We visited two sections of the sand dunes from Florence OR, make sure you pick up a map upon…read moreentering. Great place to get some steps in and view these massive sand dunes. You can rent vehicles from an outside company to ride thru the dunes if desired. I just enjoyed the nature trails and flowers along the way! Bathrooms and steps are in good condition. Great parking, they do check your car for a paid pass. Dont be cheap and end up paying a fine. Its a park, do the right thing.. @glampedlife

We visited two sections during our stay on the Oregon coast. The first stop was the south jetty…read morelocated minutes from downtown Florence. We enjoyed watching dozens of harbor seals frolicking in the water. We also walked out on the jetty where several people were catching mostly juvenile Dungeness crabs. The other section we visited was an overlook where there were 3 viewing decks that provided us with a quick overview of the massive dunes.

The Christmas lights are absolutely stunning! 300,000 lights what!!?? Absolutely worth a winter…read morevisit. A warmer visit is also very special to see all the plants in bloom.

I have been lucky enough to see the holiday lights here at least 5-6 times during the winter…read moreholidays and I have visited here about 2-3 times in the summer. This place is extremely magical and beautiful especially with all the lights. It's definitely a favorite spot. You have to get reservations online now for the event and parking. This eliminated traffic lines and about a 15 minute wait time, but it makes it more difficult to actually see the road in and out without the additional traffic. The actual road to get in is extremely dark and the turn to get in is barely lit up. The parking lot is extremely dark too. The light show is phenomenal and has peaked to prime, but they haven't done anything additional in about 5 years when it would be nice to get solar lights or additional lighting around the entrance and parking lot. It's safer for everyone to help get more lights placed around the parking lot and entrance. It's just too dark and sketchy otherwise. Driving in and out I felt a little uncomfortable without any light or support. Still one of the most magical places in Oregon to see lights, but I do hope additional lighting can be improved for safety reasons.

HELLO! THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO FIND THE SECRET HINSDALE GARDEN…read moreAKA RHODODENDRON GARDEN. We were only able to find this place after having help from a local and had driven for miles already. If you make a right turn out of the elk viewing area a few hundred yards down the road on the left is an unmarked wooden gate. Park on the right side of the road and cross the highway and you should see benches and trees, maybe flowers just past the gate. This is how you will know that you are in the right place and not someone's property. Also, you can find directions to this garden via google maps, but it will ONLY show up if you google 48043 State Highway 38. It will NOT show up if you google Hinsdale Garden or even Hinsdale Rhododendron Garden. Pictures are included to help identify the area. The garden itself is not too big, but nice and there are bathrooms (porda-potties) if needed. My family just went there and it was completely private yet beautiful since there were still trees in bloom. I hope this helps anyone else trying to find the garden! :)

This location is absolutely stunning in the springtime, when the 700+ varieties of rhododendrons,…read moreazaleas, and camillias are in full bloom. The history of this spectacular creation is also fascinating. At present it is only open a few days a year for tours -- and spring 2019 is past -- but is very visible from the highway and you can still park at the gate and take a walking tour. Since 1994 it has been owned by BLM, but is in the process of being restored and maintained in partnership with the "Friends of Hinsdale Garden." Here is their website, which includes an informative video, comprehensive journal articles, and visitation schedules: http://www.hinsdalegarden.com

We love this beach when we are in Oregon. This is one of our go to spots for day use. The beach…read moreis awesome for finding shells, agates and driftwood. It's also fairly empty and quite. My dog really enjoys running around and playing here. Once we are done on the beach there are plenty of trails for her to walk on and wildlife to see. She especially loves the birds and the turkeys. It's easy to spend 4 hours here daily just exploring and enjoying the water. It's fairly clean and safe since the beach is a decent ways away from the road. We haven't camped here or used the restrooms. We just enjoy the water and the trails. It's a perfect place for a picnic on a warm day and an excellent area to stretch your legs on a car trip.

We stopped here for the night after a long drive south from Seattle to start our trip up the Oregon…read moreCoast. We arrived late after dark and it was very easy to check in with no ranger present at the gate house. In the morning we awoke to find a beautiful campsite with easy access to the beach and the Coquille River Lighthouse. We met friendly RVers right next to us and I would gladly stay here again. Generally, Bandon doesn't get as much attention as some of the other spots up the coast, but I really liked it here. The beach is quiet and peaceful and, although it doesn't have the crazy rock formations that some others do, it is definitely worth a visit. The driftwood here was nuts!

