Did you know that there are sand dunes in Oregon, only 3 hours away? And that in fact, the sand dunes are part of a National Park that is protected? The 182 acres of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area is part of Siuslaw National Forest extends for 40 miles along the Oregon Coast from Florence to Coos Bay. In places, the dunes extend 2.5 miles inland, and some of the dunes reach as high as 500 feet. It’s breathtaking – it’s land, but ripples and moves like water.

I wish I could say that I was very clever and decided to go drive down the Oregon Coast and visit the Oregon Dunes in preparation for watching the new Mad Max: Fury Road movie and this was all part of a planned theme for this Travel Tuesday post. I admit, it’s merely coincidence: I was actually looking to see Velella velella in person (those blue wind sailor jellyfish that have been washing ashore by the thousands. On my coastal weekend though they were all going to California, figures).

From Portland, to drive here it’s possible to simply take I-5 down and then go west on OR-38W, but we decided to take a really scenic route. I recommend taking OR-99W S to OR-18 W instead. This means you get a chance to drive past the wineries through McMinnville and lovely forest roads, so it is a lovely drive that gives you a chance to admire the bounty of Oregon even though you’re on the road, rather than just the usual speeding down the interstate. It adds 45 minutes rather than going more directly, but I think it is completely worth it.

You could stay at many places in reach of the Dunes, and for this trip we chose to stay in Florence. It’s a coastal town where we were able to find an affordable room in walking distance of their Historic Old Town that offered close to a dozen options of eateries and places to have a libation, and only a short walk to admire the Suislaw River Bridge. After several hours of driving I like staying someplace where we can walk around to areas instead of more driving in town. If you are looking to eat with a view of the river and bridge in a elegant setting, I would recommend Waterfront Depot, which is a small intimate restaurant (reservations recommended). There are plenty of other restaurants you can see walking down Bay Street, varying from the eclectic Spice or Bridgewater Ocean Fresh Fish House and Zebra Bar to Seafood,  casual bar and grill, pub burgers and beer, family-friendly Pizza or Firehouse themed and more.

There are also many options for camping, but I’m not a camping girl so can’t help you there. I can point out as a reference though this video from Grant’s Getaway. He mentions campgrounds like Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park with its 80 years of history as a family vacation spot.

But back to visiting the Oregon Dunes. There are two kinds of experiences you can have at the Dunes. First, you can just walk. It can be serene and peaceful to just see the undulating waves and hills of sand. The area you walk may just be all desert like you’re in Lawrence of Arabia, or Armour of God II: Operation Condor or Raiders of the Lost Ark. Or there may be shrubberies, or even oceanside. It was mesmerizing for me just listening to the waves and watching the waves of grasses in the wind.

If you are looking for more beachside walking with some dunes thrown in, you might want to consider the South Jetty, as you only have to clamber over the dune by the parking lot to get to the beach and there are many parking lots. If you want to see more rolling hills but still reach beach, the Umpqua Dunes may be what you’re looking for. If you want parking lot to sandscape to forest (a beach is possible too but it’s several miles further) then try the John Dellenback Dunes Trail.

These areas do require a National Park day use pass (you can get one when you enter by putting $5 in an envelope at any of the locations and tearing the other part to display in your car) or alternatively a National Park recreation pass. Exceptions include special free days, including the upcoming National Trails Day – June 6, 2015 or National Get Outdoors Day – June 13, 2015.

The other kind of experience is fast – riding in ATVs or buggies. You can rent an ATV and drive yourself, with rental vehicles that can fit 1, 2 or 4 depending on your choice/party, they have mini individual ones for the kids to drive (must be aged 12-15). Alternately, you can be driven and go on tours with experienced drivers in buggies who can be a lot more daring speeding up/down the dunes and drifting down the side of hundreds of feet than you probably will be. That’s what we rationalized.

Definitely have a hair tie if you have long hair. And even though you’re having fun, make sure you keep smiling with your mouth closed. Haha. No really. There was also a surprising amount of sand in our hair, ears, and down our shirts.

