Trip to Oregon Dunes National Recreational Area
Had been to the Oregon Dunes National recreational area last weekend. This has been on my to-be-visited places list ever since I read about the adventures a fellow blogger had at those dunes sometime 2 years ago. So, we started from Seattle on Friday evening and stayed at my friend's place in Portland that night. Started our drive on Saturday morning for the destination via the 101 route.
I have heard about how driving on the 101 route is such an amazing experience. I got a first hand experience of the same only last weekend. It was so beautiful, all along and the perfect summer weather we had only made the drive all the more memorable. The first time you get to see the Pacific ocean and drive along it is truly memorable. There are too many beautiful view points along the way. So, if you are driving & have missed a good view point, do not worry. There is another one right around the corner.
But I am digressing her since the trip was all about the ATV ride on the sand dunes and it was the one that I was looking forward to the most. After talking with those who have already done it, one thing was clear - it is not going to be easy and enjoyable. Looks like it is quite easy to fall off the drifts in the dunes and thus the ATV gets toppled very easily. That was one reason why the insurance companies stopped covering these ATV rides. All these only made me apprehensive as we reached the ATV rental place.
At the rental place, there is a brief lesson on the do's and don'ts while riding an ATV. The one thing they tell you as one of the most important points is that while climbing uphill a dune, you should always do it in a straight line bcos otherwise, your vehicle will get stuck in the sand. The next important thing is that there is a lot of illusion in these drifts that you find in the sands. In other words, these sand dunes are more like snow. So, when you climb up a dune, you have to be extra careful to slow down right as you reach the top of the dune bcos the drop from the top can be very steep in some places. The part of this lesson which made us all wary is about the consequences that we have to face if we topple the ATV and damaging the vehicle & the accessories in the process. There were separate charges for each and every minor damage (all this bcos of there being no insurance coverage for these ATVs) and the cost of those repairs were anything between 20$ to 200$.
We took the 1-hour ride option for 45$. From the rental place, the guide leads you to the dunes and as with all these attractions, they take you through a crowded area completely covered with trees and then suddenly you are right into the middle of the dunes. The way you get to encounter the dunes does take you by shock & awe. Whichever way we turned, all we could see was the sand dunes. It was just too good. The guide led us through to the center of the dunes and that is when and where the fun begins. We found out quickly that whatever that was mentioned in the pre-ride lessons were very imperative and helpful. As with everything, we slowly got used to riding the ATV. It was way too fun riding our ATVs up those huge imposing dunes. Some dunes that are so steep and looking at which your first thought would be to skip them, are actually easily climbable. Like with every other adventurous activities that we get to do over here (skiing, rafting, sky diving, etc), the adrenaline rush that we experience during this ride was awesome.
The only downside to this whole experience was that the ATVs got stuck in the sands quite often and that obviously slowed us down. The biggest mistake we did that was in our eagerness to help our friends to get their ATVs out of the sand, we left our own ATVs in an uphill section of the dune from where we ourselves required help to get the ATV out.
Couple of advices if you plan on going there:
So, if you are someone who is at a drivable distance of this place, you should give this place a visit. Its worth the drive and the beautiful & scenic 101 drive just makes the whole trip all the more worthier.
I have heard about how driving on the 101 route is such an amazing experience. I got a first hand experience of the same only last weekend. It was so beautiful, all along and the perfect summer weather we had only made the drive all the more memorable. The first time you get to see the Pacific ocean and drive along it is truly memorable. There are too many beautiful view points along the way. So, if you are driving & have missed a good view point, do not worry. There is another one right around the corner.
But I am digressing her since the trip was all about the ATV ride on the sand dunes and it was the one that I was looking forward to the most. After talking with those who have already done it, one thing was clear - it is not going to be easy and enjoyable. Looks like it is quite easy to fall off the drifts in the dunes and thus the ATV gets toppled very easily. That was one reason why the insurance companies stopped covering these ATV rides. All these only made me apprehensive as we reached the ATV rental place.At the rental place, there is a brief lesson on the do's and don'ts while riding an ATV. The one thing they tell you as one of the most important points is that while climbing uphill a dune, you should always do it in a straight line bcos otherwise, your vehicle will get stuck in the sand. The next important thing is that there is a lot of illusion in these drifts that you find in the sands. In other words, these sand dunes are more like snow. So, when you climb up a dune, you have to be extra careful to slow down right as you reach the top of the dune bcos the drop from the top can be very steep in some places. The part of this lesson which made us all wary is about the consequences that we have to face if we topple the ATV and damaging the vehicle & the accessories in the process. There were separate charges for each and every minor damage (all this bcos of there being no insurance coverage for these ATVs) and the cost of those repairs were anything between 20$ to 200$.
We took the 1-hour ride option for 45$. From the rental place, the guide leads you to the dunes and as with all these attractions, they take you through a crowded area completely covered with trees and then suddenly you are right into the middle of the dunes. The way you get to encounter the dunes does take you by shock & awe. Whichever way we turned, all we could see was the sand dunes. It was just too good. The guide led us through to the center of the dunes and that is when and where the fun begins. We found out quickly that whatever that was mentioned in the pre-ride lessons were very imperative and helpful. As with everything, we slowly got used to riding the ATV. It was way too fun riding our ATVs up those huge imposing dunes. Some dunes that are so steep and looking at which your first thought would be to skip them, are actually easily climbable. Like with every other adventurous activities that we get to do over here (skiing, rafting, sky diving, etc), the adrenaline rush that we experience during this ride was awesome.
The only downside to this whole experience was that the ATVs got stuck in the sands quite often and that obviously slowed us down. The biggest mistake we did that was in our eagerness to help our friends to get their ATVs out of the sand, we left our own ATVs in an uphill section of the dune from where we ourselves required help to get the ATV out.
Couple of advices if you plan on going there:
- Take the 2 hour ATV ride. Though it costs double the price of an 1-hour ride, it should be worth it. The problem with the 1 hour rides (the ones which we all took) is that you start getting comfortable with the ATV & the dunes & the maneuvering it requires only after 40 mins and by that time, you are hardly left with 5-10mins to enjoy it bcos you have to get ready to go back to the rental place.
- Do not ever stop the ATV while you are climbing uphill.
So, if you are someone who is at a drivable distance of this place, you should give this place a visit. Its worth the drive and the beautiful & scenic 101 drive just makes the whole trip all the more worthier.
posted by Filbert at 4:30 PM
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