A great place to go for the whole family, there are 2 great parking lots,
restrooms, the ocean, trails, hills, bowls, flat areas, you name it… it’s
there. There are big Dunes to try and capture the bragging rights of all the
way down to just flat terrain, and of course the ocean. You’ll see a wide
variety of off-road vehicles having fun, just remember to pop in your flag and
watch out for the decibel cops. Oregon is known for being pretty tight when it
comes to the awesome sound your machine is belting out. Last year, the decibel
measurement was around 92dBs and they’re trying to get it down to 90dBs. It
doesn’t stop too many people, though; last May we saw a guy with drag pipes on
his Banshee. He was pretty fast and he was trying really hard to pull a
wheelie, he also got fined by Oregon’s finest. After riding, you’re just a
couple of miles from town for food and lodging. Also, the Sea Lion Caves are
only about 15 miles north on Highway 101. Also, in the event of an emergency,
Oregon Sand Rail is just down the street about a mile south on the 101. You
know, in case you need an emergency weld or something. Directions are easy;
from the north, take I-5 south to Eugene exit number 195, Beltline Rd. Follow
Beltline Road west until it hooks up to highway 126. Follow HWY 126 west and
it takes you right into Florence (about 1 hour from Eugene). Once you get to
HWY 101, head south and follow the South Jetty signs (this is the Florence
riding area). Over all this is about a 7 hour drive from Everett, WA and from
Pasco, WA. It’s 3.5 hours from Portland, OR.
We finally made it back to
Florence (Sept '07) thanks to a family reunion in Washington. It's not as easy of a drive from AZ as it is from WA
J. We had a great time and it was very
relaxing. The only negative for all of you out there who have a big set-up (rv &
trailer) is there's not really any parking for the combo. We're just under 65ft
long and ended up taking two
spots in the upper lot... and we were there at the end of Labor Day weekend. Not
sure how busy it is on a regular weekend, but now that we have a longer drive to
get there, we'll be showing up on weekdays to make things easier. There was also
a $5 day use fee (per family, not individual), incredibly affordable! Below are
pictures from our recent trip in 2007, we took more video shots than pictures.
Once the morning marine layer burned off, it was a beautiful day for riding. We
were there shortly after the park opened and were the last ones to leave.
Florence, Winchester Bay, and Coos Bay are day-use only areas with no overnight
camping. We had more fun than we expected and are looking forward to making
another trip north. On our way out we cruised south on Highway 101 to check out
Winchester Bay again. We did find a new parking area that allowed overnight
camping on the street that leads you to Winchester. Reedsport is the name of the
town and just follow the sign that says ORV area or something like that. It came
upon us too quickly in the dark for us to get a picture of the sign. This
parking area had probably about 20-30 pull-thru stalls and it was long enough
for us. Since it was dark we couldn't tell where the dune access was, but we
know it was close. We continued down the main road to the Winchester parking
area and cruised thru it. It was as we remembered it, a little on the small side
and the few pull-thru spots that they have are only 60' long.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
West view from the Hwy 101
bridge in Florence |
Florence entrance off Hwy
101 |
There is an Upper parking
area and a Lower area |
Lower Parking Area |
Upper Parking Area |
BRM Hogging up 2 stalls in
the Upper Parking area |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Missy riding our old
stomping grounds |
Missy somehow got her front
end up J |
Missy just playing around |
Type of terrain you'll see
at Florence, very scenic |
Terrain shot |
Looking South towards the
main riding area. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Jeff cruising around with
our daughter |
Jeff and NoMo enjoying the
view of the Pacific Ocean |
Jeff playing around |
Missy having fun too |
NoMo is always ready to
ride!! |
View of the Upper Lot from
the top. Not many spaces |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Riding down to the Ocean |
Family Photo on the ocean |
Missy & NoMo playing on the
beach |
Jeff & NoMo looking for sea
shells |
Winds picked up and it was
time to bundle up. |
NoMo caught her afternoon
nap while we played |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
More terrain shots. They
brought back great memories |
We were the last ones to
load up at the end of Labor Day weekend... lots of fun!! |
|
|
|
|