The Fireside Motel Has A View To The Future With 804 Trail Support

When something beautiful and well-loved is in your own backyard, it’s worth taking care of to ensure its longevity and future. Such is the case with the 804 Trail, just outside The Fireside Motel.

Anyone who has stayed at The Fireside and its neighboring property, Overleaf Lodge & Spa, knows this trail – a spectacular stretch that offers dramatic ocean views from rocky bluffs as well as miles of beach access to the north to explore, all the way to Waldport if you wish!

Drew Roslund and his wife Kristin, co-operators of The Fireside, have been supporting 804 Trail maintenance since April 2019, specifically by contributing financially to View the Future, a Yachats-based nonprofit that’s responsible for stewarding and conserving land and wildlife habitats in the Yachats area.

Guests contribute, too

View the Future maintains the 804 Trail as part of its work, and funds from The Fireside are earmarked for 804 Trail maintenance and upgrades.

“View the Future was a natural fit for us,” Drew says. “This money is to be used for capital improvements to the 804 Trail and enhancing the experience through interpretation.”

In addition, guests of The Fireside voluntarily donate $1 per night of their stay for this ongoing trail stewardship. Through June 2023, total contributions from The Fireside and its guests are about $25,000, Drew shares.

Trail engages your five senses

The gravel path was built in the late 1980s by Oregon State Parks in about the location of a former roadway. Its proximity to The Fireside is definitely a plus for guests and their dogs, too, with accessible doggie bags and trash cans to keep the trail clean for all who use it.

Just take a few steps along the trail and it’s easy to see why it is such a favorite of locals and visitors to the area alike.

“It really encompasses all of your five senses,” Drew says. “The ocean views, including the occasional gray whale sighting, the fresh air, the coastal sounds floating by of the birds, waves and sea lions, the taste of the salal berries, salmonberries and black berries along the trail when in season, and the feel of the meandering trail as one walks along the bluff.”

Guests plan their visits for certain times of the year, too, to experience the amazing variety of wildlife and nature visible from the trail:

• Gray whales migrating in the winter and spring.
• Shorebirds, such as pelicans, fishing in the summer.
• Storm watching in fall and winter, plus King Tides in the winter season.
• Spring wildflowers, including Drew’s favorite, the purple Oregon Lily, which “pops up right along the trail for about a 100-foot section about ¼ mile north of The Fireside.”

“It’s an easily walkable path for guests of all ages and is mostly accessible,” adds Drew, who loves to walk it any time of the year. “I even walked it during a violent winter storm with 70+ mile-per-hour winds. Of course, I had full rain gear on. But watching the violent wave action during a storm is really a bucket list item.”

Visitors love the 804 Trail, for sure. It’s free. It’s not crowded. “And it keeps many humans off the more fragile rock environment where they can damage marine life, from sea anemones to mollusks and other crustaceans,” Drew says.

Sounds like a great place to explore along the Oregon Coast, knowing that responsible environmental stewardship is behind its purpose and maintenance. The 804 Trail is an unforgettable experience and a coastal gem.

Funded through a generous grant from the Oregon Coast Visitors Association.