Cape Arago Highway

Since we were staying in Bullard Beach SP in Bandon, we chose to travel north to Coos Bay on the 101 and check out what was along that route.  We then entered the Cape Arago Hwy (Rt 540) at Coos Bay/North Bend and headed back south towards Bandon. In the little fishing village of Charleston, a wonderful seafood (fresh, of course) restaurant beckoned us to stop (which we did and had great views and a wonderful meal).   Leaving Charleston, we were ready for some outdoor exploring.

Shore Acres SP, with both historical and botanical background stories, immediately drew me down their drive.  In 1907, this property was developed as shore line estate by Louis J Simpson and was named “Shoreacres Estate”.  The original mansion, located on a tall bluff looking out into the Pacific, burned in 1921, and his wife died later that year.  However, he remarried in 1927 and also built a second mansion around that time.

By 1932, like many of the wealthy during the Great Depression, his finances suffered and he sold a portion of the estate to the State.  By 1942 the remainder of the estate also went to the State, and the property was used during WWII by the US Army.  Post war, the (2^nd) mansion, in very poor condition, was razed.  Today there is small interpretive building on the former home site with a wall of windows looking out to the ocean.  This gives visitors just a little idea of what living in the mansion must have been like.

The estate had many buildings, a dairy farm, etc.  Today all the original buildings are gone except the gardener’s house.  Simpson must have been a gardening enthusiast, because he had acres of landscaping and formal gardens using local plants and also a great collection of plants from around the world.

Fortunately, for those of us interested in botanical gardens, in the mid-1970s, when the property became an OR State Park, the state worked to rebuild and care for the gardens.  They are now the primary feature of this SP – along with the views from the cliffs (and a trail down to a small beach in a cove for those interested).

The gardens are mostly formal, with boxwood borders and great specimen plants located
throughout.  During our visit, the rhododendrons were creating quite a show; its interesting to see them in so many colors! The All-American Rose Garden plants were greening up, but May was a little early to expect full blooming. 

The imported plants were also very interesting, such as the Cabbage Tree, Cordyline australis (or giant Dracaena) from New Zealand.  Looking a lot like a palm tree, it is a monocot, but not a Palm. 

The  Prickly Rhubarb, Gunnera tinctoria, from Chile was another new experience for this gardener.  It was so large and the stems were covered in spines.  Will need to research if its edible…

I loved the water garden too. 

While we were there, a crew of gardeners were cleaning up and readying the soils in the gardens for some new borders to be planted; I imagine to have summer color once the rhoddies are finished blooming.

All together, I found this a great place to see formal gardens, to see specimens quite foreign (literally) to me, and to dream of what life must have been for the wealthy in 1920s and ‘30s.

Simpson Reef and Shell Island:

Leaving Shore Acres and continuing south on Hwy 540, we arrived at a cliff overlook to the Simpson Island – a part of the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge.  This is noted as the largest “haul-out” for seals and sea lions along the OR coast.  We were not disappointed  - the views were of many, many of these mammals, safely removed from human interference.

I would highly recommend this side-trip.  Our priorities were the gardens and the seals.  But there were other state parks and a lighthouse along this route that we missed – just too many wonderful stops for one afternoon.