General
The Oregon Dunes are located along the Oregon coast between Coos
Bay and Florence. They are supposedly the largest expanse of
coastal
dunes in North America. The area was designated the Oregon Dunes
National Recreation Area (ODNRA) in
1972.
It is administered under the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Siuslaw
Nation
Forest. There are approximately 14,300 acres of open sand
in
the area. Half of the area is closed to motorized
use,
crowding the more than 400,000 annual visitors who use off-highway
vehicles into
three non-contiguous areas. The sand dunes are separated by areas
of trees, sand trails, creeks, rivers and lakes. The area is very
beautiful. It is much more interesting than just open sand.
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Sand
The sand is clean and medium heavy with a light golden yellow
tint.
Naturally, it can be very wet in the winter and soft and dry in the
late
summer. Steep dunes with loose, heavy wet sand can be
surprisingly
difficult to climb. There are areas. especially in the winter,
where
the upwelling of water creates quicksand. Be careful. The
force
of ocean waves and strong winds bring sand ashore where it can be blown
inland. See the section about European
beach grass for more information.
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Dunes
There are several types of dunes: transverse, oblique and parabola
in the ODNRA. The largest are the oblique dunes that are
generally
along the inland edge of the dunes. These can range to 180' from
crest to trough. Since they tend from west to east, the
inland
end of these can reach to 500' above sea level. In the Winchester
Bay area, some of the sand has blown up some "fingers" into the the
timber.
These are the runs that can be over 2,000' long and climb to
500'.
In the winter, heavy winds can cut through the tops of dunes and create
freestanding sculptures called yardandgs. These can reach 15' in
height.
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Hazards
The dunes in Oregon are some of the more dangerous to ride. This
is because of the steep, soft southern faces that develop in the summer
due to the prevailing northerly winds. It is much safer to work
your
way northward where you can see the steep edges. Approach the edges
obliquely
rather than straight on. When going from north to south, it is
easy
to unexpectedly drop off the edge of a dune at speed. Other
hazards to watch for are dune faces
which
drop right off into the timber. We have extracted ATV's and
riders impaled on tree branches 10' off the ground. Another
hazard to avoid are lakes and marshes. When traveling from north
to south, you never know what to expect if you are not familiar with
the
area. You can end up in deep water. Don't forget to watch
out
for quicksand in the winter.
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Weather
There are two seasons along the Oregon coast. Summers are cool and
damp. Winters are cooler and damper! The best weather is to
be found in the months of July, August, September and early October but
there are no guarantees. Although it can rain anytime, these
months
are the driest. Fog and cold northerly winds can be miserable in
May and June. The weather can be very exciting in the winter with
winds to well over 100 Mph on occasion. Not to be all negative,
there
are often beautiful sunny days in January with 40 mile
visibility.
It seldom gets below freezing in the winter or much above 70 degrees in
the summer. Check this
link for a more serious look at the coastal climate or this
link for the current forecast..
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Link: Oregon State
Highway travel information
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