After a 5 month closure due to storm damage, the Oregon coast's Amanda trail officially reopens on National Trails Day – this Saturday.
The Amanda Trail honors coastal Native Americans forced from their homes in the mid-1800s. Last December, a massive mudslide wiped out a bridge and memorial statue, rendering the trail unusable. Joanne Kittel is a trail leader in Yachats. She says rebuilding didn't start until the ground dried up. Then, crews built an auxiliary road to haul the damaged bridge out.
KITTEL: "We had to take it off the 12 foot high debris pile. Urban Forestry came and was able to lift the bridge off. The bridge was cut up and we were able to salvage 18 feet of the 62 foot long bridge. The county crew came to help – spent many hours helping to repair the damage."
Kittel says the Amanda Trail features middle growth forests and pristine ocean views.
KITTEL: "You can see a seagull rookery, the whales come in very close because it's a rocky shoreline. We saw orcas there the other day."
The Amanda Trail is one way – part of the Oregon Coast Trail – and stretches 3.4 miles from Yachats to the top of Cape Perpetua.
