Oregon
Glasses or a phone lost on the Deschutes float or in the Oregon surf
The coast, the Bend float, the Willamette towns, the mountain lakes and Portland
In summer the Deschutes through Bend carries tubes and paddleboards from Riverbend Park down to Drake Park. The park district that looks after the float says the current is swift, the water is cold and flip flops fall off easily. So can a pair of glasses, or a phone from a pocket. On the coast it is surf, on flat sand that runs for miles.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewelry recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone in Oregon with a metal detectorist who can search there. Tell us what happened and where. We find a detectorist who can reach the place, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor. Lost glasses are searched for the same way as a lost ring.
Rings are only part of it. Oura rings and engagement rings, chains, necklaces, bracelets and earrings, an Apple Watch, a key fob, hearing aids and metal-framed glasses all come to us the same way.
The last thing you floated past, or the steps you came down to the sand
On a river float, the thing to pin down is how far along you were. Think back to the last thing you passed and whether your feet could reach the bottom. On a beach, note the hour and the way you walked in, such as the staircase at the Seaside Turnaround, then photograph the view inland from where you stood.
Put that in a WhatsApp message to us. Our part is finding a detectorist able to get to that stretch, which saves you ringing round for a metal detector service from a campsite.
Areas and towns we cover in Oregon
- Portland and Vancouver WA
- Cannon Beach
- Seaside
- Lincoln City and Devils Lake
- Newport and South Beach
- Florence, Honeyman State Park and the Oregon Dunes
- Crater Lake
- Bend and the Deschutes River float
- Eugene
- Salem
- Detroit Lake
- Wallowa Lake
- Mount Hood
Portland has its own page, and the rest of Oregon is below
Coast, river, valley parks, lakes and snow.
Willamette and Columbia river beaches around Portland
Poet's Beach, just north of the Marquam Bridge, has a roped swim area on the Willamette. At Audrey McCall Beach the same river is already 10 to 15 feet (3 to 4.5 metres) deep some 50 feet (15 metres) from the bank. Walton and Collins beaches on Sauvie Island face the Columbia. More is on Portland and Vancouver WA.
Flat sand at Seaside and Cannon Beach
Seaside Beach is a long, flat stretch, about 2.7 miles (4.3 km) of sand. One way down is the short staircase at the Turnaround, at the western end of Broadway. In Cannon Beach, Tolovana Beach State Recreation Site is at the south end of town, with Haystack Rock, a 235 foot (72 metre) sea stack, less than a mile (1.6 km) to the north.
Devils Lake and South Beach State Park
Devils Lake in Lincoln City is 685 acres (277 hectares), with a state campground on the west shore, a short walk from the beach, and boat moorage docks beside it. In Newport, South Beach State Park starts next to the Yaquina Bay Bridge, just south of the South Jetty, and opens onto miles of broad, sandy beach.
The Bend float between Riverbend Park and Drake Park
The full float on the Deschutes starts at Riverbend Park and ends at Drake Park. Next to McKay Park, the way through the Bend Whitewater Park is a series of small rapids, and floaters who want to keep it mellow are advised to get out before the Colorado Avenue bridge. We ask first which part you were on.
Riverfront parks in Eugene and Salem
Alton Baker Park in Eugene runs along the Willamette, with Cuthbert Amphitheatre, Pre's Trail, two boat ramps and a way onto the riverbank path system. Salem's Riverfront Park is open green space and walking paths with views of the same river. On grass like this, what helps most is the route you took and where you stopped.
Mountain lakes and a snow tube hill
Detroit Lake is a canyon reservoir in the Cascade Mountains, nine miles (14 km) long. The state recreation area on its shore has a fishing dock, two boat ramps and swimming areas. Wallowa Lake State Park lies between the south end of a glacial lake and the Wallowa Mountains, with a beach in its day-use area. For winter, Mt. Hood Skibowl runs a Snow Tube Park at Skibowl East.
The Oregon Dunes and Crater Lake
The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area runs 40 miles (64 km) from Florence to Coos Bay, with dunes almost 500 feet (150 metres) high beside lakes and forest. Jessie M. Honeyman State Park, 3 miles (5 km) south of Florence, has sandy beaches and roped swim areas on Cleawox Lake and Woahink Lake. Inland, Crater Lake is seen from Rim Village and the viewpoints along Rim Drive, so tell us which one you stopped at.
