Favorite campgrounds central and north coast

We are planning a trip to the north and central coast (we live in the Portland area (Tigard)) and need opinions of the best campgrounds. We will be tent camping and need showers, otherwise a quiet smaller place is fine.

Favorite campgrounds central and north coast

Chico, when?? If before school starts in Sept you may have trouble getting into some state parks unless you reserve soon

Favorite campgrounds central and north coast

phirl is correct. Check out www.oregonstateparks.org for availability or call 1-800-452-5687.

May favs from north to south for tent camping:

Oswald West-There%26#39;s none better on the Coast even w/o showers!!

Cape Lookout- Great beach and fabulous oceanfront forest.

Beachside-RIGHT ON THE BEACH!! Be carefull not to rent or reserve a site that backs up to Hwy 101.

Carl G Wasburne-Across the hwy from a great beach. Very quiet and in a great coastal forest.

J.M. Honeyman- One of the jewels of the Oregon State Park system. A very large campground (nearly 400 camps sites) but the scenery and variety of things to do make up for it. Cleawox Lake is not to be missed.

Den

We spent the afternoon at Short Sands Beach yesterday, amazing scenery. (OWSP) You may also want to check out Fort Stevens State Park in Warrenton. It%26#39;s also very pretty with paved walking trails, the wreck of the Peter Iredale at the beach and Coffenbury Lake which is a nice picnic lake.

You still be close to Astoria ( wejust returned from the Sunday Market, it%26#39;s great fun) and Cannon Beach is just a short drive away from Fort Stevens State Park.

Any further questions about the coast, just ask! We have been here all summer, lovingthe coastal living here in Seaside! :)

Thank you all. I noticed when I looked online that there seemed to be lots of availabilty in August...but maybe I better not chance it. I got confused about Oswald West, thought it was one of the crowded ones. It looks like a good spot to park ourselves for a few days. We camped at Honeymon years ago - wonderful park - I can%26#39;t agree more with the review above!

Also, unless I am reading it incorrectly, when you reserve thru the park website, which is really Reserveamerica, it states that you are not reserving a specific site, that it will be assigned when you arrive. Is that correct?

It%26#39;s been MANY years since I camped on the coast, so I can%26#39;t answer your question about how reservations work. I just wanted to chime in agreement with the recommendation for Oswald West. Note that it doesn%26#39;t have showers though.

Also, I think I remember from one of Dennis%26#39;s posts in another thread a while back that they don%26#39;t take reservations there. He recommended showing up around 10:00am, and if it%26#39;s full, just hanging around waiting for someone to leave.

If no showers is a problem, I%26#39;d pick Cape Lookout as the north coast back-up. Fort Stevens is nice, but it%26#39;s mostly RV%26#39;ers, and it%26#39;s so huge it doesn%26#39;t feel much like a camping experience.

When were at Short Sands on Sunday, there were over 300 people on the beach, the most crowded I have ever seen an Oregon beach at one time.

Fort Stevens is very nice as I mentioned before. Can you get availability there? Our friends camped there a couple of years ago and loved the facilities there. :)

Chicogirl,

You can request a specific site through ReserveAmerica. Oregon is one of the few states that allow this. Your best bet however, is to call Reservations NW (RNW) at the number mentioned earier. The operators are specifically trained to answer your questions and determine the best available campsite for your needs.

As an alternative, if you care to, look online at campground maps and pick a few sites at each park that you might be interested in and I can make a recommendation. This offer is only good for state parks along the coast!

Mistletoe is correct about Oswald West...no showers; no resys, but it%26#39;s still a can%26#39;t miss IMHO. Trust me, I worked at and later managed the park for 22 years.

Den

Den thank you for all the advise. We are fortunate to have someone with your experience to rely on. I don%26#39;t think Fort Stevens would be ';our cup of tea'; but I sure do like my morning shower....I guess I can manage without it! I will keep looking and planning and will be back with specifics when we make some decisions.

I agree chicogirl, daily showers are nice. Have a great time wherever you decide on, the entire Oregon Coast is very, very pretty. :)

Chicogirl,

I just remembered that, while it was some 13 years ago, when I was the manager there, we used to honor a paid camping receipt from Os West for a free shower at Nehalem Bay. You might check with Nehalem Bay (503) 368-5943 to see if this is still the case. In the worst case, it will cost $2/pp at Nehalem Bay for a shower.

Den

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