Oregon’s Giant Sandbox
Sandboarding carves up coastal dunes
By Liz Cornish
A Sandboarder grabs some air as he flies over the sand dunes on the Oregon Coast. Lon Beale/SandMaster Park Photo
The Oregon dunes are the largest expanse of coastal sand dunes in the U.S. and stretch for 50 miles between Florence and Coos Bay along the famous Oregon coast.
If you’re traveling the coast and have already seen the Sea Lions Caves or built one too many sandcastles you might want to catch the next new wave on the Oregon coast: sandboarding.
A sport that crosses the lines between snowboarding, surfing and skateboarding, you’ll find yourself carving it up in one giant sandbox! There’s no lack of sand in the quaint seaside town of Florence, which is located on the northern edge of Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, just 50 miles west of the city of Eugene.
A sport for the whole family, I invited my “rent-a-family” — my friend Amber and her five-year-old daughter Alexie — to head down to Florence and test our moxie on the dunes at Sand Master Park.
Sand Master Park is the world’s first sandboarding park. In addition to boasting 40 acres of private dunes for riding, Sand Master provides board rentals and private lessons. Admission to the park is free with a board rental (or pay $5 to park), or you can take your board and head to numerous other dunes, all within a short drive from the park.
Surf city here we come!
Sandboarding is cut from the same cloth as surf, skate, and snowboard culture. Girls and guys in board shorts carve turns down the endless network of dunes that run along the southern Oregon coast. Advances in the sport have led to terrain parks where athletes combine downhill riding with rail slides and aerial stunts. Unlike skateboarding or surfing though, a novice sandboarder can achieve relative success their first day out on the dunes, making it the perfect sport for groups or families with varying athletic ability.
Sand Master Park opened in 2000. Owner Lon Beale has been involved in the sport since the 1970s, but credits the park’s opening to helping propel the sport’s success in Oregon.
“Just a handful of people have been sandboarding the Oregon dunes since the mid-70s, but the sport really took off here with the opening of Sand Master Park,” he said. “Now we see at least 25,000 people a year sandboarding the Oregon dunes.”
Ear-to-Ear Grins
Our day began at Sand Master, where Lon greeted us and introduced us to Matt Walton, our instructor for the day. Joining us on our adventure was 2008 Dune Rider International Junior Champion, Mackenzie Matthews.
Matt and Kenzie tore it up. Both are expert riders but thankfully they toned it down for our novice group. In one hour we covered a lot of ground, building to the steeper dunes, and starting to work on turns.
Matt was great with Alexie, who seriously rocked it down the hill. But like most five-year-olds, she was less interested after taking in her first mouthful of sand. Sand is pretty forgiving on the bones, but less so on things like eyes and mouths. Sunglasses or goggles, and a water bottle kept handy made things a lot more comfortable.
Within a few runs everyone seemed to get the hang of it and was able to make it to the bottom without falling. I loved the speed you could pick up, and how the sand dunes made falling less intimidating. Sandboarding is a fun, affordable way to explore the beautiful dunes, and you certainly get your adrenaline rush on!
That being said, you can definitely do some damage taking a spill. Amber and I both felt our age the next day after taking a few tumbles. I nursed a bruised hip for a week from a few too many crash landings, and big falls meant sand in all the wrong places.
But in the moment, we wore ear-to-ear grins. We were taught to stay safe by picking the soft places to learn. Conversely, we were told to avoid heading out right after it rains as wet sand is equivalent to a warm slushy day on the slopes.
When riding the board upright got tiresome (I was definitely wishing sandboarding would embrace the technology of the rope-tow after a few dozen climbs back to the top), we sat down and rode them like sleds. This was super fun for Alexie, who was able to catch more speed riding with us.
After a few hours at Sand Master, we decided to break for lunch and headed to Honeyman’s State Park to spend the afternoon perfecting our turns lakeside. Honeyman’s is a do not miss destination. The dunes are spectacular, and the lake’s crystal clear water felt awesome after a long day on the hot sand. Parents can sit lakeside and watch kids take multiple runs down the dunes. And the whole family will enjoy grilling out among the pines or doing cannonballs off the floating dock.
To end our day, my rent-a-family and I headed back to our hotel at Driftwood Shores where each room boasts an ocean view. After cooking dinner in the fully equipped kitchen, we headed down to the beach for some ocean-side s’mores.
As the sun set on the rolling Pacific Ocean waves, we roasted marshmallows and toasted our best rides from the day.
If You Go
Driftwood Shores Motel Resort:
www.Driftwoodshores.com; (800) 422-5091
Florence Chamber of Commerce:
www.Florencechamber.com; (541) 997-3128
Sand Master Park:
www.SandMasterPark.com; (541) 997-6006
Travel Lane County:
www.TravelLaneCounty.org; (800) 547-5445
Liz Cornish has a B.A. in Outdoor Experiential Education. She authored the No Child Left Inside story in the July/August edition of Outdoors NW.
