Planning a trip?

Oregon's South Coast is your destination. Check out these wonderful Bay Area activities.

39 Learn dunes safety Learn dunes safety

Rev it on the dunes, but be wise about all-terrain vehicle racing ...

continue
40 Drive slowly through Langlois Drive slowly through Langlois

Located 15 miles south of Bandon on U.S. Highway 101, Langlois is ...

continue

38 Experience indoor ecosystem

The Umpqua Discovery Center in Reedsport brings visitors a taste of the natural and cultural history of the Oregon tidewater region.

Located at 409 Riverfront Way on the Umpqua River Waterfront, the center is divided into two wings ” one focusing on the cultural history of the Oregon Coast and the other devoted to the area's natural history and ecosystem.

Both interactive exhibits were designed by WOW Arts and Exhibits of North Bend and feature lush, elaborate and enormous murals by Peggy O'Neal.

œTidewater and Time," the cultural history exhibit, is drawn largely from interviews with older Reedsport area residents, and sound clips from those oral histories are included in the exhibit. œPathways to Discovery ” Exploring Tidewater Country" is a natural history exhibit.

Though the two wings are identical in size, the new exhibit was designed to seem deceptively large in the small building.

There's also a lot to learn about the local environment in the exhibit, both in the reading and listening materials and the sights, sounds and sensations, from the texture of the tree bark to the droplets that appear on the leaves.

Center staff say repeat trips are necessary to see all of the exhibit ” even after a visit that stretches several hours.

The exhibit aims to encompass the biological diversity of the Oregon Coast. Starting in the estuary on a fall morning, the trail moves into the forest and mountains in winter midday, through mountain meadows on a spring afternoon, to the dunes and beach on a summer evening.

With so much information, it's easy to see how a visitor could miss something. But one thing you won't miss are the constant animal sounds.

There is, however, one element of nature the exhibit's designers conspicuously left out ” bugs.

The Umpqua Discovery Center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from June 1 to Sept. 30; and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. between Oct. 1 and May 31. Admission is $8 for adults, $7 for seniors 65 and older, $4 for children ages 6 to 15 and free for children under 6. Families including up to three children pay $20. Special rates are available for groups of 10 or more.

For more information about the Umpqua Discovery Center call (541) 271-4816.
37 Learn to windsurf 39 Learn dunes safety
 

Publication Advertisers