Yurt- The “LITE” Way to Camp
Posted By LaurenI just got back from a Thanksgiving Weekend romantic getaway on the Oregon Coast. The original plan was we’d get a hotel room somewhere in Oceanside. Somewhere along the way the plan became “Let’s stay in a YURT at Cape Lookout State Park.” “Rustic Yurts ” are available as a lodging option at many of the state parks at the coast. The Oregon Parks and Recreation Website calls it camping “lite.” Rustic yurts usually cost just under $30. This weekend, the rustic yurt was $27 per night.
The first time I used one of these yurts, it was a “deluxe yurt” at Umpqua State Park. (”Deluxe” yurts are only found at Umpua.) Deluxe yurts are $66/night, $45/night in the off-season. I stayed in this special yurt back in June, a much better time to be out “roughing it.” Although, roughing it in a deluxe yurt involves a full bathroom with a shower, a microwave, TV/VCR, a full-sized fridge, a ceiling fan, sleeping space for 8 people, and a self-lighting grill. It’s like a hotel room, but with even more amenities, out in the woods, next to the ocean. I thought it was pretty awesome that I was going to be vacationing in a yurt but when I told my well traveled mother, she said “It isn’t a yurt if their aren’t any yaks.”
The “rustic” yurt we had this weekend still had electric lights, a skylight, a bunkbed, a futon, and, most importantly, almost sufficient heating. It seemed like a perfect situation. We got to be near the ocean and hear its gentle roar lulling us to sleep (who needs a white noise machine?). There were just two unexpected problems.
1. Storms. The yurts are made of wooden supports and lattice forming a cylinder, covered on all sides by an insulating tent material. The tent covering of the yurt is flexible such that high winds catch and make the entire structure shudder and flap all night long. Listening and watching hail strike the skylight for hours was interesting and exciting, but not exactly comforting. Especially when I had this pervasive irrational fear that the wind was going to rip a hole in the side of the yurt.
2. Raccoons. Whoever rented the yurt before us had left something really yummy underneath a bush right outside the yurt. At first, when there were two raccoons rustling around outside our door, we thought it was cute. Then there were at least five, probably more. A problem with the yurt is that you can hear everything that happens outside. That’s wonderful when it’s the ocean lulling you to sleep. Not so wonderful when it’s a horde of marauding raccoons hissing and growling at each other like fighting cats. Then we heard them on the other side of the yurt ripping into a box of ricemilk that we had left outside to keep cool. We were surrounded. It felt like we were under seige.
So the next time you want to go “camping” at a state park, but don’t want to suffer the discomfort of stones and pinecones under your sleeping bag, or rain, or really any bit of nature at all (barring ravenous racoon armies and freakish winter storms), consider a yurt. Yurts aren’t your style? That’s ok. They also have more traditional cabins and even teepees at a few parks. No joke!
Also, I saw this job posting for an Interior Design job in Wilsonville on Craigslist. I make no promises about its legitimacy but I thought I’d repost it up here.
Oregon based small and growing company looking for enthusiastic self starters. Need no formal decorating training to start. Work your own hours and love every minute!”
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One Response to “Yurt- The “LITE” Way to Camp”
1 Dave 11 December 2006 @ 9:13 pm
Nice story! Last December, my wife and I stayed in a yurt at Cape Lookout. She wrote a feature article about it in the Oregon Coast Today last December. Your mention of the raccoons is priceless… we lost a picnic table full of dinner being prepped for the grill. The little thieves hopped right up in front of us to swipe the food.
The kids were thrilled, for about five minutes. After that, they were just hungry.
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