Disc Golf: Toss a Frisbee into a hole

For Frisbee fans, there are ample opportunities at one of two Frisbee golf courses in the Bay Area. The fairly flat and open Ferry Road Park near the McCullough Bridge in North Bend features a challenging course. All enthusiasts need is a disc and an hour or two to spend either with friends or in solitude enjoying this relaxing activity.

For veteran Frisbee chuckers, Mingus Park, just off North 10th Street in Coos Bay, offers a hillier, more wooded course where hikers can get a good cardiovascular workout while playing 18 holes. This course provides forest-like privacy in the middle of town, but be careful not to lose your disc in the thick brush.

Horseback Riding

Located just off U.S. Highway 101 a little south of Coos Bay, the Family Four Stables are just minutes away from mountain trails that show off the Southern Oregon Coast's beauty.

Owner Peg Henrickson said people can indulge their love of horses and the outdoors on a variety of trails. She said views of the Coos Bay estuaries and sloughs, along with other beautiful scenery, are part of the trail rides.

The stables' quarterhorses are professionally trained and rent for $25 an hour.

Henrickson said horses can be rented for up to three hours, but most people usually rent for one hour.

Family Four Stables is located at 61675 Family Four Drive, just beyond the turnoff to state Highway 42. The phone number is 267-5301.

Other local stables offer trail and beach rides, too.

In Bandon, those interested can visit the Bandon Beach Riding Stables at 54629 Beach Loop Road. For hours or reservations, those interested can call 347-3423.

C & M Stables at 90241 Highway 101 in North Florence offers out-of-towners and locals an opportunity to ride. For details and reservations, those interested can call (541) 997-7540.

Both the Bandon and Florence stables have horses for beginning and expert equestrians.

Horse Camp

If you've always pictured yourself riding a galloping horse down a beach but want to bring your own horse, then you might consider staying at the Wild Mare Horse Camp, part of the Horsfall Beach recreation area located on the dunes next to the Pacific Ocean, just north of North Bend. The facilities are open all year and include 12 campsites (which require a fee) with corrals, as well as a day-use area.

The horse trails meander through the sand from the dunes down to the beach. The camp is located three miles west of U.S. Highway 101 on the Horsfall Dune and Beach Access Road, just north of North Bend.

Skateboarding: Test your skills at skate parks

Skaters need not leave their boards at home. The South Coast is home to several highly rated skateboard parks.

Myrtle Point is home to one of the South Coast's prime skateboarding venues - as well as its leading skateboard competition.

Opened in 2001, the skating facility at Lehnherr Park, located at the intersection of Spruce and Second streets, features both a facility for beginning and intermediate skateboarders and inline skaters as well as its showcase, a 10,000-square-foot concrete bowl.

Port Orford, Reedsport and Brookings also have skateboard parks to challenge even the best "sk8ers."

Port Orford's park, located at 13th and Arizona streets in Buffington Park, has some skateboarders believing it's the best thing since the wheel.

There is one word skateboarders and designers use when describing it - modern. It's designed to embrace the sport and provide a challenge and it does. High speeds and a special 13-foot-tall cradle allow skaters to go past vertical - get upside-down in a hurry. The rules? Full padding is required at all times. And sorry, no bikes.

In Reedsport, the Funnel Tunnel is the main attraction at the 11,000-square-foot facility. Airspeed Skateparks designed and built the park in four months in 2003. It's located at Lions Park, across U.S. Highway 101 from several small stores and a 7-Eleven.

At Florence, there's 12,000 square feet of fun, at the corner of 18th and Oak streets.

Brookings' skate park, at Bud Cross Park at the north end of the city on Third and Hasset streets, was built in 2001. The 8,000-square-foot Dreamland Skateparks facility is open from sunrise to sunset and helmets are a must. According to one Web site, it has a "giant, tasty donut" and a "wild design."

At Coos Bay, there's a small skating area in Mingus Park near the ballfield. It's hardly a challenge, but a local group has formed and is fund-raising to build a 30,000-square-foot-plus facility. So, mark your calendars for a Coos Bay vacation for future summers, too.