3S7 - Nehalem Bay (Manzanita), Oregon, USA

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Chris
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3S7 - Nehalem Bay (Manzanita), Oregon, USA

Post by Chris »

One of our favorite places in the Pacific Northwest is Manzanita, Oregon, a tiny beach community on the beautiful Oregon coast. Nehalem Bay State Park is located about 1.5 miles south of town and includes 3S7, a 2350' (710m) asphalt strip located less than a half mile from the beach. Flying into Nehalem Bay can be challenging as the winds during clear weather are frequently out of the Northwest or West. Since the runway is 15/33 there is often a bit of a crosswind while landing towards the north. Making it more interesting is that the strip is narrow and tucked between the trees, so the crosswind can disappear right when you think you've got it all lined up. Be ready for some last-second adjustments on short final. Landing on 33 takes you right over Nehalem Bay so there are no obstacles to worry about. Landing on 15 takes you right over many tall trees, so the runway seems a lot shorter from that direction.

The airstrip is not heavily used, and you may find yourself the only aircraft on the field. Several tie-downs are located just west of the runway, and you'll have to taxi over a gravel taxiway and/or grass to get to parking. You should register at the sign-in box so the state can keep track of how much traffic is coming in to the strip.

Nehalem Bay State Park provides some primitive campsites for $5/day where pilots can camp next to the airstrip, so often the best way to get a campsite in the park during the peak season is to fly in. For those inclined towards more comfortable accomodations, the Manzanita area has plenty of vacation rentals located between the airport and the town as well as some small motels in town.

I consider Manzanita to be a gem on the Oregon coast with a laid back atmosphere, some good restaurants, a great bakery, a basic 9-hole golf course, a wine bar, and a couple of miles of beautiful, often empty, sandy beach. Much less touristy than nearby Cannon Beach, it is a relaxing place to spend a weekend or even just a day trip that includes a hike into town for some lunch at Left Coast Siesta (which is exactly what we did this past Saturday). Just a few miles north of town is Neahkahnie Mountain, which is an excellent place to hike for some spectacular veiws down the coastline; however it may be tough to get there if you fly in since I'm not aware of any place to rent a car.
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Our dog Leo wonders where all of the other planes are.
Our dog Leo wonders where all of the other planes are.
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Chris
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Chris
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Re: 3S7 - Nehalem Bay (Manzanita), Oregon, USA

Post by Chris »

A photo of Mt Neahkahnie to the North of town as we circle to enter a left downwind for Rwy 33.
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Re: 3S7 - Nehalem Bay (Manzanita), Oregon, USA

Post by Kai »

Wow, this looks impressive! The nicest thing about flying is to get to see new places.

I will add it to my list of places to see in the US.

EDIT: I just realized you added the G1000 logfile to the reports-section. Interestingly you climbed and climbed up to 6800 ft and then just decended again. So I tried to find the mountain top or ridge you had to cross and stumbled over "Idiotsville"... geesh... this must be so embarrassing to live there!!! I mean, how do the people call themselves? Did your engine sputter when flying over?
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Chris
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Re: 3S7 - Nehalem Bay (Manzanita), Oregon, USA

Post by Chris »

Kai wrote:I will add it to my list of places to see in the US.
Let me know ahead of time and we'll set up a DAN fly-in. :thumbsup:
Kai wrote:I just realized you added the G1000 logfile to the reports-section. Interestingly you climbed and climbed up to 6800 ft and then just decended again. So I tried to find the mountain top or ridge you had to cross and stumbled over "Idiotsville"... geesh... this must be so embarrassing to live there!!! I mean, how do the people call themselves? Did your engine sputter when flying over?
:D Oregon definitely has some goofy town names. The most commonly heard are Boring and Wankers Corner. I've been living here for 20 years and never heard of Idiotville until I also noticed it on the Google map track for my flight. There's actually a Wikipedia article about it and apparently it's a ghost town with nothing left. At first I thought the label might be a joke from somebody at Google who doesn't like Oregon.

The Coast Range can be crossed at 5500 going east, but if the wind is blowing, I much prefer heading up higher to avoid some nasty ridge-induced turbulence. But the trip is too short to make it up to 7500 so I just climb until I've reached a point that I can do a cruise descent back home.
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