OR State Parks campgrounds - mid coast

[nikwax]

We just spent a week exploring the Oregon coast between Florence and Charleston, thought I'd put in my 2 cents worth on the camping and canoeing scene there:


We camped at William Tugman SP which is adjacent to Eel Lake. It's a pretty nice campground but close to the highway so there's a lot of highway noise. Lots of friendly camp host people keeping an eye on things. Oddly, they come around every day with leaf blowers to clean off the pavement (is there no escaping the infernal things?). Power and water hookups at all sites. Note that the 20 amp power is GFCI protected, so if you have a GFCI breaker (as I do) then you'll need to connect to the 30 amp or 50 amp power (I've just bought an adapter so won't have this issue in the future). A couple of days after we'd paid for seven days, the camp hosts placed "1 or 2 day only" signs on all of the camp sites. I removed ours ;-)

Eel Lake is a largish lake and not all that interesting for canoeists, though there is a hiking trail around the lake which was very pretty.

Across the highway is Hall Lake, which is an absolute jewel, the dunes come right down to the lake shore, and the water is crystal clear.

We visited several campgrounds for reference:

Umpqua Lighthouse SP is a small campground and the campsites are very close together. There is another beautiful jewel of a lake there (Lake Marie).

Sunset Bay SP is quite large and very beautiful, looks like it would be popular in season, and they get a bit of weather there.

Bastendorff Beach County Park is also large and very beautiful, we've camped there in the past.

Just north of North Bend, there are a series of Forest Service campgrounds in the Horsfall Beach Road area. This entire area appears to be dedicated to ATV's.

There are a couple of campgrounds at Winchester Bay, they are flat, windy, and featureless. I imagine they are aimed at fishermen.

Jessie M. Honeyman SP is a huge campground, and looks to be very attractive. It is adjacent to Cleawox Lake, which is great for canoeing and swimming, and across the highway from Woahink Lake, which is for large boats.


Elbow Lake is another jewel of a lake, a bit difficult to find the access road but really beautiful, well worth the effort.



Many of these campgrounds are open year round, though they close off parts of them during the off season. October 1 - April 30 is "Discovery Season," which apparently means we can discover how loud ATV's are. :-(


Reedsport boasts a couple of good restaurants, a Safeway, and a hardware store. Winchester Bay is fun to poke around in and also has a good place to eat.


Hope this is useful.

[nikwax]

Last fall we camped at Honeyman for a week. Really didn't like it much:


- close to the highway (as many central coast campgrounds are) so lots of road noise

- adjacent to the Oregon Dunes so lots of ATV noise.

- a lot of people driving through

- a really noisy campground overall. Felt very urban in an odd way.

- notorious for theft by local teens.



The lake there is beautiful but I'd not camp there again.

[Mightydog]

Having grown up in Coos Bay, it's fun reading your reviews. My wife and I spend a week of vacation at Sunset Bay State Park near Charleston. We go back every year for the park hosts that we've gotten to know and to see friends.

Honeyman can be noisy from the aspect of the road and seeming large families who need to camp there. The ATV noise is constant too. The park has good memories from childhood, that's about it.

Up the coast is Beverly Beach. There aren't any lakes, but it's a fantastic park that's worth your time.

[stumphugger]

You can kayak or canoe on the Siltcoos River. Check the tides. We put in at the west end of the lake then paddled on over to the river. There's a dam with a portage around it. It is best not to hit that at low tide.

Then out till the river spreads all over at the beach. I almost got hit by a big salmon. They sure look big when you think they will come down on you.

I've also kayaked Woahink, and Tahkenitch Lakes. Tahkenitch is big, with lots of little bays and such to check out.

Alsea Bay is a good one. Launch on the sandy part at just west of the Waldport crabbing dock if the tide is high. If low, you have to compete with the motorboats at the boat launch.

Like all coast places, the wind comes up in the late morning or afternoon, so you need to think about that too. I've had a few interesting returns down the Alsea River with the tide going out and the wind coming in.

[Mightydog]

...with the tide going out and the wind coming in.

Surf's up, dude!

[Randy G]

Up the coast is Beverly Beach. There aren't any lakes, but it's a fantastic park that's worth your time.[/quote]

Thats good to know, we are going to Beverly Beach Park this weekend. Apr. 15-17