We stayed one night here recently. The campsites are really in 3 levels. We ended up with a site in…read morethe small middle yurt section, and happy we did. The sites in the lower loop seemed fairly tight with limited privacy. The upper loop seemed a bit more private. Lots of shade throughout, facilities were clean (no dump station). We took the Lake Marie loop trail that evening. There seemed to be a few trees down recently, but the trail itself was in pretty good shape. You could also take the trail away from the lake to the dunes. Speaking of those, they're definitely close enough that the sounds of the buggies often reverberated through the entire campground into the night. It didn't keep us up, but it did affect the serenity of the lake.

We had a great time looking at the lighthouse gift shop. We did not realize they had all kinds of…read morecookies, coffees, and chocolates. They had the most delicious white chocolate sea salt caramels. The milk chocolate caramels were also delicious. They also had these big clusters of nuts and chocolate, which my husband adores. Of course, we fell for the gimmick of a gift shop. Gifts for family were coffee mugs that said lighthouse on them, or keychains. But we also found a very Incredible Raincoat that was necessary for that trip that was only $42. That's a great price for what I got. Our vacation was covered in a horrible rain storm with wind and thunder. That raincoat was quite a blessing. It didn't break the bank. The people there were super nice and I would definitely go back on our next trip.

Spacious and well-manicured River Forks County Park is great for daily walks and special occasions…read more The park is designed to have several large parties with enough privacy and enjoyment for all. There is a boat ramp, playgrounds with multiple bathrooms nearby, sports fields, and a gorgeous view of the Umpqua River. Many people enjoyed themselves here this past weekend, as did I.

Driving down and I could not help myself but to be enchanted. We decided to take a break and go…read morefishing! Why not! It was the perfect place, to take your loved one and just relax. The layers of lush vegetation can be a lot of fun identifying the local plants. My boyfriend and I had a beautiful morning just enjoying the beautiful site. One day we shall return because this is where our affair began and it is a marking point for both of us. It was clean and peaceful and I suggest to put it on your bucket list to explore. Just gorgeous!

Interesting park that has a course around it that my family played a mini golf game around the…read morepicnic area. It doesn't have a lot of shade, but it was a nicely maintained park.

This little park was a fun spot to take my daughter while we were in town. She loved seeing the…read moredifferent structures that the parks by us don't have --see-saw, etc. I would definitely caution that in general it seemed to be a little more slippery than other playground structures perhaps due to the older material...we went in the morning after it had rained the previous night so I guess that's on us!! It seemed safe and although we were the only ones on the actual playground that Saturday morning, people were out on their morning walks on the nearby paths and would say hello. If you want an additional playground spot to take your kiddos, the elementary school playground is also pretty awesome!

Discovery Garden is a cute little place where you can sit and enjoy the plants and trees. If you…read morehave little children it is a great place for them to play. It is small and fenced in. My grandchildren loved playing in the garden.

Enjoyed the quaint little garden while staying at a nearby hotel. Flowers were in bloom and it was…read morea nice peaceful place to sit and read a couple of chapters from my current book.

Beautiful park and reasonable prices. Quiet location, exceptionally maintained. What s gem!read more

This is a very small park and you can't really do much here. They have cute covered tables so it…read morewill be great to have snacks here. But other than that, I was underwhelmed

One of our nature stops while visiting family needed to be Singleton Park. This place isn't huge,…read moreso if somebody had already planned a company picnic or family reunion or something of the sorts, there isn't going to be a lot of spare space for others. That being said, this park, albeit somewhat primitive (just not fancy), is really nice. The grounds keepers do a nice job keeping up with the mowing and pruning. The path on the far side of the park leads down to the water and gives you a great vantage point of where the North and South Umpqua rivers run together prior to becoming the Umpqua and heading out to the pacific ocean. The setting here provided for some nice back drops for some pictures with family. Unless you are planning a picnic or something your trip here probably won't take exceptionally long, but it's well worth the few minute drive to get here and check it out.