Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park
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Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park
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| location | Lane County in Oregon (USA) | |
| surface | 208 hectares | |
| Identifier | Sand dunes and Lake Cleawox, Pacific Ocean in the background | |
| Geographical location | 43 ° 33 ' N , 124 ° 4' W | |
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| administration | Oregon Parks and Recreation Dept. | |
The Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park, often only as Honeyman State Park called, is a 208 hectare large State Park in Lane County in the US state of Oregon . The park has a large campsite, but is also a day trip destination.
investment
The state park is located in the middle of the Oregon coast, 3 miles south of Florence on Highway 101 . The state park owns the second largest campground in Oregon. The wooded park is set amidst the dunes that stretch over 50 km along Oregon's Pacific coast. The park is separated from the Pacific Ocean by a 3 km wide belt of dunes, through which there is no paved path. There are three natural lakes within the park. Woahink Lake , east of Highway 101, is connected to the campsite by a footbridge over the highway. With 141 hectares of water, it is the largest of the three lakes in the park area. There is a group camp site on the west bank. Lake Cleawox , to the west of the highway, has a completely different nature, as the dunes on its west side extend directly to the lake, while its eastern shore is lined with rhododendrons . The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area begins west of Cleawox Lake . The third lake is Little Lily Lake, which is covered with water lilies and surrounded by rhododendron bushes.
Flora and fauna
The park is overgrown with dense coastal forest with Douglas fir and Sitka spruce . Blueberries, shalloons and raspberries grow on the ground . The numerous pink rhododendron bushes bloom in spring. In the wetlands along the numerous arms of the lake, rare plants such as stink cabbage and myrtle grow . Woahink Lake is surrounded by forest and is a resting place for Canada geese in the fall . Beavers , muskrats and numerous species of birds live in the wetlands of the lakes . Occasional live otters in the park grounds.
history
The park area was acquired by the state of Oregon between 1930 and 1936. The rustic buildings in the park and many of the stone-lined walkways were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1935 and 1940 . The administration building on the north shore of Lake Cleawox was originally built as a bathhouse and is on the National Register of Historic Places . The park was named after Jessie Honeyman from Portland (1852-1948). As president of the Oregon Roadside Council , Honeyman worked with Samuel Boardman , the first superintendent of Oregon State Parks, to protect the landscape along the highways and coasts of Oregon in the 1920s and 1930s . Boardman honored the honeyman's commitment by naming the state park originally called Camp Woahink after her on July 12, 1941. The state park was already very popular as a destination after World War II . At that time it was equipped with a modern campsite with electricity and water connections and showers. In the late 1950s, Life magazine named it one of the ten most beautiful state parks in the United States.
activities
Use of the park is chargeable. Next to the campsite there are picnic areas, playgrounds and sanitary facilities, plus a kiosk. Two of the three lakes are used for water sports:
- Lake Cleawox is mainly used as a bathing lake, but you can also kayak or canoe on it. Since the dunes extend right up to the lake, it has a sandy beach.
- Woahink Lake has a boat ramp and can be accessed with canoes, kayaks or other boats. The deep lake is also used by recreational divers.
You can fish for rainbow or cutthroat trout in both lakes, and for perch in the Woahink . Numerous walking paths lead through the park, along a 1.6 km long path there are information boards about nature and the historical buildings. From October 1st to April 30th each year, off-road vehicles are allowed to drive directly from the campsite into the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. You can also hike in the dunes or slide down the dunes on sandboards .
A rhododendron festival is held annually in Florence in mid-May.
literature
- Jan Bannan: Oregon State Parks: A complete Recreation Guide. 2nd Edition. Mountaineer Books, Seattle 2002, ISBN 978-0-89886-794-7 .
Web links
- Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park on the Oregon State Parks website