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Off the beaten track: Southern Oregon’s South Slough Reserve

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Though the sea is enjoyable and invigorating any time of year, fall is a great time to RV along the rocky Pacific coastline. The lure is a direct result of the transition that follows Labor Day, the official end of summer. Traffic no longer impacts Route 1, kids are all back in their schools and humming with activity, summer vacations are but memories until next year, and you can move into the now un-crowded campgrounds, un-bound by the high season necessity of making reservations–the destroyer of spontaneous whims.
This is the time of year when Indian summer settles over the coast. The fogs of summer, that form over the cooler offshore waters sucked in by the vacuum cleaner of sizzling inland temperatures, have mostly disappeared. Nippy afternoon winds have decreased to soft zephyrs.
This is the time to meander Route l, enjoying the ocean views atop precipitous cliffs, and walking barefoot along cool soft sandy beaches. But don’t forget the occasional side trip that often gets missed by the straight through traveler. One such trip is to South Slough National Estuarine Reserve, the nation’s first protected Estuarine preserve, on Oregon’s south coast near Coos Bay.
The Coos River enters the ocean a few miles west of Coos Bay at Charleston, and South Slough stretches out languidly south of town in a shallow, tidal basin of narrow winding channels and gooey mudflats. It is this mud and tidal flow that creates South Slough’s soupy smorgasbord, a mixture of the most primitive forms of life at the bottom of the food chain that feeds much of ocean life in its infancy.
Trails snake down the slopes from the visitor center, following the drainage from the surrounding hills into the tidal washed bottom, passing through dry scrub at the top to soggy wetlands at the bottom. Boardwalks provide walkways over these wet places so you don’t have to get your new hiking boots wet, and a superb viewing platform set just inside the tree line provides excellent viewing of shorebirds pecking in the mud, ducks on the open water, and deer, raccoons, and other critters who make South Slough home.
To find South Slough, take the Cape Arago Highway from Coos Bay to Charleston, whose harbor is one of the main sport fishing harbors in Oregon and its busiest commercial fishing port. It is also a good place to buy the freshest fish you can get, just off the hook to you and your frying pan.
To get to South Slough, return to Charleston and look for Seven Devils Road off to the left at the south end of town. For the next several miles just close your eyes (unless you’re the driver) as you pass the timber industry’s environmental signature–vast acres of ugly clear-cut forests—or what used to be forests. The practically non-existent re-seeding program has produced negligible restoration results since the devastating harvesting of the 1960s.
Five miles of this and you arrive at South Slough. Turn left into the interpretive center and pick up a map of the trails, a brochure on the reserve, and a schedule of naturalist-led walks.
Admission is free, the trails are open dawn to dusk, and be sure to pick up a tide schedule if you intend on paddling the slough’s waterways, which is an excellent way to see wildlife and birds up close. Walk quietly and bring your binoculars, who knows what you might see.
Take some time also for a side trip to three of Oregon’s premier state parks. Sunset Bay State Park offers dramatic cliffs, surf, diving, hiking, and one of the most popular all season campgrounds in Oregon, a good base camp from which to explore the area with greater leisure.
Another mile along the highway you come to Shore Acres State Park, the former summer home/estate of lumber magnate, Louis Simpson, and known not only for the magnificent rocky coastal views but for its restored formal gardens. Offshore from the rugged cliffs lies Cape Arago lighthouse, with good views from Cape Arago State Park, at the end of the Highway. All three parks are close together and connected by hiking trails.

Though the sea is enjoyable and invigorating any time of year, fall is a great time to RV along the rocky Pacific coastline. The lure is a direct result of the transition that follows Labor Day, the official end of summer.

Traffic no longer impacts Route 1, kids are all back in their schools, summer vacations are but memories until next year, and you can move into the now un-crowded campgrounds, un-bound by the high season necessity of making reservations–the destroyer of spontaneous whims.

This is the time of year when Indian summer settles over the coast. The fogs of summer, that form over the cooler offshore waters sucked in by the vacuum cleaner of sizzling inland temperatures, have mostly disappeared. Nippy afternoon winds have decreased to soft zephyrs.

This is the time to meander Route l, enjoying the ocean views atop precipitous cliffs, and walking barefoot along cool soft sandy beaches. But don’t forget the occasional side trip that often gets missed by the straight through traveler. One such trip is to South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, the nation’s first protected Estuarine preserve, on Oregon’s south coast near Coos Bay.

The Coos River enters the ocean a few miles west of Coos Bay at Charleston, and South Slough stretches out languidly south of town in a shallow, tidal basin of narrow winding channels and gooey mudflats. It is this mud and tidal flow that creates South Slough’s soupy smorgasbord, a mixture of the most primitive forms of life at the bottom of the food chain that feeds much of ocean life in its infancy.

Trails snake down the slopes from the visitor center, following the drainage from the surrounding hills into the tidal washed bottom, passing through dry scrub at the top to soggy wetlands at the bottom. Boardwalks provide walkways over these wet places so you don’t have to get your new hiking boots wet, and a superb viewing platform set just inside the tree line provides excellent viewing of shorebirds pecking in the mud, ducks on the open water, and deer, raccoons, and other critters who make South Slough home.

To find South Slough, take the Cape Arago Highway from Coos Bay to Charleston, whose harbor is one of the main sport fishing harbors in Oregon and its busiest commercial fishing port. It is also a good place to buy the freshest fish you can get, just off the hook to you and your frying pan.

To get to South Slough, return to Charleston and look for Seven Devils Road off to the left at the south end of town. For the next several miles just close your eyes (unless you’re the driver) as you pass the timber industry’s environmental signature–vast acres of ugly clear-cut forests—or what used to be forests. The practically non-existent re-seeding program has produced negligible restoration results since the devastating harvesting of the 1960s.

Five miles of this and you arrive at South Slough. Turn left into the interpretive center and pick up a map of the trails, a brochure on the reserve, and a schedule of naturalist-led walks. Though camping is not permitted at the reserve, campgrounds and state parks are nearby.

Admission is free, the trails are open dawn to dusk, and be sure to pick up a tide schedule if you intend on paddling the slough’s waterways, which is an excellent way to see wildlife and birds up close. Walk quietly and bring your binoculars, who knows what you might see.

Take some time also for a side trip to three of Oregon’s premier state parks. Sunset Bay State Park offers dramatic cliffs, surf, diving, hiking, and one of the most popular all season campgrounds in Oregon, a good base camp from which to explore the area with greater leisure.

Another mile along the highway you come to Shore Acres State Park, the former summer home/estate of lumber magnate, Louis Simpson, and known not only for the magnificent rocky coastal views but for its restored formal gardens. Offshore from the rugged cliffs lies Cape Arago lighthouse, with good views from Cape Arago State Park, at the end of the Highway. All three parks are close together and connected by hiking trails but camping is only available at Sunset Bay.

For more RVing articles and tips take a look at my Healthy RV Lifestyle website, where you will also find my ebooks: BOONDOCKING: Finding the Perfect Campsite on America’s Public Lands (PDF or Kindle), 111 Ways to Get the Biggest Bang for your RV Lifestyle Buck, and Snowbird Guide to Boondocking in the Southwestern Deserts, and my newest, The RV Lifestyle: Reflections of Life on the Road (Kindle reader version). NOTE: Use the Kindle version to read on iPad and iPhone or any device that has the free Kindle reader app.

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