The House and Land
Port Orford, Oregon
This page shows the house, the 5+ acres it’s on, and some scenery nearby. Sections include
—The House
—The Grove
—Orchard and Garden
—Ocean and Landscape of the area
The House
The original structure was built in the mid-1990’s. In ~2006 the previous owners renovated and expanded it to what we see today.
House in ~2007 just after renovation. Terraces in foreground now have rhododendron, lilac, and other small trees
House looking NE
Back patio overlooking grove; living room and kitchen bay windows
More recent view of house looking west with camellias
Front of Shop
Living room I
Living Room View II
Common room in shop Big enough for ping-pong (table folded up on left)
Kitchen from living room arch (stove out of picture to left)
In 2018 my middle-school band class came down from Portland for a 3-day field trip. Somehow we fit ~10 people at the kitchen table
Want to see more house pictures? Click HERE
The Grove
The house sits on 5+ acres, most of which is forested. Some of the property is on a side hill, including the house, while 3-4 acres is a flatter area alongside a branch of Hubbard creek. The garden and the orchard are in this lowland, but also a section of alders I call the grove—swordferns, a few conifers, moss, nettles, and a delightful selection of other green life make this a great place for the hammock. The sauna sits alongside the creek.
Pathway through grove linking house, garden, orchard, and sauna. This is the neighbor’s cat Quinn, who goes on walks with their daughter Rayna.
Bridge over creek near sauna
Hubbard Creek in grove
Another view of Hubbard Creek
Small backwater pond, initially created for a resting spot for salmon
Hubbard Creek after rare snowfall
Sauna in grove
Looking out sauna door; sleeping cabin in background
Sleeping Cabin in grove
View from inside sleeping cabin
The Garden and Orchard
The garden is on the south side of the property where there’s a large opening in the trees for sunshine. The orchard parallels the grove and creek on the north side.
The garden is roughly 75’ x 75’ and enclosed by a deer fence 8-10’ high. The orchard has 20 or so trees in a section of meadow about 200’ long and 40-75’ wide. There are also three fruit trees on the east side of the garden.
Garden looking SW
Orchard from neighbor’s road looking NE
Orchard looking south. Neighbor’s well / pumphouse on right.
Orchard ~15-20 years ago looking south
Orchard 20 years ago after unusual snowfall. Previous owner’s beehives.
Neighbors (daughters) pressing apple cider with apples from orchard. Last year they made ~12 gallons on top of the hundreds of apples they saved.
The Ocean and Landscape
Port Orford has three state parks within 5 miles, and several miles of beaches. There is also national forest, a wilderness area, and private forest land to the west (some sections of which are unfortunately clear-cut). Port Orford itself is about 1200 people with a few restaurants, a co-op, two hardware stores, and one blinkety yellow traffic light.
Oceanfront near house
Port Orford’s ‘bay’ (curved section of land) looking south from upland on Hubbard Creek Beach. ~1700’ Humbug State Park ~4 miles in background.
Hubbard Creek beach, 3/4 miles from house, looking south
Hubbard Creek / Battle Rock Beach on walk to town, looking NW
Battle Rock beach from Port Orford itself, looking SSE. It’s a walk along this beach to get to town and back
L’il Andrew Goldsworthy-inspired art I did on local beach. Waves took these ~two days later.
Port Orford Heads
Natural area 3/4 mile west of town, ~3 miles from house
View SE over the cove from PO Heads. Great place for sea kayaking when the waves are calm
The western half of the park has large open areas of salal and other shrubs
The view north from the point at Port Orford Heads. Agate Beach to right.
One of several wildflowers found at PO Heads
Harbor seals sun themselves at low tide down on the rocks
View from Port Orford Heads looking SE back to Hubbard Creek Beach
On a clear day, you can see ~30 miles south to Cape Sebastian
View south from northernmost point of Port Orford Heads
Further Afield—National Forest, Humbug Mountain, and Samuel Boardman State Park
Lots of nice scenery is a five to fifty minute drive from Port Orford. Humbug mountain is five miles south of us; Cape Blanco and Elk River five miles north; and Samuel Boardman State Park ~45 miles south along the coast.
Neighbor on paddleboard at swimming hole on upper Elk River. We love the color of the water there.
The swimming hole on Elk River, about 10 miles from house. Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forst, near Grassy Knob Wildnerness
Cape Blanco State Park has lots of open meadows near the lighthouse
Humbug Mountain, here seen from the south
Northern beach at foot of Humbug Mountain
Trail to the top of Humbug goes through old-growth coastal forest
The ridiculously scenic Samuel Boardman State Park; Natural Bridges section
Natural Bridges section from further up
Samuel Boardman scenic corridor
Abundant life of Oregon tide pools.
Hwy 101 makes for a scenic commute. This is from the walking/biking trail along a disused section of the former 101 route, ~4 miles south of house.