Holly's Horse Tales and Trails: November 2014

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Bullards Beach Horse Camp, and Devil's Kitchen, Oregon

I started 2014 with a trip to the beach and so it was only fitting that I end my camping season the same way. My non horsie friend Andrea agreed to meet me there with her RV. I pulled into camp and noticed a couple other rigs parked there, but otherwise it was empty. Got tacked up and away we went to gallop along the length of the beach.

Northern end of the beach, there is a golf course, Bandon Dunes, above.

Cool rocks.

Riding back into the sunset.

I passed a couple of ladies on horseback at one point, waved at them and kept going. Once I got back to camp the same ladies were there, turned out to be the owners of the other rigs, and we chatted for awhile. It turns out they are "homeless" choosing to live in their LQ trailers traveling from state to state with their horses.
Karen has been on the road for over eight years and Donna joined her a year and a half ago.
They invited me to ride with them the following day.

Bullards Beach Horse Camp which is just a few miles outside of Bandon OR has eight sites, some with four horse corrals and some with two. It is open year round and well maintained. There is potable water out of spigots, a manure bin with a wheelbarrow, garbage cans, and a bathroom. At this time of year it was $15.00 a night, which is lower than the summer rate. I did not get a reservation but as most people around here know, you cannot get away with that in the peak season. Booking way ahead is the only way to get a site in the summer.

Bullards Beach Horse Camp.

Site 6.

That evening I rushed to get my tent set up before dark then decided to meander over to the RV campground where Andrea was staying....a half an hour's walk in the dark later, I arrived. The horse camp is located really close to the beach, but the RV park is closer to the highway, so Andrea was a little bummed about the distance between our camps, and the fact that she had no other vehicle to get around in.

The next day, I met up with the horse ladies and we decided to ride on some of the inland trails.

The Cut Creek Trail.

There are several small loops that meet up with other small loops. The Cut Creek trail leaves from camp. The sand is very deep on these trails and gives your horse quite the workout. Eventually we got back onto the beach for awhile and then did the last inland loop on the way back.

Picnic area.

Karen and Donna.

Karen and Donna. Karen's horse is also half Peruvian like mine.

That evening Andrea invited me for dinner at the RV park, so this time I drove over stopping at the beach for a view of the setting sun. Could have been romantic, except it was just me and a seagull.

The sunset.

Sunset.

Since Andrea was camped there I could have the rare luxury of a shower, and then she spoiled me with a full course salmon dinner. It was definitely nice to be inside instead of sitting at the campsite in the dark.

Although it was supposed to be five days in a row of sun and warmth, the following day got cloudy and was forecast to rain in the afternoon briefly, so I rode in the morning doing a big loop, out to the lighthouse, along the beach again and then back inland.

The lighthouse. There is a hitching post here.

The loop trails are clearly marked.

I dismounted from my horse and seconds later it started to rain. I drove over and picked up Andrea and we spent the afternoon messing around in the little shops in Old Town Bandon, where she managed to get some Xmas shopping done. I sampled a few too many chocolates and got a sugar high. Later on as we perused our phones, we noticed a shift in weather back home in Bend, crazy low temps were coming so timing wise the trip couldn't have worked out better.

That night a drunk guy and his teenage son stumbled into camp, I got a little concerned so I watched to see what they were up to. It appeared they were lost, there was a lot of swearing and bickering about not having a phone. I followed them in the dark to see if they were leaving and I could hear them yelling "Sorry ma'am" over and over. Turns out they had stopped at Karen's rig and asked to use her phone, she told them to move along, that she had a gun and was not afraid to use it!

I had met a woman a couple years earlier that lives in Bandon and I had contacted her about finding some other areas to ride and she suggested I go south to another beach, so in the morning I packed up early and drove over and parked at Devil's Kitchen. Riding north on this beach is quite the treat, there are numerous rock formations. You definitely have to be there at low tide. You can also ride south, presumably forever, but I had to do the long drive home so called it quits after a few hours.