David’s Chair now available in Coos Bay

More locals and visitors have access to Oregon’s Bay Area beaches and other outdoor activities thanks to the help of David’s Chair.

David’s Chair is an all-terrain track chair that can be used by mobility-challenged individuals on all terrain types, including hiking trails, beaches and other difficult terrains.

A David’s Chair is now available through the Coos Bay-North Bend-Charleston Visitor & Convention Bureau.

“We are so excited to have a David's Chair here in the Coos Bay-North Bend area. It opens up a world of adventure to the mobility challenged in our community and visiting our community,” said Janice Langlinais, the Executive Director of Coos Bay-North Bend-Charleston Visitor and Convention Bureau.

The local American Legion and Elks Club members are taking the responsibility of ensuring the Chair remains in good working order, is ready to be loaned out, and inspected upon return. An American Legion or Elks Club volunteer will meet the borrower at the Coos Bay Visitor Center to go over all the logistics of the Chair and help the borrower attach the trailer to their vehicle.

“Without an all-terrain track chair of this nature, wheelchair users are not able to access our beaches or most of our hiking trails. This chair is motorized with tank-like tracks, as opposed to wheels, allowing it to go over virtually any terrain,” Langlinais said.

“The caveat there is that it is discouraged to use this chair on a grade greater than 20 percent. That is a bit steep according to the makers of the David's Chair,” she added.

There is QR code at the Visitor’s Center that can be scanned to reserve the chair. The chair can also be reserved by going to www.davidschair.org. and clicking on ‘Request A Chair’ at the top of the Webpage. Then select ‘Request a Tow & Go Chair’ and scroll down to Coos Bay and click the colorful bar to find available dates.

Those who are interested in using the David’s Chair are encouraged to make the request at least five days in advance due to processing time. The calendar on the ‘Request a Tow & Go Chair’ page will provide details on when the chair is available.