| The Cummins Creek Wilderness (9,173 acres) is one of three small wilderness areas established on the Siuslaw National Forest by Act of Congress in 1984. Cummins Creek Wilderness is located in the Oregon Coast Range south of Waldport and north of Florence, Oregon. It features the only old-growth Sitka Spruce forest in the Oregon wilderness system. Overhung with alder and maple, Cummins and Bob Creeks drain west through this dense rainforest Wilderness, where Sitka spruce sometimes reach nine feet in diameter. Both creeks spill into the Pacific Ocean, whose salty water almost reaches the western Wilderness boundary. Salmon, steelhead, and cutthroat trout spawn in the cool creek waters. Spruce-covered Cummins Ridge, which peaks at almost 2,000 feet, splits the rain forest in two. Yellow monkey flower, purple aster, white candy flower, and red foxglove brighten summer days, which otherwise tend toward the wet and foggy. Winters never see snow. |
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