The Oregon Dunes is a 40 mile stretch of sand dunes between the coastal cities of Florence and North Bend Oregon. They are very unique geologically, with converging habitats of coastal, open dune, wetland and forest environments. There are several hiking opportunities throughout the region. We chose a one-mile beach trek (2 miles round trip) called the Oregon Dunes Overlook trail. We began our hike in open dunes, and with the strong afternoon winds characteristic of this region. A pair of sunglasses is a necessity to keep sand particles out of eyes, mouth, etc. Sunglasses are especially important for kids since their eyes are so much closer to the gusts of sand kicked up by the wind off the dunes. There's nothing like huge dunes of sand to make everyone feel like a kid! Throughout the hike, we could hear the crashing of the surf; a powerful motivator for anyone to hike toward. We saw blossoming trees, lots of shore birds, loads of sand dollar shells, crab shells, and razor clam shells. This was a beautiful hike and highly recommended!
