Camp 18

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T – I – M – B – E – R! You Won’t Be “Board” in Elsie, Oregon

The best place to learn about logging in the Pacific Northwest during its 1850-1950 heyday is at Camp 18. Part outdoors museum, part gigantic hand-hewn log cabin housing a family-owned restaurant and gift shop, Camp 18 near Elsie, Oregon is a convenient place to poke around on your way to the Oregon Coast. And since it’s located along pretty little Humbug Creek, it’s also a great spot for a picnic or a nature stroll-- songbirds are common and Chinook salmon spawn here in the fall.

Although logging methods have changed over the years, the old days buzz to life at Camp 18 through a huge collection of Paul Bunyan-sized equipment: a high-speed, double-cut band saw with an immense blade over 60-feet long and 16-inches across; a hydroelectric water wheel; a steam yarder dating back to 1872; a timber flume from 1923; and an extensive assorted of steam shovels, tractors, cranes, and railroad cars. Signs are posted here and there, so you can get a feel for how the 20-foot handsaws and steam donkeys were used and imagine what a physically demanding job logging must have been during that bygone era. While admiring the antiques, also peek inside one of the old railroad cars--it serves as a unique rest room!

After investigating the old-time logging equipment outside (all of it has been purchased, loaned or donated to Camp 18 and is still being actively collected), wander inside the largest log cabin restaurant you've probably ever seen. On the way in, pose with Big Foot for a picture! Gordon Smith, a "gyppo" or independent logger, built the mammoth cabin and he cut the red cedar and Douglas fir timber himself. The 85-foot-long beam that runs along the inside of the peak of the roof weighs 25 tons! There is also a pair of stone fireplaces and lots of old logging photos and tools on the walls, chain-saw art decor, and axes serve as handles for the massive hand-carved doors. Everywhere you look, Mr. Smith's craftsmanship and attention to detail is evident throughout all 14,000 square feet. If you're hungry, the American-style lumberjack meals are pretty good, especially the marionberry cobbler! A gift shop on the other side of the spacious cabin is worth a look, too.

Camp 18 (old logging camps were always numbered, never named) is a fun peek into the past. It's a fascinating open-air logging museum as well as a tribute to a dangerous, backbreaking, and vital profession that helped build the Pacific Northwest. And here's a clever trick-- even if you can't recall the name of the town Camp 18 is near (Elsie), you can still easily remember Camp 18's location-- the name itself reminds you-- 18 miles from the Oregon Coast on Highway 26!

Camp 18 is located at Mile Post 18 on US Highway 26 (22 miles east of Seaside) (503) 755-1818, (800) 874-1810, no website

Keywords: Free, All year, Walking tour, Less than 3 hours, Remote, Everyone, Easy to reach

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Eat like a lumberjack

Camp 18 is one of a kind. The food is not necessarily worth the trip but if you drive from Portland to the Coast on Highway 26 you must stop here. Yes, you can have any greasy food you can possibly think of (burger, pancakes, waffles and syrup, syrup, syrup!) but people come here for the atmosphere. It is truly special: Camp 18 is as much a logging museum as it is restaurant. The parking lot is full of interesting logging machinery, the inside showcases logging equipment and explains the lifestyle of the lumberjacks. On weekends the wait for breakfast is often over 45 minutes so they must be doing something right. Even if you do not eat here, stop and have a look at the museum.

Keywords: Just you alone / As a single, Dress casual, With teens, Brunch, Bar, Restaurant, No smoking, With a group, Cheap (US$ 5 - US$ 10), With kids, Dinner, Moderate (US$ 11 - US$ 20), American, As a couple, Lunch, Breakfast