Huntley County Park, Gold Beach, Oregon

We have been here at Huntley Park for a week now and it is our last stop in Oregon.  Mother Nature has blessed us with warm sunny weather (according to the locals it is usually rainy and colder at this time of year), so we decided to hang out in Oregon while the California fires are brought under control.

On the recommendation from our host at Boice-Cope, we stop at the Wild Oats Grill in Port Orford.  The owner greeted us very enthusiastically with a big smile and chatted with us while cooking our food.  Super nice guy.  I ordered the smoky, spicy mac and cheese and Chris got a sausage and pepper sandwich.  Both meals were soooooo good – big portions, and good price.   Definitely do not pass this place up!

We have shared the park with the 2 host couples and another camper most of the week – a few other campers came and went, so it has been very quiet here (except for the tons of crows).   Cost is $95 for the week.  It is dry camping (water is available for filling up) except for one site with partial hook-ups, and there is no dump station (there is a free one in town). The campground is inland 8 miles so warmer than at the coast where there is a marine layer most days and lots of wind. It sits along the Rogue River which is very low right now – In spring when the water is much higher, there are jet boat tours from town.   The day use area provides access to the rocky bar (gravel riverbed) of the Rogue river which is very popular with locals who drive onto the bar and attach a fishing rod to a device on the front bumper and sit in the truck waiting for salmon to bite.   We wondered what they were doing when we didn’t see anyone casting a rod, until the guy at the visitor center explained.

Although it has been a quiet, peaceful stay here, the campground will  get only 2 stars from us.  The Official camp host couple has been absent every day and we waited 3 days to catch someone in order to get firewood.  The one restroom/shower ($2 for a decently long hot shower) area is an institution style concrete building with a heater that no-one turned on until finally Chris said something.  And every day there has been non-campers showing up to use the shower – we wonder how safe our stuff is when we are gone because the assistant hosts trailer is in a place where they do not have a clear view of what is going on in the campground.

Activities this week:  A drive back to Port Orford, the oldest town on the Oregon coast and the most westerly in the 48 states.  We stopped at a day use area with access to Arizona beach (a stretch of beach sheltered by two headlands) where I took off my shoes to walk on the sand and dip my toes in the icy water.   After, a visit to the port was very interesting.   The water is very rough here and we wondered why build a port city here at all?  I guess the early explorers liked the area? The dock here is the only open water port on the coast, meaning there is no headland or jetty to protect the boats from the rough seas.  And because of this, it is one of six “dolly” ports in the world where the boats are hoisted into and out of the water daily.  Pretty unique to see.
. Port Orford

In the days following we drive south and visit a bunch of scenic lookouts, beaches, and hiking trails.  This part of the coast is known as the ‘wild rivers’ area.  There are rivers all along that flow down from mountains to the ocean and are popular for fishing salmon and boating.   Although we drove the same route several times, the scenery was different each time due to the mist, cloud, sun, or time of day.  We had a picnic one day at Cape Ferrelo, sitting on a bench looking at the ocean far below.  A monument at the site explains the scenic corridor is named for Samuel Boardman, the states first Parks Superintendent who made it his legacy to protect large areas of the coast as parkland for future generations to be able to enjoy.

A  5km. (3.2 mile) round trip hike along Cape Sebastian was pretty neat.

At the start we looked down onto cloud and mist – we could hear the waves below but couldn’t see them at all which was kind of eery.  The trail winds down the mountain along moderate switchbacks, through trees and then along the rocky ledge for a while.
 Above the clouds
 Notice how the trees are all facing inland.   
Farther down we came under the cloud and were able to see a bright orange sandstone cliff, and rocky shores with interesting lines and formations.  Continuing down the trail ends at Myers beach where you climb down the last steep bit using a rope system.
  Rugged coast

A couple other outings were to visit the local village Gold Beach, and furthur south the town of Brookings.  Gold Beach was of course named for the gold found there in mid 1800.  It is a small town with all the necessary shops, the county hospital, and a high school, but otherwise doesn’t really stand out.  The town looks and feels dated.

Brookings, however has a completely different vibe.  Being slightly furthur south and at a lower altitude, the weather is much warmer – here there are flowers still blooming.   Entering the town from north you go over the Chetco river which is quite wide and from the bridge you get a good view of the port and marina.   We walked along the port which has many more personal and commercial boats than the other ports we have seen.  As we found out from chatting at the visitor center this is because Brookings has the calmest port entry along the coast and therefore it is better for smaller personal watercraft.

Along the ocean waterfront is an RV park (parking lot really) next to the marina where the commercial fishing boats and Coast Guard moor their boats. It is quite exposed but would be a nice spot to spend a night in calm weather.