From Nancy D. Brown of What a Trip
Dunes and Clouds along North Bend, Oregon
You couldn’t wipe the grin off my face as we completed a 360 in the Oregon sand dunes. My first dune buggy ride and this February day was perfect on the Oregon Coast. Rich Burkholder, the owner of Spinreel Dune Buggy and ATV Rental had taken me out in the Rhino for a few woopty doops (the unofficial term for bouncing along the bumps in the trail) and some hair raising dune riding, as well as a nature ride along North Bend’s scenic Ten Mile Road and the Oregon coastline.
Paw Prints on Ten Mile Road
It felt like Burkholder was more of a tracker than a dune buggy outfitter, as he was able to spot fox, deer, raccoon and some type of lynx or wild cat paw prints in the sand as we rumbled along in our shock absorbing quad. We stopped and chatted with a fisherman who showed us his pink fin perch that he’d recently caught. Then we climbed up the dunes where the drops can be 100 feet and natural sand castles are created by layers of sand compressed by nature’s wind and rain.
Spinreel Campground
Spinreel has the largest area of riding, as the dunes run from Coos Bay to Haceta Head; about 60 miles of dunes. For a novice like me, I was happy that the company showed a safety video before departure and had an employee lead me to the dunes for a one or two hour ride.
Spinreel OHV Campground is operated by the Siuslaw National Forest. With 36 tent, auto and trailer sites, Spinreel is the ideal location for dune buggy and ATV enthusiasts.
Spinreel Campground
1-877-444-6777
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3 Responses
Love your story, and love Oregon. Great picture of the dunes. Sounds like you had a wonderful trip! I just hope the Oregon coast doesn’t get too crowded!
hi Betsy
I sure hate to tell you this but the dunes have been crowded for years now. We use to go down for Thanksgiving and there wouldn’t hardly be any other people there and now you have to reserve a space about a year ahead. We really Spinreel also it’s a really nice campground.
[...] North Bend area has some of the best dune buggy riding in the state. Check out Spinreel Campground for cheap digs on the coast. If gambling and hot tubs with water views are more to your liking, the [...]