Camping on the Coast (Portland, Eugene: RV park, theatre, taxi)

[HiggsBoson]

Hello,
I'm wondering what the best time of year for camping in the coastal campgrounds? I'm assuming July and August are great, what about mid/late June or early Sept? Last time I was on the coast is was very windy, and that was in Sept. one person I asked said it was like that most the time.

Also, anyone have a favorite campground? I have been looking at more of the north and central area, just to try to keep driving time under 3 hours. (kids)
I'm trying to decide between Beverly, South Beach, Beachside, Oswald, and Cape Lookout, I think thats all of them. Anyone have any opinion on these or others I may have missed?

I understand most that have reservable camp sites are all probably booked during peak times, so I might be looking at midweek. I just have a mid-sized tent, no camper, so no power or water hookups are needed.

I have a 3 and 6 yr old, so we normally just go overnight or two nights max.

thx
Higgs

[manzanite]

July, August and early September are your best bets for good weather. There are a couple of campgrounds on in between those on your list that you might want to consider.

Barview County Park is on the North jetty of the Tillamook Bay bar so you have the Ocean on one side and Tillamook Bay on the other. You can reserve campsites in advance and I prefer the U and W loops as they are closer to the beach and farther away from the busy park entrance.

Nehalem Bay State Park is on a spit that separates the Nehalem Bay from the Ocean. Seven miles of sandy Ocean beach on one side and the less crowded Nehalem Bay beaches on the other side of the park. Lots of hiking trails, some paved for biking. One trail leads through the horse camp to the end of the spit where there are usually seals lounging. It also has an airstrip where you can watch the small planes land and taxi to special campsites reserved just for fly ins. You can reserve campsites in advance and they have an ampitheatre where the park rangers hold interpretive programs and events for kids.

Oswald West State Park was on your list. This is one of my favorite campgrounds on the Coast. You cannot drive in the park. You park above the campground and use the provided wheelbarrows to carry your belongings down through the old growth forest into your campsite. There are only about 30 camp sites, first come, first served. This is one of the best places to get away from the crowds, cars, RVs, etc that you find at the Coast in the summer. Good hikes to beaches, creeks, headlands, mountains all within the park.

Good luck, hope you have a great time at the Coast!

[Kathleenh54]

Manz, excellent links, thanks! We are also checking out coastal campgrounds to bring our Airstream. We're thinking Florence or south of that. We're new to camping/towing/RV'ing and I tell people this is our 'beach house' on wheels.

The Heceta State Beach Campground looked pretty good, as well as Beach Loop in Bandon, although the sites at the Loop were pretty close together. We're open to any suggestions and ideas.

Higgs, the folks at the Heceta place told me that August and September were the best months to visit, fyi.

[BLAZER PROPHET]

With showers, my favorite is Beverly Beach near Newport.

Without showers, the federal campground at Cape Perpetua is my favorite.

[Kathleenh54]

Our DD is going to be in Eugene for a couple of weeks and we wanted to camp on the coast in the Florence area. Any ideas? We're trying to book something at Heceta Beach RV Park but they haven't got back to us yet.

[st33lcas3]

Originally Posted by manzanite

Oswald West State Park [/url]was on your list. This is one of my favorite campgrounds on the Coast. You cannot drive in the park. You park above the campground and use the provided wheelbarrows to carry your belongings down through the old growth forest into your campsite. There are only about 30 camp sites, first come, first served. This is one of the best places to get away from the crowds, cars, RVs, etc that you find at the Coast in the summer. Good hikes to beaches, creeks, headlands, mountains all within the park.

Wow, that's a beautiful campsite. I take it the wheelbarrowing keeps out some of the crowds. What site would you recommend and is your vehicle secure parking away from the campsites?

[tiffela74]

theres Ada campground just out of Florence, thats the only one i can think of off the top of my head, but there several of them out there....what kind of camping are you into?
I actually grew up camping pretty much every single flippin weekend, so Im totally Anti-Camping. I truly dont understand the draw, BUT, I get it that some people love it, so I'll help if I can. sigh. lol
anyhow, theres a variety of camping in Oregon. From the Oswald type (dont know bout how secure your car is, theyre right there along the road, but I will say, we never had anyone mess w/any of ours. and the campground down there is quite beautiful! ) Cape Look Out is where i spent most of my childhood, and now my kids go there w/the grandparents. They all love it. I can tolerate it, due to the bathrooms are very nice! good showers! A total neccessity in my book! ANyhow, they have everything from hike/bike in camp spots, group camping, tent sites, full hookup sites and yurts. Its very clean and the rangers patrol well there, they keep the rowdy ones reigned in, and i feel comfortable w/my kids riding their bikes around the loops.
I like the cabins some places have. We have em here at Basendorf (spl??) and they look reasonably priced.
anyhow, even though I dont get it, I still wish you lots of fun and all on your camping adventures.
Tiffany

[albinoazian]

Where is good on the Southern Coast? I'll be camping along the Norcal, Oregon, and Washington coasts. I already have the sites in Norcal, but once I leave Humboldt I have about 5 days to get to Portland so my dad can fly out and I continue up to the Sound and back down to SoCal. I am looking for something around Gold Beach, them maybe Yachats, and up to Astoria and into Portland.

[manzanite]

Originally Posted by st33lcas3

Wow, that's a beautiful campsite. I take it the wheelbarrowing keeps out some of the crowds. What site would you recommend and is your vehicle secure parking away from the campsites?

I've never heard of problems with cars parked overnight for camping. Maybe that's because the the parking lot it right on highway 101 so cars are always driving by, or maybe I've just been lucky. Of course you would want to use the same precautions as anywhere else, lock all the doors, don't leave anything valuable in sight, etc.

The campsite is often full in the summer but the small number of campsites keeps it from feeling too crowded. I like the spots numbered in the 20's as this trail tends to be less busy, but honestly, in the summer you are often lucky just to get a spot. Best bets are midweek, on summer weekends you should have a backup plan in case the park is full.

[st33lcas3]

manzanite~

Heck, I was gonna rep you for the info above, but I quick reped you on your post with the list of campgrounds.