Monday, October 1, 2012

Yachats 804 Trail - Coastal Connections



Walking the historic Yachats 804 Trail connects hikers to local coastal history. The trail probably first served as a footpath for tribal people, later becoming part of County Road 804, which included the 7-mile stretch of beach between Yachats and Waldport at low tide. County Road 804 served as the settler's route of travel between the farmland of the upper Yachats River valley and Waldport's Alsea Bay until the 1930s and the completion of Highway 101. The highway replaced the oceanside portion of County Road 804, and it reverted to its ancient use as a footpath. 

During the 1970s, local citizens began a campaign to preserve the 804 as a public trail. Years of legal battles ended with a ruling by the Oregon Supreme Court to keep the public right-of-way and in the mid-eighties, the ¾ mile section from Smelt Sands State Park north to the beach became part of Oregon State Parks.

Successful mediation with local home owners in the late 1990s allowed for the completion of the 804 Trail South. The 804 Trail South is about a mile in length, stretching from the south edge of Smelt Sands Recreation Site, across the lawn behind the Adobe Resort, and through oceanside neighborhoods to the north side of the Yachats River, Yachats State Recreation Area, and downtown Yachats. 

The city’s commitment to trails for safe pedestrian use has resulted in a network of trails through Yachats. The trails connect to the Amanda Trail south of town, and up to Cape Perpetua and beyond. Volunteers and city workers, in partnership with State Parks and the US Forest Service, maintain the trails, build new trails, and develop maps and signage. 
(This article is a modification of the Yachats Chamber of Commerce history of the 804. More information is available online.)

Photo Credit: Heather Taylor

3 comments:

  1. I am very much looking forward to moving to Yachats and becoming part of such a progressive community!

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  2. I go jogging on the 804 every time I stay at the Adobe while on vacation, and it is without a doubt the most beautiful run that I've ever had the pleasure of doing. I've seen whales breach and eagles dive as the ocean wind swept me along the trail.
    One of my favorite (though also embarrassing) memories is of jogging down on the 804 a few days after my brother had passed away.
    The sun was just setting, I had my MP3 cranking some AWB and being as the tide was so far out---I decided to jog right on the beach itself.
    This was an amazingly joyous experience...until I come up on a stretch of water on the sand that looked no deeper than an inch or so. So...I jogged right on through it for about fifty feet until I suddenly disappeared completely under the water.
    I had ran across a channel in the sand that was only about 3 feet deep but it had caught me unaware so...perfect...that I totally went under.
    Coming up out of the water, what did I do? That's right, I kept right on jogging (for the channel was only a few feet wide) like nothing had happened.
    Jogging past a couple that was coming my way (who had obviously seen my boneheaded "disappearing act") I nodded like nothing had happened.
    They just smiled and looked down as I passed them.
    My MP3 was history...but I lived to make it back up onto the 804, where I will continue to jog.
    Until the next low tide. What a great place,.

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