Oregon Coast Trail Pilgrimage Project (OCT-PP)
The OCT-PP is one arm of a much larger project (the OCT Action Plan) led by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department to complete the 362-mile Oregon Coast Trail that spans the full length of the Oregon coast between the borders of Washington and California. While the Action Plan is focused on the trail itself the OCT-PP is focused on putting the hostel structure in place along the route and developing it as a pilgrimage opportunity.
The project is filling a need in accommodations along the Oregon Coast. Currently, travelers have two options—either to pay minimal fees for campsites or to pay high rates at one of the luxurious hotels along the coast. What is missing are those in between options where a person sleeps in a bunk room with other travelers and has access to showers, bathrooms, laundry facilities and a kitchen.
Already two churches, Lakeside Community Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church in Gold Beach, have repurposed portions of their buildings to accommodate hikers from the Oregon Coast Trail and bikers on the Pacific Coast Trail.
The vision is to repurpose space in 25 churches along the route so that hikers and bikers will have the option to stay in a hostel each night of their trek along the Oregon Coast.