Seriously though, it is not as fast as a roller coaster and you just don’t know where to look- ahead of you as you accelerate down a dune (especially fun as you are pausing at the top and you cannot see any of the dune ground below you at all it’s so steep…), or gaze sideways at the dune wall as you traverse down, or behind you… You can watch other RV riders ranging from other buggies to bikes or people with their trucks and jeeps… And then there’s the beauty of the dunes around you also.

Two major operators, Sand Dunes Frontier (who we used) and SandLand Adventures. They both end up touring the same Sand Dunes recreational area. SandLand Adventures has more ways to earn your money with go carts and bumper boats and train rides, while Sand Dunes Frontier if you are craving more you can then rent your own ATV (at another business, but at the same location- Torex ATV Rentals) to try out now that the SandLand tour has helped you scope out the lay of the lands and who is out there and what you might want to do.

For an alternate “fast” way to see the dunes, consider visiting Sand Master Park and trying to sandboard (similar to snowboarding but with sand), or use surfboards and boogie boards (like with water… but with sand). Who knew?

One last bit of trivia – if you’ve ever read Frank Herbert’s Dune book science fiction/space series, or watched the movies (old 1984 movie or the new Sci Fi channel series), it was the Oregon Dunes that helped inspire him!

And, if you are looking for some additional motivation to visit the area, there’s also this… the Great Florence Duck Race with lots of rubber duckies which benefits the community of Florence.

Also just a dozen miles north of Florence is the Sea Lion Caves, America’s largest sea cave at two acres and 12 stories.

When we visited the sea lions were soaking up the sun outside and only two were inside the caves – but that meant the caves area smelled better than it normally would, and we still enjoyed marveling at the caverns. One of the informational panels talks about various formations you look for in the walk wall like a Native American Princess and Brave, or Goddess of Liberty, or Abraham Lincoln’s profile and decide for yourself how much of a stretch it is. It’s probably just a 45 minute stop, but can still be fun. If you want to really make sure there are sea lions present, the Sea Lion Caves has 3 webcams you can check on your tentative visit day.

Another mile or so north of the Sea Lion Caves is Heceta Head Lighthouse. The Cape Creek Bridge is only a dozen or so yards from the parking lot and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It uses a design that is similar to Roman stone aqueduct design (notice the two levels of arches and columns), but using modern materials. Combined with the tunnel that US 101, which runs on the bridge and then through a tunnel that goes through Hecate Head, was a huge headache for engineers to construct and is part of the “million-dollar mile” part of this highway.

You can walk up to the lighthouse in a 1/2 mile walk on gravel to admire the view of Cape Creek Cove and Cape Creek Bridge below among the cliffs. Here are photos taken while heading up to the lighthouse.

This cove is lovely to watch the sunset and even on cloudy days like when we visited (the sun and clouds kept taking turns) too for the play of shadows here. This is why Pacific Northwest beaches are the best – even when it’s cool and windy and cloudy the beaches are never boring, just beautiful in a different way.

If you are looking for really unique experiences and places to stay, Hecata Head’s Lighthouse Keeper’s cottage is a Bed and Breakfast, and they encourage you to use flashlights to go up and visit the lighthouse at night. You can see the cottage just to the right of the lighthouse below from this photo I took at a scenic viewpoint between the lighthouse and Sea Lion Caves.

Also nearby is Darlingtonia State Natural Site and you can see an interesting plant at this little garden: cobra lilies, a native carnivorous pitcher plant that are 1.5 – 2 feet tall! Don’t worry – they only eat insects, not humans. Sand, swimming, sea lions, carnivorous plants – this seems to be a fun place to take the whole family.

Did you know about the Oregon Sand Dunes? Have you ever been? How would you like to visit the dunes – walking or driving – or will you both like we did (which would you do first)? Have you ever been to this area by Florence, Oregon – and if not, do any of these attractions make you want to visit?