December 29, 2017 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 3A
BRACING FOR WINTER
At Ecola State
Park, small
improvements
could
foreshadow
bigger changes
By Katie Frankowicz
EO Media Group
A
s Ecola State Park
braces for winter,
some issues continue
to haunt it, but changes in-
tended to improve the park’s
offerings are on the way.
For years, the park has
made do with one full-time
ranger supplemented by a
variety of part-time and sea-
sonal staff. Some years park
managers have had to go
without a full roster of those
extra hands. In the last few
years, landslides and other
unexpected disasters hit the
park — a massive landslide
snipped a popular trail be-
tween Ecola Point and Indi-
an Beach recently — forcing
rangers to adjust what tasks
take top priority. Minor tasks
have continued to pile up.
A trail reroute to Indian
Beach and possibly an en-
tirely new road into the park
to avoid landslide areas — as
first proposed in a 1975 mas-
ter plan — are still a ways off.
In the meantime, funding for
a second full-time park rang-
er at Ecola and Tolovana will
help staff tackle long-deferred
maintenance and bring the
1,023-acre state park known
for its sweeping views and
lush forest trails closer to ser-
vice level standards, said Park
Manager Ben Cox.
Now, said Cox, “we’ve
been able to focus a little
more work there. Just little
things here and there.”
A grant from the federal
Recreational Trails Program
for work in other state park
areas that fall under Cox’s
oversight will impact Ecola
State Park indirectly.
“It does relieve a little
bit of the financial pressure
Visitors to Ecola State Park take in one of the many scenic
views in the area.
head in Indian Beach inform
visitors that the trail is washed
out and asks hikers not to try
and cross the slide.
Dozens of people have
clearly ignored the plea. The
slide area is criss-crossed by
narrow paths stamped with
boot prints and animal tracks.
In May, one park rang-
er said the area looked like
a bomb had gone off. It still
looks that way, but the scar
isn’t as fresh now. Under-
growth has crept back and,
with the mild start to winter
this year, persisted into De-
cember. Beyond the make-
shift paths, the ground is soft
and fractured. A shallow mud-
dy stream cuts down the hill,
spilling coppery water across
the beach far below.
Wear and tear
COLIN MURPHEY/EO MEDIA GROUP
A sign at the park ranger pay station at the entrance to Eco-
la State Park lets visitors know about the condition of trails.
‘We are always concerned about
the status of the road and the
slide that’s occurring there.…’
Park Manager Ben Cox
and should allow us to spend
some local resources on some
of those trails within Ecola,”
Cox said.
Landslide
The trail work Cox has in
mind would be separate from
the reroute that’s necessary to
reconnect a trail from Ecola
Point to Indian Beach. That
trail was severed by a land-
slide that sent a hillside of
dirt, trees and undergrowth
oceanward, creating an ocean
view where there had never
been one before.
A new route recommended
by Ptarmigan Ptrails, a trail
construction company, would
take hikers around the slide
area with a climb to a ridge far
above. The proposed reroute
is expected to cost between
$20,000 and $50,000.
The original trail that
hugged the cliff line has not
been passable since last year.
The park itself was open and
closed sporadically through-
out the spring as Cox and his
staff dealt with issues related
to several landslides.
Park rangers have kept
the trail segment from Ecola
Point to the slide open, but
they have discouraged foot
traffic through the slide area.
Signs at the pay station above
Ecola Point and at the trail
Last December, storms shut
down access to Indian Beach
and caused sinking and sliding
along Ecola Park Road. Ero-
sion around the Canyon Creek
culvert became an issue, too.
Such problems continue to
haunt the park leading into the
winter months this year.
The park receives an esti-
mated 313,808 visitors each
year, most of them arriving
during the summer months
when the weather is more in-
viting. Summer traffic wore
away at repairs crews com-
pleted on Ecola Park Road in
the spring. Areas where the
asphalt was torn away and re-
placed with compacted gravel
are now pockmarked by pot-
holes. The park management
had opted to repair the areas
with gravel to make future
fixes easier to address.
“We are always concerned
about the status of the road
and the slide that’s occur-
ring there and how that can
be impacted by a heavy rain
event or heavy rain combined
with strong winds,” Cox said.
However, routine winter
weather is not a huge con-
cern, he added. The park has
weathered many storms. Road
conditions simply remain an-
other thing for rangers to keep
an eye on.
NEAL MAINE/PACFICLIGHT IMAGES
A bird flies near a humpback whale and its catch in the
Columbia River.
‘Whale Watching
Spoken Here’
Cannon Beach Gazette
Gray whales are on the
move south again this win-
ter, and the Oregon Parks
and Recreation Department
is celebrating the annual
event with Whale Watching
Week, through Dec. 31.
Visitors to the Oregon
coast will have the oppor-
tunity to glimpse some of
the estimated 20,000 gray
whales traveling south from
Alaska to their final desti-
nation off the coast of Baja,
Mexico.
Volunteers from the
“Whale Watching Spoken
Here” program will be sta-
tioned at 24 sites along the
New Year’s Day hike at
Oswald West State Park
The Oregon Parks and
Recreation Department part-
ners with America’s State
Parks to offer free guid-
ed First Day Hikes in state
parks across Oregon on New
Year’s Day.
A special hike hosted at
Oswald West State Park to
Kramer Memorial overlook-
ing Short Sand Beach begins
at 10 a.m., starting at the Os-
wald West Shop.
The terrain is consid-
ered easy, one-mile hike;
All brokers listed with firm are licensed in the state of Oregon
for children at least 8 years
old. Dogs are permitted
on a 6-foot leash. During
the walk, learn about Matt
Kramer, a reporter for the
Associated Press, who used
his talent with words to help
win the day for Oregonians.
Participants should dress
in layers, wear sturdy shoes,
and bring water as well as
a camera or binoculars for
wildlife viewing. Register
online at http://bit.ly/Os-
waldWestFDH2018.
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