Straddling three distinct watersheds is Mt. Bolivar, Coos County’s highest peak. At 4319 feet, it’s not exactly Everest, but among other notable highlights, there’s a plaque from the people of Venezuela. More about Mt. Bolívar and that plaque in a moment.

Place names almost always have a story behind them, and our local mountaintops are no exception. For that matter, the ocean, bays, rivers, valleys, towns and even the waterfalls have names that mean something. Pacific  is Spanish for placid, or calm. Names such as Coos refer to Indian tribal names, while Curry, Douglas, Langlois and Reedsport refer to early white settlers.

Once in a while you get a really colorful story behind the name, such as Siskiyou, Humbug Mountain or Whiskey  Run. You can look them up – and just about every other place name in Oregon – in Lewis A. McArthur’s excellent reference book “Oregon Geographic Names.”

These are the things you may ponder as you gasp skyward up the 1.4-nile trail to Mt. Bolivar. As I said, Everest it ain’t, not even in the league of its Cascade cousins. Still, it’s one of the Coast Range’s highest peaks, with views on a clear day north all the way to Mt. Hood and south to Mt. Shasta.

How this peak, astride the Coos-Curry county line as well as atop the watershed divide of three river systems, came to be known as Mt. Bolívar is a story with not just the aforementioned South American connection, but a local angle as well.

One of Coos County’s most notable pioneers was Simón Bolívar Cathcart, born in Indiana in 1842 and arriving in Oregon in the 1850s with his parents in the first wave of white settlers. He served in the first Oregon Calvary, dabbled in horse and cattle trading, and was a land surveyor. His tireless exploits led him up and down most of the local mountains, and he named several of them and later led formal surveying expeditions.

Then as now, it would have been considered bad form to name a mountain after oneself, so the designation of Mt. Bolívar, although made by Cathcart during a 1900 township survey, is said to be “applied to honor” the South American who fought for independence from Spain.

Cathcart eventually settled up the Millicoma River, and in later years two government surveyors named a mountain in that vicinity for him.

As for the plaque atop Mt. Bolívar, I’m told foreign exchange and local students in the 1980s thought up the idea, and worked with Forest Service officials, Venezuelan diplomatic representatives and enthusiastic volunteers to install it.

Three different fire lookout towers perched here over the years, but only concrete footings and bits of broken glass remain. The view, as might be expected from the region’s highest point, can be heartbreakingly spectacular or routinely hazy – the latter thanks to coastal fog, valley smog, or smoke from forest fires and slash burns. An interpretive sign at the trailhead suggests the mountain has been the destination for Indian spirit quests.

Mt. Bolívar straddles the watersheds of the Rogue and Coquille rivers, as well as the Cow Creek drainage, which eventually feeds into the Umpqua River.

Licked by fires in recent years, the mountain is recovering, and there are pockets of fine old growth, including stately Douglas fir, Brewer’s spruce, yew trees and tanoak.  Meantime, the trail’s nearly two dozen switchbacks finally reach the rocky mountaintop, where splendor as previously described awaits. Onward to Bolivar!

Getting There

From Myrtle Point, go east on Highway 42 about four miles to the Powers Highway and follow it 18 miles to Powers. Proceed through Powers on what eventually becomes Forest Service Rd. 33. In 13 miles turn east on paved FS 3348, following the sign to Glendale. You will stay on FS 3348 (which becomes BLM 32-8-3.1, Kelsey Mule Rd.) for 35 miles to the trailhead Access is free.

(Shopper columnist Tom Baake is author of local guidebooks.)

Oregon’s South Coast has a remarkable number of what might be called specialized recreation opportunities. We have places specifically set aside for everything from horseback riding to mountain biking to disc golfing to gold panning. Many of the places also welcome casual visitors just out for a bit of fresh air and exercise.

There are lots of f fun indoor activities as well, ranging from North Bend’s synthetic skating rink to an ongoing array of dancing get-togethers in a variety of venues.

But the beaches and dunes top most activity lists.

We’re probably best known as a destination for riding all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and other motorized conveyances in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area (ODNRA). There are dozens of ATV accesses throughout the 40-mile dunes system between Florence and North Bend. Thousands of people flock here in the summer months, many bringing their own “toys” for dunes riding. Rental places and tour operators do a brisk business with folks who haven’t brought their own rigs. There are hugely popular annual dunes events featuring competitions, vendor booths and other attractions.

The ODNRA also has a handful of vehicle-free areas for hikers, equestrians and the latest craze – fat-tire bicyclists. Likewise, there are stretches of beach open to vehicles and others hiker/biker only.

Sometimes the places are side-by-side. For example, vehicles are allowed on Whiskey Run Beach near Bandon, but not immediately north at Seven Devils State Recreation Site.

Equestrians can find miles of trails and beaches, beginning just north of Florence, with other horseback riding near Coos Bay, Bandon and Port Orford.

The Bureau of Land Management Blue Ridge trail system east of Coos Bay attracts horseback riders, ATVers, mountain bikers and hikers. Dirt bikers can ride the Winchester trails system on Coos County Forest land between Coos Bay and Bandon.

The popular Whiskey Run Mountain Bike Trails system is also located in the county forest.

Road-riding bicyclists can check out the officially-designated Wild Rivers tour in Port Orford that takes in the prized Elk River as well as beautiful Cape Blanco State Park .

For the younger crowd, there are professionally-designed skateparks in every South Coast community, as well as disc golf courses such as those in Coos Bay’s Mingus Park and North Bend’s Winsor and Ferry Road city parks.

With so much water – ocean, bays, estuaries, lakes, rivers – the waterway possibilities are numerous, and include the wonderful Siltcoos River Canoe Trail in Dunes City south of Florence. The Sough Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve near Charleston has miles of waterways and terrestrial trails for exploration. Birdwatch at the Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Reserve just north of Bandon and the BLM New River preserve 7 miles south of Bandon. The Dean Creek Elk Reserve viewing area outside Reedsport is impressive.

Duck hunters can set their sights on the Coquille Valley Wildlife Area near Coquille.

The South Coast is also a go-to golfing destination, topped by Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, and with public golf courses in every South Coast community.

As for the aforementioned gold panning, visit  the BLM Sixes River campground and day-use area near Port Orford. You won’t find nuggets, but even a tiny flake of “color” in your pan can generate excitement.. The creek feeding down to Whiskey Run Beach north of Bandon has drawn gold seekers for decades, although it’s generally too floury.

This is just a partial list of the specialized places in this diverse region of Oregon. Best of all, you don’t have to go far to enjoy them – they’re just “out our back door.”

(Shopper columnist Tom Baake is author of regional guidebooks.)