Oregon's Spectacular Coast
Oregon’s Spectacular Coast Oregon Coast – Images by Lee Foster by Lee Foster The 363-mile Oregon coast is one of the world’s spectacular parks because it is all public land, owned by the people of Oregon. Legislative action in 1913 and in 1967 set aside the coastline for “free and uninterrupted use” of the people. Billboards are controlled, making the appearance entirely unlike the Southern California coast, for example. Oswald West, the governor who defended the public coastline early in the century, tapped a progressive strain in Oregonians that remains alive today. In the past, when Oregon assumed a somewhat smug “Visit But Don’t Stay” attitude of provincial isolationism toward outsiders, the Oregon coast was one of the state amenities that citizens meant to protect. In 1973 the state’s landmark returnable-bottle bill insured that the coast, as well as the rest of Oregon, would remain relatively litter-free. This rugged coast offers unusual diversity to the traveler. If forced to select one superlative element that distinguishes it, a good choice would be the huge dunes in the 32,000-acre Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, located about two-thirds of the way down the coast. Mile after mile of monumental, shifting sand dunes remind one of Death Valley in California. Aside from the dunes, the Oregon coast offers forests, seashore, beach combing, camping, tide pools, and fishing. There are 74 state parks and recreation areas along the roadway, including some that preserve virgin vestiges of some of the greatest coniferous forest in North America. The parks beckon the traveler to leave the car and actively enjoy the beach, the trails, and the hillsides with a walk.
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