Summer is just around the corner and that means the Tillamook County Wellness walking groups are starting up again! Join the annual kick-off event on Sunday May 9th at 3 pm and celebrate Mother’s Day with a family-friendly walk through the Pacific City Pathway & Community Park. This 1.2 mile loop through old-growth forest has beautiful views of haystack rock through the trees. Samantha Goodwin provided the following details on HikingProject.com:
Family Friendly:
This trail is a nice short loop with some interesting forest and a beautiful view of the Haystack Rock and nothing too steep.
Need to Know:
There is a portable toilet at the trailhead. You do not need to pay to park at the trailhead.
Description:
The trail starts at the back of the Overflow Parking area in Pacific City, which will soon be developed into a city park. There are designated parking spots at the rear of the lot. The trailhead sign marks the pass through for the fence.
Follow the trail through a Douglas fir plantation before heading uphill into the old growth forest. The trees are huge, the ferns are tall, and the moss is everywhere. The trail meanders up and down the slopes creating a feeling of isolation even though you’re very close to town. The surface of the trail can be muddy, and watch out for mountain bikers.
The trail leads out along the ridge until it reaches an overlook where a break in the trees frames a beautiful view of HayStack Rock. There’s a bench if you want to sit and enjoy the view.
From there, begin to head downhill and quickly come back out in the Douglas fir plantation. Cross a grassy two track and hike parallel to the back of the houses along the street. The trail soon reaches the passthrough in the fence and the parking lot.
Flora & Fauna:
Douglas fir. Sitka spruce. Swordfern.
Following the kick-off event at the Pacific City Pathway, regular walking groups will begin meeting weekly. Check out the Tillamook County Wellness webpage (https://tillamookcountywellness.org/move-well/walking-groups/) or Facebook page for walking group locations and times across the county. These are informal, volunteer led groups – drop ins are always welcome! Although the walking groups provide an opportunity to get outside, the community connections that are built with others are an often-highlighted bonus among participants. (Note: Walkers will be asked to follow safety precautions and maintain appropriate distance due to COVID-19).
And there’s more exciting news because this year, participants will have the opportunity to win a range of prizes, such as state parks passes and gift cards to local businesses. To enter the prize drawing, walking group participants can upload a photo of their experience to social media using the hashtag #TCWMoveWell2021. We are excited to #MoveWell this spring!
AUTHOR: Tillamook County Wellness
For more local health and wellness information, follow Tillamook County Wellness on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
With beautiful summer days just around the corner, many of us are searching for reasons to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. And what better reason to get outside than supporting the Knock Out Poverty CARE-a-thon to help alleviate poverty across Tillamook County?
Community Action Resource Enterprises (CARE) has been serving Tillamook County as a locally controlled non-profit organization for 30 years. They provide emergency services and homeless services for low-income friends and neighbors, along with administering the Healthy Families program for new parents and operating two assisted living facilities.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and limitations on indoor gatherings, the annual Bowl-a-thon event has been replaced by the Knock Out Poverty CARE-a-thon. Both teams or individuals will collect pledges to run or walk the equivalent of a marathon or half-marathon between Saturday, May 1st and Thursday, May 27th. It may sound like a daunting challenge, but if you run or walk just 1 mile a day from May 1st to May 27th, you will cover the entire length of a marathon!
So how can you get involved? You can sign up as a team or an individual at www.CAREINC.org/donate , call 503-842-5261, or fill out this registration form and mail it to the CARE office at 2310 First St., Suite 2., Tillamook OR 97141. You can also donate to runners and walkers who are looking for pledges (or you can make a donation directly to CARE). And spreading the word about the CARE-a-thon is always appreciated!
If you decide to join and register for the CARE-a-thon, you will receive an event packet that includes a pledge sheet. You can collect pledges from family, friends, neighbors, and you will have access to an online, crowdfunding page as well. With this event, you have the freedom to go at your own pace – you can run the whole event at once or do little chunks at a time. And you might find it fun to participate with your team or pod! Just make sure to maintain social distancing and wear a mask.
Here is the upcoming schedule for the CARE-a-thon:
Friday, April 30th, 11:00 am to 6:00 pm: Race packet pick up @ CARE offices
Saturday, May 1st, 8:00 am to 10:00: Race packet pick up @ Nehalem Bay House
Saturday, May 1st, 10:00 am: First Mile Live @ Nehalem Bay House (available in-person or on Facebook Live)
Thursday, May 7th, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm: Participant prize pick-up @ CARE offices
Thursday, May 27th, 8:00 pm: Last Mile Live @ CARE offices (available in-person or on Facebook Live).