What we do with the details you send
The same person answers every message
Your WhatsApp messages reach one person, who lines up the detectorist and reports back to you until the search ends.
The searcher arrives already knowing your spot
Before anyone drives to the river or the beach, they have seen your pin and pictures and read what happened in your own words.
A view on the odds comes early
Glasses that came off in the rapids beside McKay Park are a long shot, and you would hear that from us first. A lost ring up on the dry sand by the Seaside Turnaround is a much fairer prospect.
A search is planned around the water it is in
A Deschutes search turns on depth and current, a Cannon Beach search on the tide table, a Detroit Lake search on how far from shore you were.
Nothing is booked until you know the costs
We explain the costs before any search is booked.
Why the hour, the depth and the date matter in Oregon
Wide beaches with few landmarks
On sand as flat and wide as Seaside, Cannon Beach or South Beach, one patch looks like the next once you have walked away, so line yourself up with something fixed, such as Haystack Rock, the staircase at the Turnaround or the jetty.
Six feet of tide on flat sand
Low to high water on this coast is about 6 feet (1.9 metres) on average, more on spring tides. That figure is the mean range at NOAA's South Beach station. On flat sand it shifts the waterline a long way, so the hour of the loss tells a detectorist which band of sand to work.
Swift, cold water on the Deschutes
The Bend float runs on cold, quick water. For a lost phone in river water like that, or a ring or a pair of glasses, depth is the deciding question: could you stand where it happened? Close to the bank is a wading search. Further out it becomes a question for a diver.
Reservoir levels and fresh snow
Detroit Lake is a reservoir, and its state park page tells visitors to check the water level. When the level is down, ground that was under water is dry. Snow works the other way. Each fall adds a layer over a key dropped at a tube hill, so the date matters.
Plain answers for the float, the coast, the lakes and the snow
My glasses slid off my head somewhere on the Bend float after we got in at Riverbend Park, and I only noticed when we climbed out before the Colorado Avenue bridge. Can that be narrowed down?
It can, with a few details. Which bank were you nearer, could you touch the bottom, and what was beside you on shore when you last had them on? The time you got in and the time you got out help place you along that stretch.
My phone dropped out of my shorts pocket in the surf at Cannon Beach, just north of the Tolovana lot. The tide is coming in. Do I just go home?
Not yet. Take one photo towards Haystack Rock and one back towards the access you came down, and note the time. The tide on this coast moves the waterline a long way, about 6 feet (1.9 metres) of rise and fall on average at NOAA's South Beach station, so sand going under now can be open beach at a later low tide.
We are in Seaside until Sunday, and my husband's wedding band is in the dry sand below the Turnaround staircase, give or take a car length. Should we try a rented detector ourselves before bringing in a detectorist?
Yes, try it. Dry sand or a lawn, a loss from today and a patch that small suit a beginner, and a metal detector rental near me search may turn up a shop. If the band has gone into wet sand or the waves, if the patch turns out bigger than you thought, or if the thing is tiny like an earring, hand it to a detectorist.
My car key fell out of my jacket at the Snow Tube Park at Skibowl East, and it snowed again last night. Now what?
Ask the resort first, in case someone handed it in. If not, tell us the day, where on the hill you were and anything fixed nearby. New snow adds depth over the key, so an early message helps.
My daughter's bracelet slipped off while she was waist deep in the swim area at Detroit Lake. All my phone gives me for metal detecting Oregon is club pages. Is a lake easier than the sea?
In one respect it is, because a lake has no surf and no tide working on the spot. Waist deep can be waded. Tell us which swim area and how far from shore she was.
My Apple Watch came off at Walton Beach on Sauvie Island. It is river sand, not the ocean. Does that change anything?
It does. A Columbia River beach has no surf churning the sand. What matters is whether the watch was lost up on the dry part or in the river. Our Portland and Vancouver WA page has more on Sauvie Island.
I lost an earring somewhere on Pre's Trail during a run in Alton Baker Park in Eugene. Can a whole running trail be searched?
Parts of it can, once we cut it down. You covered a single line through the park, not the whole of it. Where you last touched the earring and where you first missed it give two ends. An earring is small, so it is slow work.
Oregon
Write to us while the Oregon spot is still clear in your mind
Glasses, a phone, a lost ring or keys.
You do not need everything worked out before you write. Tell us on WhatsApp where in Oregon it happened, when, and what you lost. The pin, the photos and the depth can follow.