Siuslaw River Beach Launch

The Exploding Whale Memorial Park in Florence, Oregon commemorates the infamous 1970 incident where Oregon highway officials tried to blow up a beached sperm whale with dynamite, resulting in blubber raining down on spectators, but the park itself is a riverfront location, not the original explosion site about a mile south of the Siuslaw River within the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. This park serves as a quirky tribute to the event that became an early viral sensation and inspired new whale disposal policies. When launching from here, there is a short portage to the beach from the parking lot. 

The Siuslaw River's history centers on the Indigenous Siuslaw people, who thrived for millennia on its rich resources (salmon, forests) before European settlement disrupted their lives, leading to treaty violations and forced relocation, culminating in their modern federal recognition as part of the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians. Post-settlement, the region developed through logging, fishing, and pioneering, marked by iconic structures like the 1930s-era Siuslaw River Bridge, while the estuary remains a vital ecosystem.

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Launch site: Exploding Whale Memorial Park Beach.