Escape with local getaways
■ Lane County offers a variety
of outdoor opportunities for
Memorial Day Weekend
By Aaron K. Breniman
Oregon Daily Emerald
With the extended Memorial Day
weekend coming up, and recent
record-breaking temperatures and
sunny weather expected to stay
throughout the next several days,
now is the perfect opportunity to
head out and enjoy the wilderness.
Whether heading out for an after
noon of swimming and hiking, a
night of camping or a more exten
sive trip to the Oregon coast, Lane
County offers a variety of outdoor
activities.
Even though most of the Oregon
State Parks campground sites are re
served for the Memorial Day week
end, most campsites in national
forests are first come, first serve,
said Steve Coady with the Lowell
Service Center of Middlefork
Ranger District.
Located just off Highway 58 in
Lowell, about 25 miles east of Eu
gene, the Lowell Service Center of
fers information and maps to the at
tractions and campsites in the Fall
Creek area. Coady said campsites in
the Fall Creek area range in price
from $8 to $12.
Fall Creek, which runs from
mountain-glacier run-off to the Fall
Creek Lake in Lowell, provides an
excellent area for hiking, swim
ming, camping and fishing, Coady
said, adding that although water
levels are below normal, the creek
is still a great place for swimming.
Some of the more popular camp
grounds in the Fall Creek area in
clude Dolly Varden, Broken Bowl,
Bedrock and Big Pool, he said.
I
All campsites in the Fall Creek
area can be reached from Eugene in
less than an hour.
National forests are also a good
place for what is called “disperse
camping,” where people can just
park on the side of the road, hike
into the woods and camp for free in
an area of their choosing, said Mar
cy Teal with the Oregon State Parks
Information Center.
“Camping is allowed virtually
Camping is allowed
virtually anywhere in the
national forests. You could
pick out a tree to camp
in if you like.
MarcyTeal
employee, . .
Oregon State Parks / /
anywhere in the national forests,”
she said. “You could pick out a tree
to camp in if you like.”
For those looking to venture a lit
tle farther from town, the McKenzie
Ranger District is located east of Eu
gene in the Willamette National For
est. The McKenzie River area is pop
ular for rafting, fishing, hiking and
sightseeing, said Michel Hiddleston
of the McKenzie Ranger District.
The McKenzie Ranger District of
fice, located just off Highway 126
East about 50 miles east of Eugene,
is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. dai
ly and can provide interested per
sons with maps of the area and the
locations for unique attractions,
such as waterfalls.
Hiddleston said the McKenzie
River offers catch-and-release fish
ing, while many of the area lakes are
regularly stocked with fish for the
taking.
For those with an itching to visit
the Oregon coast, Florence, located
just 60 miles west of Eugene, offers a
variety of activities and accommo
dations.
“We have just about something
for everyone,” Florence Area Cham
ber of Commerce employee Jeanne
Turvey said.
From group dune buggy tours and
dune buggy rentals to fishing, sand
castle building to sand-boarding — a
relatively new sport where the rider
is pulled by a kite while riding a
board similar to a surfboard — out
door activities abound in Florence.
Whether looking for activities for
a day or the entire weekend, visitors
to the area can obtain information
on many different activities and
lodging options at the Florence Axea
Chamber of Commerce, 270 High
way 101. The toll-free phone num
ber for the Chamber of Commerce is
1-800-524-4864.
Turvey said many of the lakes in
the area are excellent for swimming,
fishing, jet-skiing and water-skiing,
and certain campgrounds are some
what hidden getaways.
“They’re kind of like hidden se
crets,” Turvey said. ’’People just
don’t know that they are there. ”
Oregon law requires anyone fish
ing over the age of 14 to have a fishing
license. Licenses cost $19.75 and can
be purchased at G.I. Joe’s, Fred Meyer
and Bi-mart, as well as at many small
er bait shops throughout Oregon.
The toll-free number for the Ore
gon Parks and Recreation Informa
tion Center is 1-800-551-6949, and
it can also be a valuable source of in
formation on many of the state and
federal parks and forests throughout
Oregon.
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