Loose Sandhills: The Story of Salishan

by Mike Stone

For generations of Pacific Northwest families, convention attendees, music buffs and those seeking refuge in the coastal environment, Salishan Lodge was the resort of choice for more than 40 years. Built with one man’s vision, the resort evolved into a coastal icon and became known world-wide, garnering numerous awards including the prestigious Mobil 5-Star honor. Those honors would disappear as corporate executives decided they had a better idea following the 1996 sale. On the sand spit separating Siletz Bay from the Pacific Ocean, Salishan’s oceanfront homes sit on sand dunes and await the next combination of a winter Pacific storm and high tide to further erode those fragile dunes.

144 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2006

About the author

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Reviews

[Jon C. Hooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and learned many new facts considering my parents owned and built a home in Salishan. As a teen I worked for Salishan and was there during the building of The Lodge. In fact John Storrs designed my parents home. We were good friends with many of the main characters in this book. I can tell you that many design decisions were done by the seat of their pants yet turned out great. Later I was the Golf Course Superintendent of Salishan and held the course record at 68. Drainage was a serious issue with the course as it had none initially and the front nine was built on clay soils. Still it was a great layout for its day.
It is truly sad to see the decline of the Lodge. Times have changed but a project like Bandon Dunes shows that you don’t have to close to a major population area to be successful.
A few names you left out, Leonard Hays - the superintendent of property development (went to Sunriver when that project started, Roger Williams golf pro who took over after the contract pros left, he worked for Alex Murphy and other original staff that made the place.
For those associated with or were there in the beginning this is a wonderful book.

[Sherri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was looking for a history of Salishan Lodge and the homes around it, and stumbled on to this book. I didn’t put it down till I finished. I see from another review that he also wrote a book about Pixieland, which I vaguely remember visiting (or probably just remember the home movies) as a young child.

[Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you enjoy Oregon history, this informative book is chock full of newsy tidbits about one of the state's storied resorts from an insider's perspective. I also read Mike Stone's book on Pixieland. Both books are interesting and good reads.