As stated on the CARE-a-thon registration form, “The key is to have fun, be safe, and help CARE Knock Out Poverty in Tillamook County!” Check out the video below from CARE about the event:
For more local health and wellness information, follow Tillamook County Wellness on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
The Explore Nature Series is a collaboration of environmental organizations working together to provide meaningful, nature-based events that showcase the uniqueness of Tillamook County and highlight the work being done to conserve the area’s natural resources, restore biodiversity, and preserve natural-resource based industries.
The partner organizations host individual events throughout the year that encourage people to get outside, explore new areas, and ideally learn something new.
The idea is simple: Explore Nature Series partners believe if we can get people to fall in love with the area, they will be inspired to help protect and conserve it. Whether that means utilizing more sustainable practices when digging clams in Netarts Bay, picking up trash along the beaches while visiting, or spending time in the woods learning how the various ecosystems work together, Explore Nature Series events all share this common theme of showcasing the Tillamook Coast in a way that encourages people to enjoy it respectfully.
When the pandemic hit in 2020, the Explore Nature Series partners had to pivot and start offering more virtual opportunities as a way to keep participants and the community safe. However, being outside is a large part of the Explore Nature Series, and this year you can find many virtual, educational events being offered with an outdoor element that can be done on your own time.
In April, Explore Nature Series partners Friends of Cape Falcon Marine Reserve hosted virtual Snowy Plover Patrol Training with Portland Audobon. The goal of these trainings is to give people the tools and information necessary to go out and monitor for Snowy Plovers on local beaches. Interested volunteers can sign up to monitor for Snowy Plovers twice a month, for 2-4 hours a time, from April through the end of the summer. Depending on the beach, this can require a good amount of walking to where birds might be nesting, and spending time outdoors watching – and waiting. These are activities that can be done on your own time, and lend themselves well to social distancing. Monitoring volunteers have been vital in keeping tabs on how well this endangered shore bird is thriving and surviving.
If you are interested in bird monitoring, the Friends of Cape Falcon Marine Reserve are hosting several more virtual trainings this spring and summer to coach volunteers to survey for additional coastal birds on their own time, including Brown Pelicans on April 29th, and Black Oystercatchers on May 5th and 8th. The goal of these surveys is to help define the distribution and abundance of Brown Pelicans and Black Oystercatchers and track shifts in population structure.
Portland Audubon and partners are monitoring seabird nesting colonies adjacent to the Cape Falcon Marine Reserve in order to better understand how seabirds may respond to the new protections. Monitoring is done weekly starting in June through August, and a typical monitoring session is about two hours in the morning.
Another Explore Nature Series partner, The Friends of Netarts Bay WEBS, is hosting Beach Cleanup Bingo during the months of April and May. The goal is to encourage individuals and people living in the same household to go outside and help clean up the beaches around Netarts – and win prizes! You can download a bingo card at netartsbaywebs.org. Each square represents something you might find on the beach. If you get five in a row – that’s a bingo! Every bingo is eligible to win a prize, and winners will be announced at the end of each month. Beach Cleanup Bingo is a great way to get people outside safely, and help take care of the beaches.
You can also join WEBS on May 6 for a virtual presentation ‘Sharks of the Oregon Coast.’ Shift your perspective from fear to inspiration as you get to know and understand these creatures better.
For a full list of upcoming Explore Nature Series events and how to register, visit explorenaturetillamookcoast.com. Be sure to follow Explore Nature Tillamook Coast on Facebook and Instagram to keep up with all the latest events.
I am 86 years old (87 shortly) and after my Mary, my wife for sixty years passed away three years ago, I could not walk a straight line. Even before my Mary passed, I began having serious balancing problems. My doctor recommended that I visit a physical therapist. The therapist recommended that I begin taking classes at the YMCA and since I was a past member of the YMCA, I re-activated my membership and signed up for YOGA classes. The YOGA teacher (Thea) recommended that I sign up for the Tai Chi and Qi Gong classes which would be beneficial in correcting my balancing concerns. So, I signed up for both classes and then added Enhanced Fitness and the gym room where I could use different weights treadmills, cycling, and rowing to refresh many parts of the body. I eventually met some people in the classes that enjoyed taking a walk after finishing the last class, and so I added a nice walk before heading out.
