Kuratli Outdoor School Site
7500 N Fraser Road
Otis, OR 97368
Mailing Address:
(student's name)(student's school)
c/o Westwind Outdoor School
PO Box 408
Otis, OR 97368
(503) 257-1600
FAX (503) 257-1592
Outdoor School site phones are only in operation during the Outdoor School session (mid-September to early November in fall; mid-March to early June in spring).
Letters to students should include the student’s name and school.
The Westwind Outdoor School site is about 95 miles from the MESD office. It takes approximately 2.5 hours to reach the Westwind site from the MESD office. The closest community is Otis. The Westwind site is located on the Oregon Coast, just north of Lincoln City.
Directions from Portland to Westwind’s Beaver Pond parking area and Rainforest trail entrance:
(7500 N Fraser Road, Otis, OR 97368)
Main camp is two miles on the Westwind Rainforest Trail and access road. By arrangement with Westwind, a truck will be available for hauling luggage and gear into camp.
Take I-5 South to Salem. Just north of Salem, take exit 260A Salem Parkway. This will merge with 99E and turn into Commercial St. Turn Right onto Marion St. / OR-22 West. Follow signs for OR-22 W / Oregon Coast. After approx. 25 miles, OR-22W will merge with OR-18 W / Salmon River Highway. After approx. 27 miles, take the ramp onto Hwy 101 North towards Neskowin. At the stop sign, turn right onto Hwy 101 North. Immediately turn left onto N Fraser Rd. Go about 1 mile to Westwind Gate. Parking is between the gate and the wooden bike shed.
DINING HALL
The dining hall at Westwind is centrally located, with the health center close by, as well as staff quarters. Much of the site is hilly and rustic.
Students, high school Student Leaders, Staff, and Teachers eat family style in the spacious dining hall. Hot, varied, and nutritious meals are prepared by our professional kitchen staff, and students are assigned to help set the tables, deliver and serve the food during the meal, and clean up after the meal on a rotating basis.
The dining hall serves as a central hub of activity throughout the day, and evening campfire programs are held in the dining hall in case of inclement weather.
CABINS AND RESTROOMS
There are three separate cabin areas at Westwind. Each heated cabin serves 6-10 students (a few from each class) and 1-3 high school Student Leaders. Cabins are supervised by staff members. All participants sleep on bunk beds with mattresses. Students should bring a sleeping bag (or blankets) and pillow for their stay.
A main restroom is centrally located near the dining hall, and contains private stalls for flush toilets and showers. Distant cabin areas feature outhouses.
If your student requires a private changing area, we will work with them to accommodate their needs.
OUTDOOR SCHOOL NURSE
There is a registered nurse on site 24 hours a day while your student is at Outdoor School. The nurse takes care of injuries and illnesses as they arise, and also has commonly-forgotten items (like sleeping bags, jackets, and toothbrushes) available to lend. The nurse is available to discreetly clean soiled sleeping bags as needed throughout the week. If you have specific health care or dietary concerns, please contact the Outdoor School Program Nurse, Tom Eby: teby@mesd.k12.or.us
OTHER FEATURES
Westwind Outdoor School features a beautiful 2-mile hike through a rainforest from the parking lot into camp. Occasionally, tides permit ferry access across the Salmon River. Either site access option offers a luggage truck to transport student belongings back and forth.
Field study, the "school" part of Outdoor School, takes place throughout the site, and takes advantage of our incredible local nature. Westwind is MESD's only Outdoor School site on the Oregon Coast. The long journey is worth it for stunning views and unique estuary ecology.
The Westwind site occupies the land of the Salmon River, the Tillamook, and the Siletz
From the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Website: "We the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians are the most diverse confederation of Tribes and Bands on a single reservation in the United States. Our ancestors spoke 10 completely different languages, each of which had multiple dialects... Our ancestors signed many treaties with the United States. We were promised the 1.1 million acres Siletz Reservation as our permanent home, but following massive reservation reductions Congress passed the Western Oregon Termination Act in 1954 (took effect in 1956), and our federally recognized status as a tribe was also taken. In 1977 our lobbying of Congress to repeal our Termination was successful, and we became the second formerly Terminated Tribe to regain federal recognition as a Tribe."
From the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Website: "The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon includes over 30 tribes and bands from western Oregon, northern California, and southwest Washington. Since time immemorial tribal people have relied on these traditional landscapes for their livelihood. The fish and game were plentiful and what the lands didn’t provide, they acquired by trade.
"This way of life changed with western expansion. Ratified and unratified treaties between the Tribes and the United States Government from 1853 through 1855 resulted in the forced removal of tribal members from their ancestral homelands. Despite this removal, tribal members maintained their connection to their homelands and areas such as Willamette Falls and Table Rocks."
The MESD Outdoor School program rents Camp Westwind in the Spring and Fall of each school year. Camp Westwind offers summer camp programs and rental facilities for private events. The Outdoor School program began using the Camp Westwind property in 2022.
