Hiking and Tidepools in Bandon, OR

On our second day at the coast we hiked the trails at New River County Park a few miles South of Bandon, OR. This park is an "area of critical environmental concern", developed to protect the habitat of threatened and endangered species including Aleutian Canada Goose, Snowy Plover and Bald Eagle. While we didn't see any of those birds, we enjoyed seeing one of the earliest cranberry bogs developed in the area in 1915 and walking the dune trails virtually covered with plant growth. Warning: there were mosquitos here!

This trail is on top of a dune covered with plants

On the recommendation of Paul and Nina of the blog Wheeling It, we had a fabulous dinner at Alloro, which is probably the BEST restaurant in Bandon...highly recommended!

This morning we got up early to do some tidepooling during a minus tide. Tidepooling is one of my favorite beach activities and I was not disappointed today. The cooler ocean temps of the Northern coast seem to harbor much more sea life than I've ever seen in San Diego.

Masses of sea stars

Anenomes galore!

Young birds begging for food from their elders

Spectacular colors and varieties of plants and seaweed

Rocky coast full of fascinating life, normally hidden during high tide

Quirky driftwood structures

We're back in Myrtle Creek now, but the temps have dropped to a much more reasonable 85-90 degrees YAY!