For the last five years, Kelly Wickham has organized an unofficial summer camp for about a dozen families who have a parent or child with spinal muscular atrophy. They call their annual outings “Wheelie Camp.” They’ve made crafts, gone fishing and played tag using foam pool noodles.
But this month’s Wheelie Camp included a notable first – a beach party.
As part of their five-day stay at Fort Stevens State Park in Hammond, the families borrowed 10 beach-accessible wheelchairs, at no cost, from various nonprofits and government agencies. It allowed the kids, 14 of whom rely on motorized wheelchairs, to traverse the sand for a beach bonfire with s’mores and hot dogs.
“It was just incredible, and all our families were playing,” Wickham said. “Dads were having beach races with their kids in the Hippocampe chairs,” which are three-wheeled, all-terrain strollers. “Everybody agreed, it was a perfect day.”
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More than a dozen locations along the Oregon Coast offer free beach wheelchair rentals, and more chairs are on the way as communities work to make the state’s shoreline more accessible.
The rental programs are managed by separate entities, and the chairs vary in size and style. What they have in common are wide balloon wheels that prevent the user from sinking into the sand.
This year, the Tillamook County Visitor’s Association purchased four new beach wheelchairs for use in Manzanita, Rockaway Beach and Pacific City.
Lincoln City has had beach wheelchairs for free rental for years but this summer added more than 450 feet in modi-mats at three beach access points. The mats provide a six-and-a-half-foot wide pathway to the shore for wheelchairs and strollers, and will be in place annually from Memorial Day through at least Labor Day (or until weather requires that they be removed for the season.)
Jocelyn Rodriguez, a patron relation specialist at Sunset Empire Parks & Recreation District in Seaside, said the city’s three beach wheelchairs are checked out several times a day. She’s seen people from ages 8 to 98 use them.
“We had a couple World War II veterans, and it was on their bucket list to go to the beach one more time,” said Jennifer Soprano, also a patron relation specialist in Seaside.
She emphasized that the chairs can be used by anyone needing some mobility assistance on the beach.
“Let’s say a dad breaks his leg right before vacation,” Soprano said. “He could use it. Little kids can use it. It literally is for everyone.”
Depending on the size of the user and the softness of the sand, beach wheelchairs can be difficult for the person who needs to push. During the Wheelie Camp trip, Wickham was a fan of the powered track chairs, which aren’t yet available from coast locations. She was able to use one rented through a Medford-based nonprofit called David’s Chair.
David’s Chair leads excursions and provides free rentals of all-terrain electric track chairs that can be taken not just to the beach but on outdoor adventures across Oregon. The track chairs rely on treads, like a tank, to move over tough terrain.
David’s Chair is named for David Hatrick, a Medford man who was diagnosed with ALS in 2017. Hatrick loved the outdoors, and his friends and family fundraised to buy him a $20,000 track chair so he could still enjoy those activities as his disease progressed.
But Hatrick’s ALS was more aggressive than they imagined. He would die within the year.
Near the end of his life, Hatrick talked with his friend Steve Furst about making sure the chair would still be used after he was gone.
“We said, ‘What if we could come up with a way for multiple people to use the chair, just kind of check it out?’ And that’s kind of how the idea of the nonprofit came about,” Furst said.
Today, Furst is the CEO of David’s Chair, and the nonprofit offers loans of eight track chairs in southern Oregon and one at the Tigard American Legion.
David’s Chair organizes group trips for people with mobility challenges, but they also have a “tow and go program” that allows people to check out and tow a chair in its own fully enclosed trailer. People can use the track chairs for multiple days and take them anywhere they want.
“A few years ago, we even had a chair that a guy took to Burning Man,” Furst said, “and no joke we are still trying to get dust out of that chair.”
The next David’s Chair group excursion is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20, at Champoeg State Park. If you’d like to reserve a spot on the trip, or for more information about reserving a track chair via the tow and go program, visit davidschair.org.
All rentals are free, and David’s Chair is hoping to expand its offerings in the metro area. The nonprofit has two upcoming fundraisers.
Learn more about expansion plans and enjoy light snacks and drinks. 6-9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 19, at Trail Distilling in Oregon City. Tickets are $25.
A fundraiser barbecue will take place from 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20, at American Legion Post No. 158 in Tigard, 8635 S.W. Scoffins St.
A group of 13 families, each with a member who has spinal muscular atrophy, take an annual camping trip together. While not a formal organization, they call their trips ÒWheelie Camp.Ó The group worked with five different nonprofits and cities to obtain free rentals of beach accessible wheelchairs, where they were able to enjoy a day on the sand at Clatsop Spit near the wreck of the Peter Iredale on Mon., Aug. 1, 2022.Dave Killen / The Oregonian
Most locations request reservations be made at least a week in an advance, especially during summer months.
• In Gearhart, contact Gearhart by the Sea Resort at 800-547-0115 or info@gearhartresort.com.
• In Seaside, call Sunset Empire Parks & Recreation District at 503-738-7393.
• In Cannon Beach, call Bahama Boards at 503-436-4317.
• In Manzanita, call the Manzanita Visitors Center, 503-812-5510.
• At Nehalem Bay State Park, call 503-812-0650, ext. 20, or stop by the park ranger station.
• In Rockaway Beach, contact Troxel’s Gem and Jewelry Store at 541-418-2842 or rockawayrocks@gmail.com.
• At Barview Jetty County Campground, call 503-322-3522 or stop by the campground entry station.
• In Garibaldi, call the Port of Garibaldi at 503-322-3292.
• At Cape Lookout State Park, call 503-842-3182, ext. 221, or stop by the park ranger station.
• In Pacific City, fill-out the online request form from the Inn at Cape Kiwanda at innatcapekiwanda.com/beach-wheelchairs
• In Lincoln City, chairs are reserved through the Movatic app. For more assistance, call the Community Center at 541-994-2131.
• At Beverly Beach State Park in Newport, call 541-265-9278.
503-294-4031; sswindler@oregonian.com; @editorswindler
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