Mile 158

Oregon Dunes NRA, west of south end of Carter Lake
Douglas County

Latitude: 43.839354998255
Longitude: -124.162409994830
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Vehicles:
  • Motor vehicle travel is prohibited from the Lane County-Douglas County line (43° 51.8604', Mile 160), southerly to approximately one mile south of the mouth of Tahkenitch Creek (43° 47.4330', Mile 155).
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Oregon Dunes NRA, west of south end of Carter Lake
Mile 158 Reports (14)

2014

July 2, 2014 - oceanwalker842
Mid 70's at the beach with little wind....nice! Interesting fog/mist seemingly coming out of the sand (see photo)....reminiscent of Twilight Zone where creepy creatures come out of the haze. No such luck, no such creatures today, only six visitors from Fresno, Ca on the beach.The little wind sailors are back...read more
  • Close up of velella velella
  • These velella velella won't make another trip
June 3, 2014 - oceanwalker842
Another beautiful day at the beach. High cloud cover that almost burned off by the time I finished the walk. Temperature started at 59 and worked itself up to a cloud-filtered warm 70 by the time I returned to the parking area.Wind varied from almost 0 to approximately 4 mph.Two...read more
  • Foxglove greeting visitors to the beach trail.
  • Yarrow making the mile long walk to the beach more delightful.
  • I think this very small snake (about 9 inches long) was a bit lost. It was just off the dry sand heading toward the water.
  • This was almost the average concentration of broken-to-smithereens clam shells for much of the mile.
  • There were several areas of high concentration of broken clam shells similar to this. These patches were up to 400 sq ft in size.
  • Typical cloudy day at the beach complete with a bit of sea foam and a very mall black dot on the horizon which was actually two of the people seen on the beach.
May 13, 2014 - oceanwalker842
Beautiful, warm, sunny day with only moderate winds from the north. On a stretch of beach that is normally devoid of traces of humans, seeing the many scattered pieces of broken Plexiglas, plastic bottles, fishing lures, Styrofoam, and net floats plus some other unidentified man-made objects was a bit of...read more
  • View from the trail..just missed the eagle.
  • Probably from the tsunami. Or maybe Tom Hanks' long lost companion.
  • Plastic tray approximately 12" x 24" see writing in next photo.
  • Writing on tray
  • typical net floats
  • Typical plastic bottle with Japanese characters on lid.
  • Many, many crab casing along with broken clam shells and a few sand-dollars.And, NO this isn't a "staged" photo...there were MANY casings along the tide line.
  • Two larger plastic net floats approximately 12-14 inches in diameter found in the beach grass near the trail sign at the beach end of the trail. Evidently someone was "hiding' them.

2013

November 9, 2013 - oceanwalker842
Absolutely no wind...nada! I attempted to get some reaction by dropping a dry leaf...went straight down each time. Very unusual for the Oregon coast.Lots of vehicle tire tracks on the beach for an area that supposedly is off limits for vehicles..see photos.Unlike the last report, there were very few shell...read more
  • Part of the large (200) flock
  • Too many tracks for an area where no vehicles are allowed
  • Russula emetica (I think)
August 12, 2013 - oceanwalker842
Nice hiking weather. Mid 60's with very little wind in the 3-4 1/2 mph range. Intermittent fog/heavy overcast, but sun's radiation through the overcast made wearing even a light jacket seem too warm. Many more than usual dead crab at both low water line and high water line. Very little...read more
  • tubular "things" approximately 1/8 inch in diameter. If you have any idea what these are, please let me know.
  • Many dead crabs and crab parts
  • One of the trail's inhabitants.
  • Crabs parts etc
  • more parts
June 3, 2013 - oceanwalker842
Beautiful, very windy day. Started out at 63 degrees and by the time we finished, the temp rose to 73. Many scattered small pebbles (1 1/2 inches and smaller) plus small pieces of broken shells, mainly clam...razor and other species plus a couple mussel. Very, very little to no shoreline...read more
  • That's it
April 1, 2013 - oceanwalker842
Very quiet...peaceful...void of humanity...nice!First, there was no sign of tsunami debris from Japan. Looked as though the dog (according to the tracks at the beach) might have been more interested in the beach sand than the plovers. Its tracks didn't appear to go into the surf area were the birds...read more
  • What more can I say...driftwood and sand
  • View from the trail leading to the shore

2008

April 3, 2008 - Foggy
Closest access to this beach is the Dunes Overlook. Trail is well-maintained, about a half mile long, and does not require any wading. Very light human use on this beautiful warm day.read more
  • Beach is almost paved with clam shell fragments, sanddollars, and a few medium rocks
  • Lone snowy plover about 50 feet outside marked and restored nesting area, apparently looking for suitable camping spot.
  • Adult gull in flight. Just a 90mm lens, so this guy was pretty close.
  • Large areas of the foredune had been bulldozed and leveled to restore plover nesting areas. These areas were very well-marked with signs and roped off. Humans were observing the restrictions.
  • Macro shot of test (shell) of recently-deceased excentric sand dollar, Dendraster excentricus, about 3 inches diameter. Sand dollars are Echinoderms, distant relatives of sea stars and urchins.
  • Aircraft are supposed to keep at least 1000 feet AGL over the beach, I believe. This helicopter was zipping down the beach at 100 feet or so.

2007

November 20, 2007 - [email protected]
Found 10 dead birds, 8 possibly Northern Fulmars. The Army Corps is still preparing the sand for snowy plover. Fishing line entangling kelp shows ODFW Permit # 96011, Tier # 300, Tag # 47, 2006-07 Season.read more
  • Permit # 96011, Tier # 300, Tag # 047, 2006-07 Season
November 19, 2007 - VKnox2
My last Year's end Report (I've moved). The National Guard continues their work on the Snowy Plover enhancement project. A variety of animal tracks peppered the beach, including scavengers looking for crabs and dead birds. As usual, the deposition zones of miles 157 and 158, provided an abundance of food...read more
March 6, 2007 - VKnox2
The National Guard is nearing completion of the Snowy Plover nesting area enhancement project. The grade is nearly perfect at 4% slope. Great job! Happy Crew!read more
  • Lunch Break photo-op!
February 12, 2007 - VKnox2
The Guard is doing a great job of removing beach grass and sand thereby enhancing habitat for the Snowy Plover. Sadly, beach grass expansion has engulfed several areas populated by Spiranthes, Orchids, and Verbena further south. I will not be surprised if both the Rein-orchids and Ladies Tresses become extirpated...read more
  • Enhancing Snowy Plover nesting habitat by removing introduced exotics and the growing medium.

2006

September 17, 2006 - SNoble
20-40 people on the mile, nearly all were doing the SOLV Clean-up, also Sheriff's work crew were removing ropes and signs for the Plover areas as season has ended.read more
June 11, 2006 - SNoble
This visit was at ODNRA dune access. No people at the Overlook but eight on the trail and four on the mile to the beach. The areas where the restoration project took place are starting to vegetate with beach grass, both native and European.read more