Located on the northern edge of the National Dunes Recreation Area, Florence is best known for the hiking, bird watching, horse back and dune buggy riding activities available in the dunes. The dunes are up to 500 feet high and forming banks up to three miles deep. The Oregon dunes are the largest expanse of coastal sand dunes in the U.S., and stretch for 50 miles between Florence and Coos Bay. A 2006 real estate survey has estimated the population of Florence, Oregon at 8,122.