Just down the road from the state park lies a series of private homes. Among those, one really stands out, not only for the very large house with a smaller one for the caretaker's residence. This, along with the very landscaped and manicured grounds tends to draw attention to the place but there is one feature that is even more worthy of notice. If you look closely at the picture you will discover that the grounds are surrounded by a very high chain-link fence which is even topped by razor wire! Further examination will also find that the gate even has a guard tower to the left of the driveway!

Needless to say, a frequent question of the park rangers here is about the ownership of that property and the reason for the security. Being no different, we too inquired about this. It seems that the property is one of the homes of a resident of nearby Tillamook, who also happens to be a part owner of the Circus Circus Casino in Las Vegas. The word is that he has that type of security around all of his several homes simply to protect himself and his friends  from the hordes of poor trash who want to gain access to him or his money! I suspect that a better explanation may a diagnosis of paranoia!

What makes the fence even more special is the fact that there is no fence along the water side of the property which is on the bay, because they want easy access to the water and the state of Oregon prohibits any private ownership of beachfront within 50' of the high tide line! For that reason the fences stop at that point and it would be relatively easy for one to walk down to the water line and around the end and on to the property, particularly when the tide is out.

It is said that the owner is seldom ever in residence, but if he is so concerned at all of his homes, he must lead a pretty unhappy life!