Florence Three-Day Trip 2017: (Aug. 7-9, 2017)
Monday afternoon:
Meet at 11:30-noon. Lunch and unload boats noon-1 p.m. Launch by 1 p.m.
Lunch at Bender Landing County Park (noon), then head upstream with the incoming tide at 1 p.m. for a two-and-a-half hour round-trip paddle on this narrow north arm of the Siuslaw River. We’ll turn around when the tide turns, around 2 p.m. [Optional trip; it’s fine to sign-up if you can’t make this one.] Don’t get confused by Google Maps, which may want to take you into a swamp. Stay on the road you’ve been following until you arrive at well-civilized Bender Landing County Park. $4 parking fee; vault toilets. You can print a day use permit at home (I did; very handy!):
https://reservations.lanecounty.org/reservations/pass_sales.asp?actiontype=display_product
Google Maps: Bender Landing County Park, Florence, OR 97439
44°00'14.3"N 124°04'16.0"W
44.003968, -124.071117 Use the GPS coordinates!
It also works to take the road to Three Rivers Casino. Maybe you want to stop in and use their bathroom, grab a lemonade, and play a slot machine.
Monday evening: Meet at 6 p.m. for a 6:30 p.m. launch at Cleawox Lake in Jessie Honeyman State Park. If you’re not camping at the park, you’ll need a Day Use pass. 90 min. three-mile round-trip up the east arm. Dunes on one side, coastal woodlands on the other. We need to park and launch at the boat launch area which is to the left immediately upon turning onto the road which takes you to the north part of the Day Use area. We may want to carpool. Parking is limited. We should be off the water by 8 p.m. and back at the campsites around 8:30 p.m. Perhaps followed by a campfire in one of our campsites.
Tuesday morning: Arrive at 9:30. Launch at 10 a.m. Siltcoos Canoe Trail; six miles round-trip, from Siltcoos Lake through a short river to the beach. The lake, with a mean elevation of 8 feet above sea level, empties into the Siltcoos River, which meanders generally west for about 3 miles to its mouth on the Pacific Ocean. We'll pass by boat houses, forest, and sand dunes. A dam downriver regulates the lake’s outflow and provides a fun portage. There is tidal influence in the lower section of the river. We should arrive at the estuary beach about three hours before high tide (2:44pm). To protect the nesting areas of the western snowy plover, which nests in the open, directly on dry sand, the lowest section of the Siltcoos is restricted from March 15 to Sept. 15. We can get out on the wet sand. After a 30-45 minute lunch break (bring a kite?), we can head back upriver using the last bit of incoming tide to help us along. Getting there: Follow U.S. 101 to Dunes City/Westlake, six miles south of Florence. Turn east onto Pacific Avenue and follow it to the boat ramp at the end of the road. $4 parking fee to Lane County; pay box at launch or use the online system: https://reservations.lanecounty.org/reservations/pass_sales.asp?actiontype=display_product
Vault toilet.
http://traveloregon.com/trip-ideas/grants-getaways/siltcoos-river-canoe-trail/
Tuesday evening: Twilight trip on Woahink Lake, Jesse Honeyman State Park Day Use Area, east side of Hwy 101. If you’re not camping at the park, you’ll need a Day Use pass. We’ll launch about 6:30 p.m., check out the two north arms of the lake, and return just before twilight ends (around 8:45 p.m.). Full-moon; relaxing and pretty. There are no lights in parking lot. Hopefully time for another campfire afterwards.
Sunset: 8:29:47 pm Twilight ends (dark) 9:01:36 pm
Wednesday: Break camp (or leave your hotel room) and be on the road by 11 a.m. We’ll drive north, stopping for a lunch break at Heceta Head Lighthouse halfway up the coast between Florence and Beaver Creek. This is optional, but worth the stop. We’ll arrive at Beaver Creek (at Brian Booth State Park near Newport) about 1 p.m. and launch at 1:30, for a peaceful six-mile round-trip meander through twists and turns as we head east to where the creek narrows. The trip also includes a five-minute paddle heading west from the launch to the beach! We should be off the water around 4:30 p.m. Brian Booth State Park, Seal Rock, OR 97376. We can decide later if launching from the east or west side of the highway is best. There is a boat ramp on the east side, but flush toilets and a path to the beach on the west side (launch from the bank).
