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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 25, 2016)
13A THE DAILY ASTORIAN FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 2016 Photos by Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian Visitors are silhouetted against the sunset as they search for clams along the beach at Fort Stevens State Park in February. Fort Stevens: Deluxe cabins are ideal for storm watching Continued from Page 1A “It gives people an oppor- tunity to visit year-round that they couldn’t do before,” Wing said. Before the cabins, Wing remembers the park having 42 tent sites. Those tent sites sat empty until June each year because most people do not camp in tents on the coast in the winter. The park now has just six tent sites, as more visitors are opting for the cabins. Wing said the deluxe cab- ins give people a whole new perspective of the park in the wintertime. They are ideal for storm watching, she said. “It’s kind of a neat way to view the storms and still be cozy and warm,” Wing said. Paddle away Along with inviting peo- ple to storm watch from a cabin, the park has focused on offering more recre- ational opportunities in the offseason. The park is forming a partnership with Clatsop Paddle Co. to offer adventure packages that bundle a stay at the park with paddleboarding on Coffenbury Lake. Details are being worked out to launch the pilot program this summer. In addition, rangers are starting to lead kayak tours on Trestle Bay. “We are just trying to offer some different opportu- nities to people,” Wing said. “It’s all about getting peo- ple out and interested in the outdoors.” Given the opportunity, Wing said, visitors around the state are willing to recre- ate in rain or shine. “If you are an Oregonian, you recreate in the rain,” she said. Since the park added 11 deluxe cabins five years ago, the park has seen more visitors in the winter. Ranger Supervisor Michael Simonsen walks along a ren- ovated walkway leading to a wildlife viewing point in Fort Stevens State Park. near Social Security Beach. The boardwalk was built nearly two decades ago. “It had been a few years, and everything had rotted out,” Simonsen said. “We just came in and redid it.” It took more than four months to ¿nish the board- walk, working on and off for a year. The boardwalk was left half done all last summer. Park staff recently went through all of the bike trails to remove any roots protrud- ing out of the ground. Since the bike trails are popular, staff had to work in sections to clear the trails. The bike trail project took about three months. The park has nine full- time rangers, 26 seasonal workers and up to 60 volun- teers. The park operates on a biennial budget, and has $150,000 budgeted for proj- ects in 2015-2017. “All of our projects are decided then (in the budget),” Wing said. “It’s just getting them completed that can take a little bit of time.” Wing, who has worked with parks for 27 years, became the park manager in 2004. Her father worked at Fort Stevens while she was growing up. Wing said it was inevitable she would pursue a career at the park. She enjoys getting to share her love of the park with more visitors each year. Most people who visit are on vacation and in a good mood. Seeing visitors appreciate the park makes the work year- round worthwhile, she said. “You feel pretty lucky to work in place people pay to recreate in,” Wing said. ZIP LINE TOURS ENJOY 8 ZIP LINES IN A BEAUTIFUL SETTING! R A E Y OPEN D N U O R OVER A MILE OF ZIPPING Finding the time Call For A free IN-HOME CONSULTATION! Shutters, Wood Blinds, Cellular Shades, Soft Shades, Vertical Blinds, Valances,Woven Wood & more! SAVE 25% GIFT CERTIFICATES • TEAM BUILDING PROGRAMS on Select Signature Series 92111 HIGHLIFE ROAD WARRENTON, OREGON Financing Available 503.861.9875 Oregon Coast 503-738-5242 Lincoln City 541-994-9954 RESERVATIONS REQUIRED SW Washington 503-738-5242 www.budgetblinds.com *Offer not valid with any other offers. Offer good at time of initial estimate only. Offer good at participating franchises only. Each franchise independently owned and operated. CCB#177717 Ranger Supervisor Michael Simonsen said the park’s staff has to ¿nd the time to ¿nish maintenance projects while also catering to visitors. The window to ¿nish proj- ects such as improvements to cabins and trails is shrinking. Already this year, the park is gearing up for thousands of visitors for spring break, then the Astoria Warrenton Crab, Seafood and Wine Fes- tival, before summer is in full swing. “We get a little lull through May, then school is out and we are wide open until Octo- ber,” Simonsen said. This winter, park staff was able to ¿nish a Àurry of main- tenance projects. The most noticeable may be the resto- ration of the boardwalk that leads to the wildlife view- ing bunker off Parking Lot D highlife-adventures.com