I have always been very physically active, in spite of my years, and easily adjusted to the numerous exercises available to me at the YMCA. I was not attempting to turn back the clock on my body, but to provide maintenance to keep it in better physical condition.
Attending the different classes was something I really looked forward to as I would be getting the exercises that I believed my body needed and equally important, I would be meeting new people and enjoying social contact as I have lived alone since my Mary passed. I am very pleased with the physical, mental and social benefits that I have derived, as I have somewhat improved my balancing problems and enjoy very much the social contact. I can now stand with my eyes closed and not feel like a big wind is causing me to sway and I have met many very nice people.
I leave the Enhanced Fitness class early and go to the gym and work with the exercise equipment for 1/2 hour and wait for the Enhanced Fitness class to finish. I join up with a few of my classmates and we go for a walk, quite often, regardless of what the weather is like. While we walk, we converse about anything and everything. After the walk, I head for the store or home. I go to the YMCA 4 days every week.
Benefits:
We share stories about life and continue to learn
We share recipes and enjoy new ways to cook and enjoy different foods (some are absolutely delicious)
We share books (always find something new in life)
We share plants/cuttings and seeds (I LOVE gardening and the miracle of ALL life)
We share stories of life (Everyone can learn something from any other person)
Before the COVID-19 interruption, I would bake oatmeal cookies (my recipe) and take them in to every class and share them. Because of COVID-19, I take in Dove chocolates instead and tell my classmates that they are energy pills and we laugh.
The major point of the benefits is SHARING, we try to give something beautiful and good to others as we take our daily walk of life.
AUTHOR: Joe Gluzinski, TCW Walking Group Participant
Volunteer Trail Ambassadors will be placed at some of the busiest trailheads in the Mt. Hood National Forest, the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, and North Oregon Coast. Volunteers will have the opportunity to table at trailheads and hike the trails on weekends during peak season. Volunteers will engage with the public to answer hiking and recreation related questions, promote responsible hiker ethics like“Leave No Trace,” and steer people to useful resources like OregonHikers.org andReadySetGorge.com.
Arica Sears, the Deputy Director for the Oregon Coast Visitors Association, has been integral to bringing the Ambassador program to the coast. She notes, “The Trail and Beach Ambassadors provided an invaluable asset to the visitor experience last year by sharing localized messages and opportunities to visitors. This program supported coastal destinations during a time when businesses and agencies had reduced hours and capacity to communicate with visitors and will be a helpful part of Oregon’s reopening process this summer.”
Volunteers can look forward to volunteering at multiple trails in the Gorge as well. “We are excited to continue our partnership with TKO’s Trail Ambassadors. Despite significant challenges over the past year, their unwavering commitment to building, restoring, and maintaining hiking trails has been remarkable,” said Christy Cheyne, Forest Supervisor. “Trail Ambassadors will continue to be pivotal in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.”
“Last year, Trail Ambassadors from TKO helped both rangers and visitors within state parks by sharing info about trail conditions and Leave No Trace practices. Efforts like these help keep people safer, and help keep the trails in better shape, too. We appreciate the efforts of all of the Volunteers as we navigated the changes brought by 2020’s Covid 19 pandemic. We look forward to working with this year’s volunteers.” shared Oregon State Parks Ranger Miranda Mendoza.
Program organizers are looking for friendly, professional, outgoing individuals who enjoy informing and helping others and possess knowledge of Gorge, Mt. Hood and coastal trails. Volunteers are required to take an online training before signing up to volunteer. Volunteers who complete 24 hours of volunteer service earn a Northwest Forest Pass.
For additional press questions or interview requests, please contact Natalie Ferraro with Trailkeepers of Oregon at natalie.ferraro@trailkeepersoforegon.org or 360-921-1623.
About Trailkeepers of Oregon
Trailkeepers of Oregon’s (TKO) mission is to protect and enhance the Oregon hiking experience through stewardship, advocacy, outreach and education. They manage the popular hiking resource oregonhikers.org and work with thousands of volunteers every year on trail stewardship projects and Trail Ambassador activities across Oregon’s national forests, state parks and beyond . You can find out more about TKO’s work at https://www.trailkeepersoforegon.org/.
About Mt. Hood and Columbia River Gorge Regional Tourism Alliance
The Mt. Hood/Columbia River Gorge Regional Tourism Alliance seeks to build awareness for the region as a premier, multi-day, and year-round travel destination that benefits all communities in the region through global marketing, PR and sales. It is our mission to build awareness for the lesser-served communities in the region and support efforts for sustainable destination development programs and training opportunities. Learn more: http://www.hood-gorge.com/
For more local health and wellness information, follow Tillamook County Wellness on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
In Tillamook County, OR, the problem isn’t finding a place to enjoy the outdoors but rather that there are too many places to choose from. With hundreds of beach access points, dozens of parks and day use areas, over 40 boat launches, and over 200 miles of trails, how do you find the right park or the right trail for you?
