N. Oregon Coast's Manzanita and Seaside Get New All-Terrain Wheelchairs

Published 04/27/23 at 5:22 AM - Updated 04/27/23 at 5:42 PM
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Manzanita, Oregon) – The north Oregon coast burghs of Manzanita and Seaside have just become even more accessible to those with mobility issues. Tillamook Coast, Tillamook County's tourism group, has just acquired a new all-terrain electric track chair, bringing the total of beach wheelchairs available to the public there to two. Seaside just added one of these unique rovers as well.

They are not called wheelchairs, however - they are track chairs.

Nan Devlin, executive director of Tillamook Coast, said this came with the help of Oregon Parks Forever and a group called David's Chair, a non-profit that assists in getting all-terrain chairs for those in need. There was also another benefactor involved in the pricey acquisition.

“A donor named Vincent Saulino paid for the chair in Manzanita because his wife, who was very accomplished and an outdoors person, contracted a rare disease that was very debilitating,” Devlin said. “She couldn't walk after awhile. So this donor heard about David's Chair and donated it to Manzanita, a favorite beach destination of hers.”

David's Chair has been extensively involved in getting these electric track chairs to Oregon, especially on the coast. This has included individuals from Brookings as well as other beach towns and inland areas. This particular chair is from a company called Action Trackchair, creating special vehicles that can wander on not just sand but into pools of water and over rocky shores as well. This opens up much more mobility than even the other sand wheelchairs, such as at the cobblestones you might find at the very northern edge of Manzanita.

Manzanita Visitor Center staff recently trained with the vehicle, and now they are available to borrow, free of charge. You do need to make a reservation, however, done through David’s Chair for both towns. The other beach chairs around the coast are reserved through the individual towns.

Devlin said this brings the total of beach wheelchairs to nine in the county, with two at Pacific City, and one each at Nehalem Bay State Park, in Rockaway Beach, at Barview Jetty Park, at Garibaldi (for tent events) and at Cape Lookout State Park.

The David's Chair group has an interesting background story.

Courtesy Action Trackchair

It is named after David Hatrick, who, after a few months of decreasing mobility, discovered he had ALS. As an avid outdoorsman, he sorely missed hunting, fishing and simply enjoying nature. Getting hold of one the Action Trackchairs was hardly financially feasible with the cost at $20,000, but he and a few friends put on a fundraiser and achieved the goal.

However, Hatrick knew he was going to pass away soon – and he did just 11 months after the diagnosis. With friend Steve Furst they formed David's Chair. Through that organization, they had planned to put David's chair to use with someone else when he was gone. Since 2018, they have helped numerous people get such a chair, especially by reserving one.

For the David's Chairs in Seaside and Manzanita, make reservations at David’s Chair or call 503-812-5510. In Manzanita, the David’s Chair is available from 11:30 am - 12:45 pm and 1:15 pm - 2:30 pm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. See https://tillamookcoast.com/mobility/

For using the other beach wheelchair in Manzanita, contact the Manzanita Visitors Center.

Tillamook Coast promised more help to come in the future.

“As we get funding, we’ll be adding other mobility equipment to help more people enjoy outdoor recreation,” they said on their website.

In Rockaway Beach, contact Troxel’s Gem and Jewelry Store. They also have a child’s beach wheelchair and a beach walker. Call or text 541-418-2842 or email rockawayrocks@gmail.com

In Pacific City, contact Inn at Cape Kiwanda: https://www.capekiwandarvresort.com/amenities-rentals/

At Nehalem Bay State Park: 503-812-0650 Ext. 20, or stop by the park ranger station

At Cape Lookout State Park: 503-842-3182 Ext. 221 or stop by the park ranger station

At Barview Jetty County Campground: 503-322-3522 or stop by the campground entry station

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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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