Recent rainfall has continued the seasonal progression in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area (ODNRA) north of Coos Bay, with its many lakes large and small slowly getting refilled. Indeed, mention the Oregon Dunes and most people think about sand, but there’s actually many acres of water, from the aforementioned lakes, to streams that drain into and out of the dunes. The dunes themselves cover a vast aquifer routinely tapped by municipal water supplies and individual homes and businesses.
At the fringes of the sandy domain are conifers such as shorepines and firs, and deciduous trees such as maples and alders, as well as deciduous shrubbery like vine maple, wax myrtle and willows. The dunes support other lifeforms specific to autumn and winter, such as mushrooms, mosses and a variety of lichens.
Perhaps the most obvious seasonal indicator is the sand itself. Right now, for example, we’ve passed the interlude between the powdery sand of late summer and the firmer footing of rainy winter.
And although I used the words “footing” and “walking,” it’s important to mention that the majority of Oregon Dunes visitors come to ride ATVs or other vehicles, but in this instance ATVers and walkers alike can potentially derive pleasure from firmer sand. For walkers, it’s less tiring to plod through, while those in vehicles can up their speeds while enjoying nimbleness not possible on powdery sand.
The rainy season also brings unique challenges in the Dunes, most obviously in lowland areas routinely flooded. Only hardy souls outfitted for the elements will want to brave some of the long (and sometimes deep!) sections of inundation, such as the west end of the Dellenback Dunes trail near Lakeside.
Another area predictably flooded but at least partially passable is the trail around Bluebill Lake, along Horsfall Beach Road at the south end of the ODNRA. In a typical year, the lake’s western side is underwater for much of the winter, forcing visitors to either slog through the water or turn back.
Visit now in a low-rainfall year such as this one, however, and you’ll enjoy a fun little 1.7-mile loop walk around an inviting spread of sparkling blue water (on a sunny day, that is) surrounded by a classic mix of dunes and woodlands.
Getting There
From the North Bend/Coos Bay area, head north on US 101, crossing McCullough Bridge. About 0.7 miles from the bridge, turn west on Transpacific Ln., following signs to the ODNRA and Horsfall Beach. The road crosses a causeway, then a bridge, then railroad tracks. Just past the Boxcar Hill ATV site, turn right (N) on Horsfall Beach Rd., entering the ODNRA. A $5 day-use fee or seasonal pass is required.
In about 1.6 miles is the Bluebill Lake trail parking lot, with an informational map sign. The trail heads south on a well-graded, pea gravel-lined trail 0.2 mile to a “T” intersection. Turn left, following a sign to Bluebill Lake Loop.
The trail weaves through a dense understory of salal, Oregon grape, rhododendron and huckleberry, while in the towering shorepines long billowy beards of moss waft in the breeze.
The trail passes overlooks and fishing spots, eventually arriving at a footbridge over the lake’s south end. Once across the lake, the trail’s marked by blue-banded posts, which lead to a brief uphill stretch of loose sand, then down to the lakeshore again. Watch for a trail sign on a section of split-rail fence.
Follow the trail north, just inland from the lake, to the seasonally-closed ODNRA Bluebill campground. The trail threads through brush and grasses to a footbridge over the lake’s north end. (It’s also marked by an informational sign in the adjacent campsite.) Cross the footbridge, and follow the blue-banded trail markers up past a nice overlook. The trail curves up and meets the intersection where this loop began. Turn left (N) to return to the parking area. And leave the mossy beards in the shorepines wafting gently in the breeze...
(Shopper columnist Tom Baake is author of the guidebook “Out Our Back Door,” available at Books by the Bay in North Bend and the Coos Bay Visitor Center.)
