Wednesday, July 26, 2023
We drove through Bandon and over the Coquille River bridge in order to reach our destination for three nights, Bullards Beach State Park. The park was aquired between 1962 and 1985 from various owners. The Coquille River Lighthouse , built by the U.S. Coastguard in 1896 and operated until 1939 sits at the confluence of the river and ocean. The Bullard family were early settlers in the Bandon area. Robert Bullard established a store and post office at the mouth of the river and operated a ferry, which crossed the river near the present bridge on U.S. 101.
We arrive early (1130 hrs- sites available at 1600!) so we wait in the boat launch parking lot with another couple waiting for their site to open. It’s not a bad wait as there are grassy areas close by in order to walk the dogs. We check back in at the entrance kiosk shortly after 1300 hrs (check out time) and our site is vacant so in we go.
Bullards Beach State Park has 191 campsites and some yurts for rent. The sites are in amongst trees and fairly protected from the prevailing sea breeze. Some sites have water and electric and some full hookup sites with water, electric and sewer. The location of the sites with sewer seems to be fairly random and to my eye make no sense as a non-sewer site can be surrounded with those that have sewer. If a person wants a full hookup site one must make a careful pick on the internet reservation site.
The park offers Coquille river access for boat launching, the sandy beach of course, a nice large grassy day use area and the Coquille River Lighthouse. Jil and I volunteered as lighthouse hosts many years ago. We offered tours of the light tower as well as manning the gift shop there. There was no electricity so we used a battery operated calculator to register sales. That calculator had been bastardized to register sales as the State saw fit and believe me it wasn’t easy to use as each key now had a special purpose.
This family oriented park was jam packed with families. Kids riding bikes and scooters everywhere which was good to see. Except when the kids rode by, the park is so quiet one can hear a mouse fart from 300 feet away! Honest! People ride horseback here as there is also a horse camp out towards the lighthouse. There are many paved and unpaved trails to follow. The beach is wide allowing for a lengthy stroll along the Pacific Ocean’s shore.
Bandon (3321 souls) is a few miles south of Bullards Beach. The town was established in 1853 and named after its Irish founder’s home town in Ireland. For some ungodly reason he introduced gorse, a very prickly and oily plant, to the area which proved to be a bad idea. In 1936 a forest fire was wind driven into town, the gorse burst into flames and the entire commercial district was destroyed.
The quaint little town is known for its seafood restaurants and good fishing. It’s harbor is on the Coquille River across from the Coquille Lighthouse. Following the river to its mouth and entering the ocean means crossing the Coquille River Bar which can be treacherous.
Up river the Coquiille is a lazy navigable meandering river that flows along side the very large Bandon Marsh. There’s a lot to see in and around Bandon- the marsh, the state park (day use is free in Oregon), the Coquille River and lighthouse, cranberry and blueberry farms and of course, the Langlois Market. The town caters to surfers, tourists, mountain bikers, storm watchers and fishermen of course! Fishing and timber are still important but do not play as significant a role as in the past. Bandon Dunes Golf Resort lies north of the city for those looking for a good walk.
We enjoyed our three days here in Bandon. We’ll see you down the road!
Travel With Jil and Mike 