Stand By Me: Cottage Grove

  The movie Stand by Me was filmed in the summer of 1985, mostly in the town of Brownsville, Oregon. However the majority of railroad scenes were filmed here in Cottage Grove along the railroad track that went up the Row River – now that railroad track is the Row River Trail, which makes seeing …

Wildflower habitat at Bake Stewart Park

Tucked along the Row River, just as it enters Dorena Reservoir, is Bake Stewart Park. In the past, we’ve visited Bake Stewart Park sporadically. It is a good place to launch a canoe, I often see people fishing there, and it is a quiet place to walk our dogs. During those unseasonable sunny days earlier …

Mosby Creek Covered Bridge

Built in 1920, the Mosby Creek Covered Bridge is the oldest in Lane County and nearly the oldest in Oregon. Despite its age, it is the only local covered bridge which is still in service. Every day, for almost 100 years, local traffic has used this bridge to cross over Mosby Creek along Layng Road. It is …

Checker Lilies

I promise this blog won’t become focused solely on wildflowers. However, they are beautiful right now, and this weekend we found a wildflower that I’ve never seen before, so I have to share! Our weekly dog-walk this weekend happened out at Bake Stewart Park at the head of Dorena Reservoir. We don’t go there very often, …

Postcard from the Row River Trail

Finding Dorena

Imagine learning that your home, your school, and indeed your whole town needed to move or be covered by 100 feet of water. That is exactly what happened in the early 1940s to the town of Dorena. The construction of Dorena dam, which began in 1942, was intended to provide flood control for the towns …

Row River Trail: Endings

Last week, I posted about the Row River Trail, its beginnings, and my intent to explore and feature the trail over the next several months. It makes sense then -- to me -- to explore the end of the trail in this post. Historically, as a rail line the Trail has had a couple endings. Originally constructed …

Row River Trail: Beginnings

A walk along Cottage Grove’s Row River Trail can be much more than a simple stroll -- it can provide glimpses into our local history (both recent and past) as well as our local, native wildlife. The trail makes an excellent day trip excursion for people from out-of-town. And, at the same time, as a …

The Row River: Origins

The Row River is a major defining factor in Cottage Grove. Though the river is not long (just about 20 miles) and it only skirts the north-east edge of town, it has a main road and at least two recreation areas named after it (the Row River Nature Park and the Row River Trail). For those …