Harris Beach, 2022
The south Oregon Coast has lots to offer. There are spectacular views, miles of hiking trails, smaller crowds than the north coast, and generally (slightly) better weather. On this trip we covered Coos Bay/North Bend/Cape Arago south as far as Crescent City, California.
This was an exploratory visit with few must see/do items on the list. We were not disappointed by the variety of opportunities available. We explored the Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor, Jedediah Smith State Park, Alfred A. Loeb State Park, and took a ride on the jet boat from Gold Beach to Blossom Bar on the Rogue River.
The Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor is 12 miles of hiking trails and spectacular scenery that could rival Oswald West in the north. The Scenic Corridor was established in 1949, and appears to have been forgotton by state park administrators in the north. Signage is minimal to absent, trails are almost entirely unmarked, facilities are overgrown and in poor repair. It's kind of a shame, actually. Trails leading from parking lots to the features they advertize may or may not get you to where you think are going. The trail system is more of a mesh of paths, somoe of which lead off cliffs hundreds of feet high, others are steep and eroded and impassible to all but the youngest mountain goats. It's a beautiful place and deserving of a little more attention.
So, here are some pictures organized by area or region rather than chronologically. We made several passes through the Boardman Corridor, and camped at Harris Beach, so this makes the most sense. Wildflowers get their own section this time with locations in the comments.
- Reedsport to Coos Bay
- Cape Arago
- Sunsets on Bastendorff Beach
- Yoakam Point - beautiful views, unmarked mesh trail system. Keep dogs and small children on a leash. It's a long way down.
- Bandon and south to Cape Blanco
- Mary D. Hume in Gold Beach harbor - in 1978 the ship sailed under her own power into Gold Beach harbor and docked just a few yards away from where she was built in 1881.
- The Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor
- Indian Sands - technically part of the Corridor, but worthy of being singled out. Decomposing sandstone has created sand dunes in an unlikely place.
- Harris Beach - Seems like we were on the road all day and only made it back to our campsite at Harris Beach State Park around sunset. Not a bad place to be, mind you...
- Alfred A. Loeb State Park - a large grove of Myrtlewood trees and the northernmost grove of Coast Redwoods hide away in this off the beaten path state park. The faint scent of bay leaves permeates the area
- Further South (Brookings, Crescent City, Jedediah Smith Redwoods)
- Wildflowers