Most people look for recreation information on the internet. However, in Tillamook County, it’s usually not that simple to find what you’re looking for. Multiple land management agencies, each with their own website and map, offer different types of recreation in different places. Anyone looking for a trail to hike must check 4 or 5 different websites to get a good idea of what is available. Trying to dig up all the facts on parking, entry fees, and restrooms could make anyone feel like they need a degree in investigative journalism. Even finding the local park in your own town can be difficult without a knowledgeable neighbor to share local information.
In fact, this is a problem for more than just visitors and locals. It’s also a problem for the towns, the county, and even the state and federal land management agencies. The Access to Physical Activity Committee (APAC) was formed as part of Tillamook County Wellness to focus on bringing the benefits of movement and physical health to more people. The committee brought together a wide variety of community, industry, and agency partners to try to understand and overcome the challenges that people in Tillamook County face when they are trying to be more physically active.
APAC recognized three major problems with lack of information in Tillamook County:
Recreation information was scattered and separated by type, land owner, and availability. Each agency or organization had separate websites and separate maps. Trying to find a trail required searching through multiple sites.
Recreation information was incomplete and not available online. Local resources had never been added to websites. Details such as parking, restrooms, and pet-friendliness were not included in descriptions of parks and trails.
Recreation information is outdated and incorrect. Without regular updates, information on many websites was not always current.
Tillamook County needed a comprehensive, interactive map that would show all of the recreation and trail resources in the entire county; including every agency, landowner, and land manager. The map would be an all-inclusive experience that would give visitors and locals all of the information they needed with a simple click; restrooms, parking, pet-friendliness, fees, amenities, and more. This map would have the most accurate and up-to-date information about the recreation opportunities available in Tillamook County.
In the fall of 2019, TCW, together with Visit Tillamook Coast, The Northwest Youth Corps (NYC), and the USFS Siuslaw National Forest had put together the funding and the cooperative network necessary to hire an intern specifically to work on their ambitious mapping project for 6 months. In January of 2020, the Access to Physical Activity Committee welcomed me as their new intern to the project. I began work on the project right away and together we planned to finish it in a year, an ambitious but achievable goal.
The working theme of the map project was “More information is always better,” and it made sense to apply that to the data collection process. I had to consider what kind of information would be needed to make this map useful to outdoor enthusiasts as well as to agency land managers. What questions would people be asking when they looked to this new map for answers?
Some things were easy to guess such as noting which recreation sites had a restroom, how much parking was available, and whether dogs were allowed. However, we decided to gather even more information about each site and to include high-quality pictures to help people know what to expect. In the end, the list of attributes to include in the data collection was long and encompassed every type of recreation we could imagine. Attributes included categories such as Status (open, closed, unknown, etc.), Features (ocean view, old growth forest, sand dunes, etc.), Facilities (picnic table, fire ring, bench, etc.), Activities, (camping, hiking, beach access, etc.) and many more.
In the spring of 2020, I began identifying all of the recreation sites and trails located in Tillamook County. I would need to personally visit each one to gather data for the map project. Using the data I’d received from several agencies back at the beginning of 2020 as a baseline, I added new trails, new recreation sites, and new information to the map. It was exciting to see the visual representation of how our knowledge about Tillamook County was increasing.
The map had so much potential to help the county improve its recreation and trails projects and to improve access to outdoor recreation for everyone that APAC decided to advocate for a new full-time position to keep the momentum going; Outdoor Recreation Community Coordinator. This would create a dedicated position to manage and update the map, maintain and increase communication and coordination between the partners, and work towards creating a balanced and fully-realized recreation network in Tillamook County that would provide improved access to everyone.
The future of the Community Coordinator role is still under consideration, but APAC is confident that it will go forward. The map will be fully transformed into its new web format and publicly available by early summer of 2021, just in time for everyone to get outdoors and enjoy the sunshine on the beautiful Oregon Coast in Tillamook County.
The new map is featured on the Tillamook Coast website here. You can also discover great places to get active on the Tillamook County Wellness website under the Move Well tab.
AUTHOR: Samantha Goodwin, Northwest Youth Corps GIS Intern
