Winchester Bay, Oregon’s Unique Riding Area
Story and Photos By: Betsy Fessler
We usually frequent Glamis when we need a dune fix. But Glamis can top 110° in the summer, eliminating it as an option. Where do we go when we long to ride sand during the heat of the summer? We head to the much cooler climate of the Oregon coast.
The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area is split into three different riding areas. They are all adjacent to each other. However, there is no way to ride from one area to another without packing up and towing there. Because of that, we plan in advance which area or areas we want to visit each time we go.
This time, our group chose to ride at the Umpqua riding area, better known as Winchester Bay. There are several campgrounds with dune access there. We wanted to be as close as possible to the dunes. Also, we all wanted to camp together in a group site. The best option was the Half Moon Bay Campground, operated by Douglas County. It is a large campground with single sites as well as several group sites. More information can be found and reservations can be made at www.co.douglas.or.us/parks/.
We camped at Half Moon Bay several times while attending DuneFest. DuneFest is a fast-paced, crazy fun weekend held in July of each year (it is cancelled for 2020), and the campground is packed and loud. We wanted to experience Winchester Bay during a quieter time.
Driving on Highway 101, Google Maps guided us to turn on Salmon Harbor Road. On Salmon Harbor Road, we immediately saw the harbor, restaurants, and campgrounds. Soon we came to the Half Moon Bay Campground. While turning in, we noticed that we were located very close to the Umpqua River Lighthouse. The smell of the ocean was prevalent. We could feel the stress sliding from our shoulders immediately.
The Half Moon Bay Campground surrounds you with pine trees. We could hear them rustling in the breeze. There was plenty of room for our seven rigs at our reserved group site. The only downfall is that the campground has no hookups. There are clean vault toilets scattered around, which are useful when trying to conserve RV resources. We did find a water spigot near the entrance to the campground that was available if anyone needed water. On the flip side, the sand access road to the dunes is located directly across the street from Half Moon Bay Campground, making the dunes only a few short minutes away.
Beside duning, there are other activities to keep any group busy. If we were into fishing, there are several charter companies at the nearby marinas. They offer trips to catch anything from crab to rock fish, and are less than two miles away from Half Moon Bay. If we wanted to fish from land, there is also a nearby pier to fish or drop a crab trap from. There were people landing both.
Fishing is not our group’s thing, but eating fresh fish definitely is. We went to the docks one afternoon and purchased a tuna from one of the boats. It was cleaned and wrapped for us. Our group ate delicious baja-style fish tacos that night for dinner with all the fixings. The tuna was so good that several of us returned to the docks the next morning and bought more to take home.
One night, a group member suggested that we load up in our trucks and drive to Bedrocks on the Bay for pizza. It was an easy sell. We drove just a few minutes and were treated to the harbor view as we stuffed ourselves with pizza. To top it off, we discovered BJ’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream next door and stopped for dessert before driving back to camp. The food was really good, reasonably priced, and a nice reprieve from our usual cooking duties.
Our group is a little ho hum when we are in Oregon. When we are at the dunes, we get up late and stay up late. We enjoy riding just after lunch, and head out again before sunset.
Winchester dunes are known to have taller dunes than the other riding areas. There are several fingers on the east side of the dunes that we always enjoy venturing into. One of them leads you to an amazing overlook of Clear Lake from Drake Dune.
I found several noteworthy things while riding at Winchester Bay. One of them is that there is no OHV beach access there. You can see the ocean or the bay from almost anywhere in the dunes while you’re riding, but only street licensed cars can get to the water.
Another thing that struck me is that there are tall evergreen trees growing in the dunes. As the dunes shift, trees get slowly buried and others unearthed, which gives the dunes a unique coastal ambiance. It looks very different from any other dunes we’ve visited.
During our last day, our group decided to ride to the top of Banshee Hill for sunset. Banshee Hill is probably the most known feature at the Winchester Bay dunes. It is a steep narrow shoot of loose sand, surrounded by trees. I had climbed Banshee Hill before, but never to see the sunset.
We rode our UTVs out of the campground, across the street, and took the short drive to the base of the hill. There were many people hanging out at the bottom. We climbed the hill, only to find even more people parked at the top. We turned our vehicles to face the ocean, arriving just in time to see the sun about to start disappearing behind the ocean’s horizon.
The next few minutes were one of the most memorable in my off-road history. I have never been at the dunes sitting above a calm ocean, witness to the vibrant and changing colors made by the setting sun. Our group sat and silently watched the sun’s slow descent. The crowd around us was just as silent. All you could hear was the sound of the ocean. It was amazing.
A visit to Winchester Bay offered us so much more than dune riding. We appreciated having a place to ride in the summer. We also enjoyed the diversity of activities that Winchester Bay offers, giving us so many options for things to do in addition to dune riding. We took time to walk to the harbor. We watched people catch fish and crab. We ate at nearby restaurants, and enjoyed the sunsets. There were several things we wanted to do, but didn’t have the time, including window shopping, checking out a fishing charter, and touring the lighthouse. All of which are a good excuse to visit again.
