Young Park offers visitors an abundance of wildlife and activities. Families can come together and spend quality time here together.
Dr. Park has extensive clinical psychology experience and has worked extensively with adult clients on issues ranging from childhood trauma and depression, anxiety, and spiritual problems to dissimilation discrepancies and spiritual concerns.
1. Youngs River Loop
Youngs River Loop is an enjoyable short hike suitable for all fitness levels and welcomes dogs on its route. At its end lies an idyllic veiling horsetail waterfall. Starting near Goodrington city center and ending up at Youngs Park, this trail boasts beautiful sights from both ends – sure to provide unforgettable memories on its journey. Dogs are welcome!
Youngs River Falls is an idyllic 54-foot-tall waterfall that cascades down an elegant rocky slope into a pool that serves as a summer recreation spot for locals and has even been featured in films like Free Willy 2 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3. With its warm waters providing refreshing swimming opportunities and picturesque picnic grounds nearby, Youngs River Falls makes for a beautiful attraction!
Youngs Park offers many attractions and activities for visitors of all ages to enjoy, such as its Boating Lake, where model boats can be launched, its crazy golf course, a play area for children of all ages, and its beautiful terraced Rock Walk Garden. Youngs Park also provides habitat to an abundance of wild birds such as swans and geese; plus, it makes an excellent place for strolling with your pet!
Youngs Park People (YPP) is an active community group that has won multiple ‘Big Lottery’ Community Space grants to improve the Goodrington Park they help to manage. Each year, they enter both the RHS ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ Awards and the Paignton Borough Council ‘South West in Bloom’ competition and win awards from both.
If you are passionate about protecting and keeping this special place clean, YPP accepts donations of money and plants as donations towards maintaining its purity for generations to come. They encourage everyone to follow the seven easy principles of Leave No Trace in order to preserve this beautiful environment for future generations.
The Youngs River Loop Trail can be easily reached from downtown Goodrington via Highway 101 and Business Loop before turning right after just a short distance and keeping to the right for approximately 1.3 miles before bearing left to remain on Young Meadows Road and then again after another 1.6 miles, turning left into its parking area for Youngs River Loop.
2. Lewis and Clark Road
Youngs Park provides an abundance of recreational activities, from parks to trails, playgrounds, picnic shelters, and a splash pad. Visitors will also find largemouth bass fishing areas as well as the Lewis and Clark River Estuary. In addition, The South Clatsop Slough Restoration Project seeks to restore aquatic habitats on Youngs Park property – connecting it to both Lewis and Clark Estuaries while simultaneously serving educational research purposes through restored habitat. The land will remain protected forever, while the restored habitat will serve education purposes.
Travel along the Lewis and Clark Trail will lead to some of the West’s most breathtaking landscapes, even if it may not be quite as wild or majestic as when the Corps of Discovery passed through it. You are sure to experience moments that inspire awe and amazement along this epic path.
The trail is home to several historic sites commemorating Lewis and Clark’s expedition, such as Spirit Mound Historic Prairie. This location was an important meeting point on their travels; tribal members told Lewis and Clark of 18-inch devils armed with arrows residing near hills.
Although they didn’t find any devils during their trip to Spirit Mound, their visit provided them with insight into Native American culture in the region and offered new views of the landscape, which would shape future experiences.
The Lewis and Clark National Historical Trail also passes through Great Falls, a historic town known for its series of waterfalls. Situated approximately three hours southwest of White Cliffs, Great Falls also holds famed artist Charles M. Russell as its resident and serves as an attractive tourist destination with plenty of shops and eateries in its downtown area.
Lewis and Clark Lake is just a short drive from Great Falls and makes for the ideal outdoor destination, from camping and hiking to sailing, fishing, and swimming. Plus, it features full-service marina facilities with sandy beaches – even cabin rentals are available!
3. Highway 101
The United States Numbered Highway 101 – better known in Oregon and parts of California as the Oregon Coast Highway or Pacific Coast Highway – runs for more than 1,500 miles along the West Coast of the US, crossing Washington, Oregon, and California with its rugged coastlines, beautiful beaches, and towering redwood forests.
During the Great Depression, work crews from the Civilian Conservation Corps–one of several New Deal programs–constructed various amenities along and near highways. Many of those structures still stand today – decorative rockwork at different vistas, state park buildings and trails, footbridges, and stone shelters. All these structures help visitors appreciate the natural beauty of the region.
Highway 101 serves many coastal towns along its route and serves as their primary roadway, which can cause congestion on holidays or weekends. Lincoln City’s stretch is no different; with its idyllic beach spot, which juts into Siletz Bay like the prow of a ship – Josephine Young Memorial Park being especially hard to locate by taking right on SW Jetty Avenue then merging onto 62nd Street but well worth taking the detour!
As Highway 101 heads northward, it hugs the coastline and passes through coastal towns such as Pistol River, Gold Beach, Wedderburn, and Port Orford before climbing onto Bandon bluffs and passing Coquille River before joining with Oregon Route 54 at Warrenton.
From here, Highway 101 follows the eastern edge of Coos Bay into Coos Bay City before continuing along Astoria Bay to Washington via the Astoria-Megler Bridge – crossing over Astoria Bay into Washington via Old Astoria’s historic waterfront district.
Youngs Park Butterfly Grove offers the ideal experience on Highway 101 during the fall months when monarch butterflies are flying freely among eucalyptus trees in Youngs Park Butterfly Grove. Open free to the public and accessible at any time, but make sure to arrive early as it quickly fills up!
4. Youngs Bay
Youngs River and Bay are among the most biodiverse components of the Columbia River estuary, hosting some of the world’s most extensive anadromous fish runs and providing water supply to several communities in their catchment areas.
Shortly upriver from the dike, Youngs Bay broadens out into marsh grasses as the streamside forest gives way to marsh grasses. An extensive rusting drydock stands incongruously among these grasses with two fishing boats docked; Amy recognizes one in particular as Maverick from the Deadliest Catch television show.
Youngs Park, named in honor of its founder, features an array of art-themed educational, recreational, and entertainment activities on 10 acres. As well as featuring Young’s Circle itself, Youngs Park includes public restrooms, picnicking areas, and open space – perfect for relaxation!
The Columbia Bay and River receive their water from four significant streams – Lewis and Clark River, Youngs River, Klatskanine River, and Wallooskee (or Youngs) River – whose waters flow through state forestry, private forestry, residential communities, and farmland. Youngs River serves as its primary tributary, flowing through an estuarine/wetlands complex to reach its destination in the bay/river system.
Youngs Bay and River are part of the Youngs River Watershed, covering over 160 square miles in Clatsop County with 250 miles of rivers, streams, and lakes. It serves as an important spawning and nursery ground for salmon, shad, white sturgeon, and coho/cohoe; it also provides essential habitat to chinook, steelhead cohoe, and cohoe populations.
Commercial fishermen may use gillnets during open periods in the Youngs Bay Select Area, which includes waters downstream of Highway 101 Bridge as well as all waters upstream from regulatory markers located at the confluence of Lewis and Clark River and Youngs River; (b) an upper Youngs Bay area upstream of overhead power lines crossing Youngs River near Barrett Slough; and (c) Walluski Area. Gillnet length cannot exceed 1,500 feet, while lead line weight must not exceed two pounds per fathom.
