My hat is off and paws up to praise the Oregon State Parks.  The state knows how to show off their fabulous beach to the visitor.  The parks are clean, the restrooms have toilet paper, there are lots of restrooms along the coast, dogs can run off leash on the beaches, there are lots of beach accesses, and they have a great volunteer program.    What a list.

I celebrate Oregon State Park’s approach to dogs.  They choose to focus on managing dogs and dog owner’s behavior instead of restricting dogs.  Dogs poop bags and waste containers are everywhere; at way side stops, at parks, at trail heads.  Park your car and you see poop bags and a waste container.  And dogs are everywhere with most people at the campground having brought a dog with them.  It all seems to work.  I see very little poop not picked up and I’ve only seen one dog not leashed when it should have been.  The results are happy people and happy dogs.

 

 

 

And the volunteer program is the best.  Well managed with a variety of opportunities to volunteer.  Expectations are reasonable and well described.  I enjoyed what I did and would volunteer again someday.  I’m bias but I liked our tours lead by volunteers better than the paid guides at the Yaquina lighthouse.  Yes, we don’t wear period costumes, but do costumes help explain the lighthouse and lighthouse keepers?  Or are they just a theatrical distraction?  I found myself staring at the sleeves of my guide’s dress trying to understand if the strange construction was authentic or a result of adjustments to fit the guide.