| Honeyman Memorial State Park |
 |
|
|
 |
| Master Planning Process |
|
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) is developing a master plan to provide a unified vision for this popular recreation area and significant historic site. The long-term vision for the property will represent successful stewardship of the park’s resources and enhance recreational opportunities for the visitor. Achieving this will require broad based input from a diverse group of people who have the park’s long-term interests at heart. Implementing a consensus based plan will result in the preservation of this Conservation Civilian Corp (CCC) built park along with the provision of world-class visitor services.
Balancing the restoration and preservation, operations, interpretation, and public access, while maintaining the historical integrity of the park, will require the involvement from various stakeholders. This process provides a public forum for discussing important issues and identifying potential solutions. We will be convening an advisory committee to guide the process in concert with a series of public meetings in both the park and in the Lane County area throughout the process.
|
|
|
| Draft Master Plan |
|
Click the link below to download the Honeyman Memorial State Park Draft Master Plan. A hardcopy of the plan is also available for review at the following locations
Download Plan [6.08 Mb]
A hard copy of the plan can be viewed at:
- Local libraries. Eugene Public Library (Main Branch) in Eugene; Siuslaw Public Library District (Main Branch in Florence)
- OPRD offices. OPRD headquarters office in Salem (see address below) and the park office at Honeyman State Park, 84505 Highway 101 S, Florence.
|
|
|
| Resort Hub & Oregon Dunes |
|
Honeyman Memorial State Park is located in Oregon’s coastal sand dune area, one of Oregon’s greatest treasures. The park is just south of Florence on scenic Highway 101, sited between the towering sand dunes and freshwater lakes that offer a wealth of year-round recreation. To accommodate the many visitors to this area, the park has Oregon’s second largest state park campground. Prior to construction of the campground in the 1960s, Honeyman served day trippers only. During this early period, from the 1930s through the 1950s, the park was a premiere attraction along the newly completed coastal highway. With the growth of the automobile, people were flocking to the now accessible Oregon coast, and Honeyman was one of the first places to cater to the new visitors, with the nearby towns providing overnight accommodations. Later, camping brought overnight stays to the park itself. In anticipating these needs the park was designed with a dual mandate; to provide visitors with a wide variety of recreational activities and protect the outstanding natural features they had come to see. In carrying out the design for the park, CCC workers constructed Honeyman in the classic rustic style that is a trade mark of early park design in the United States. Honeyman, along with Silver Falls State Park and Crater Lake National Park, are the best surviving examples of Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) built parks in Oregon. The rustic stone work and axe-cut wood used in construction of the buildings, walls and shelters created a back drop that complimented the impressive natural setting that included easy access to lakes, dense forest, huge stretches of dunes and of course, the ocean.
Honeyman’s campground caters to overnight users of the park who enjoy being within close reach of a wealth of recreational opportunities. The proximity to these activities led to Honeyman developing a large overnight camping capacity. However, like in its early days, Honeyman is still a major attraction for day-use visitors driving along the coast on Highway101. These two types of visitors are able to use Honeyman as a base to participate in activities that range from nature viewing to sand boarding. The list of activities associated with Honeyman includes, but is not limited to swimming, kayaking, scuba diving, fishing, hiking, motor boating, ATV’s, and picnicking. To help serve visitors facilities at the park include a meeting hall (50 person capacity), small nature center, amphitheater for evening programs, ball field for games, camp store at Cleawox Lake, picnic shelters and nearby picnic tables.
|
|
|
| The Challenge |
|
How to Celebrate the CCC while Retaining the Park's Vitality
The inspiring cultural heritage of the park and the work of the CCC need to be celebrated while retaining the vitality of the park through the wide range of recreational opportunities available to the public. This is the challenge for Honeyman; to recognize the work of the CCC and their built legacy and still serve the visitor and local community who value the park and make it a very active place to visit. In appreciating the history of Honeyman and communicating that history to a wider audience, it follows that the visitor expects development of facilities to meet this need. Providing interpretative facilities that explore the history of the CCC and their legacy will need to be balanced against current park use needs; protecting the very resources that will be interpreted.
Recognizing Honeyman is also a major venue for the local community and those visiting the park for recreational purposes, development will have to take the users into account. These stakeholders will need to be included in any future framework; ensuring the park retains it image as a recreational center and a hub for the local community, so it continues to be appreciated by those who know it best. In addressing these issues at Honeyman, OPRD will go a long way to meeting its goals for state parks as laid out in the Target 2014 initiative.
|
|
|
|
