in Winchester Bay.
Hikers and equestrians can explore trails throughout the dunes, and fat-tire bicyclists are also frequently seen.
The most popular hike is the ODNRA Dellenback Dunes trail just off US 101 near Lakeside. Not far from there is the ODNRA Hall Lake area. In both places you might see the strange seasonal sand shapes called yardangs that occur along exposed ridgelines. Another unusual winter occurrence are active “sandfalls” or slipfaces that send down rain-soaked sections of sand, often leaving behind symmetrical flow patterns.
As might be deduced, there’s a lot more than sand in the Oregon Dunes. So whether it’s your first time or your fiftieth visit, you can have fun exploring this special place so close at hand, just “out our back door.”
(Shopper columnist Tom Baake is author of regional guidebooks.)
