PDA

View Full Version : WA / OR for the Fall


patodonn
09-16-2004, 09:37 AM
Headed from Boise to Couer D'Alene in late Sept, then on to Seattle / Portland areas via the Gorge. Planning on S. Oregon last 10-12 days of Oct.

Appreciate any suggfestions re routing, RV Parks, "don't miss" locations. Post on the forum of send via e-mail..

Thanks to All,

D and M On The Road
09-16-2004, 10:53 AM
I hope this helps. Sounds like a great trip. Wish we were going!


This list is on Acrobat Adobe and has all Oregon state park brochures with up-to-date information. You’ll need to use the magnifying glass feature on their toolbar to see the brochures.
http://www.oregonstateparks.org/publications.php

Homepage for Oregon State Parks with great information and links.
http://www.oregonstateparks.org


Just a few of our favorite Oregon Parks mid to Southern coast:

Bandon, Oregon
Bullards Beach State Park / 2 miles north of Bandon
103 full hookup sites
82 sites with electrical & water
Nice clean park, good sites with trees. Good for families. Coquille River Lighthouse is nearby. With flush toilets and showers.

Port Orford, Oregon
Cape Blanco State Park / 9 miles north of Port Orford
53 sites with electrical & water
Secluded camp about 5 miles off the highway, about a 3 minute walk down a cliff to the ocean, tall trees and bushes around most sites for maximum privacy. Very peaceful & quiet. Cape Blanco Lighthouse is nearby. Clean with flush toilets and showers. Worth a stop.

Florence, Oregon
Jesse M. Honeyman State Park / 3 miles south of Florence
47 sites with full hookups
121 electrical with water
187 tent sites
Our favorite. Large park with showers & flush toilets. Absolutely beautiful. In the summer, lots of families with kids if that bothers you. Has an area of sand dunes that reach 500 feet high, Cleaxwox lake is inside the park with paddle boat rentals, swimming beach, bike riding trails. Use this campgound as your 'base'... so much to do and see within 30 miles each direction: "Old Town Florence", Sand dune buggy rides, Sea Lion Caves, Newport Aquarium, Heceta Head Lighthouse tours and much more.

Waldport, Oregon
Beachside State Park / 4 miles south of Waldport
34 sites with electrical & water
43 tent sites
Right-on-the-beach, very popular. Flush toilets and showers. I'm adding in here that I don't think this park can handle a large RV because a couple of turns in the park seem kind of tight. But we haven't camped here because it's always been full. Call and ask before driving into the park.



:D

toolmanroy
09-16-2004, 11:18 AM
I have more to add. Sunset Bay State Park in Charleston Oregon with Shore
Acres state park (botanical gardens) on the same road. It is quiet and peaceful, about 12 miles from North Bend/Coos Bay.

Harris Beach State Park in Brookings. If you stay in the A section (no septic but water and electric) you can back up overlooking the ocean. You can reserve site C1 in the winter (we have it reserved for Thanksgiving) and it has a great view, even cable TV.

Tugman State Park just south of Winchester Bay. Just electric and water sites but lots of them and a beautiful lake too.

Valley of the Rogue State Park in Rogue River is a beautiful park but right off I-5 so you do get some highway noise. It is a great overnight stop if you are traveling I-5.

We live in southern Oregon near Medford. We would be glad to help if you have any questions :D

HamRad
09-16-2004, 12:13 PM
Roy and Nancy,
We did the OR coast last Fall and couldn't agree more. You named almost all the parks we stayed at and really enjoyed them! Sunset was one of our most favorites. Of course Harris Beach was special too. We really enjoyed the Cape Blanco SP as well. You are really sort of isolated out there but the park is really nice. Sites are large and separated well. When we were there we only had 20 amp service but it was our understanding they were upgrading it. Be prepared for the wind to blow you around a bit. Actually in the CG there are so many trees that they block the wind very well. It's hard to go wrong with any of the parks in OR.

On our way east this trip we stayed at a nice park just east of The Dalles. It is a SP on the DeShutes River. We stayed in the "overflow" section since all the large sites were already filled up. Even though we had to boondock it was a beautiful large site right on the river.

HamRad

toolmanroy
09-16-2004, 02:25 PM
Sunset Bay State Park often gets overlooked because it is not right on 101. I have been to Shore Acres botanical gardens in every season. Christmas it is full of lights and they start lining up to see them as soon as it is dark and the line is long all night! If you drive to the end of Cape Arago Highway, you can hear the sea lions as soon as you get out of the car. If you like to golf there is even a golf course right next door to the park. We are returning in a couple of weeks to take my mother to Charleston. There is a county park and another private park on the same road. You really can't miss with any of them.

Northstar
09-16-2004, 08:24 PM
Thanks for the posting. Happyrving......

patodonn
09-18-2004, 10:26 AM
Thanks to all; great ideas and recommendations!!


One further question....I was a bit reticent to take the 36' Monty down 101, yet it appears that all of you have taken your rigs down that highway. Any recommendations relative to 101 and the large rig? What are the better routes from and back to I-5? We plan to work our way down from the Portland area to the South.

Thanks again for the suggestions,

FireTruckerWife
09-18-2004, 12:19 PM
I would also like to know the best route over from I-5 to the coast.
Last April we took 199 over from grants pass, back into Calif, and NEVER AGAIN. I was scared silly. We only had the 30 Ft Komfort, but would like a better way to the coast with the 37' 3400RL. We'd like to go back at Christmas this year perhaps.

BTW, We stayed at Humbug Mountain cuz there were some pull thru sites, and we about the only ones in the park for the 5 days we were there. Absolutely loved it, and it was only a short walk to the beach.

Don't miss the Fish and Chips at the "Crazy Norwegian" in Port Orford. yum.

toolmanroy
09-18-2004, 01:11 PM
Actually that is the best route to the coast. You get used to it but you never like it. The better route and the one I like is to go over to Bandon/Coos Bay via 42 from I-5 south of Roseburg. That is also the way we go to Charleston. Those are the only 2 southern routes. Labor Day we went over on 138 out of Sutherlin. That was a beautiful drive. We live in Jacksonville and take the back roads bypassing Grants Pass and coming out in Wilderville just before Hayes Hill on 199. The road is improved since we first moved here! I close my eyes when we go close to some of those rocks that I am just sure are going to take the side of the Montana, but we have done fine and the time in Brookings is always worth it, the "banana belt" of the southern Oregon coast.

I have not yet been to Humbug but I have heard of others who like it.

HamRad
09-18-2004, 01:32 PM
FireTruckerWife,
ToolmanRoy is correct. We've been over on 3 different routes and 199 is one of the better ones. Last year we went across at Clear Lake. It is not quite as mountainous but roadwise I don't think it was any better than 199 and of course it is much further south. Good luck..

HamRad

FireTruckerWife
09-18-2004, 02:12 PM
We came home on 42 and I thought that was a much better road, and I'll opt for that way rather than 199 (much better as in wider road and less curvy and mountainside not so close to the road) Let's face it, I'm a wimp. besides I can get to southern oregon that way, just a little longer but it's the trip to enjoy, right? not just the camping.

toolmanroy
09-18-2004, 03:47 PM
There is also much to enjoy in Bandon and Coos Bay. Bandon has always been a particular favorite of mine. If you don't go on Beach Loop Road you miss the best part with Face Rock and the beautiful beaches there. You can rent horses at Bandon Stables located on that road and ride on the beach. Lots of cranberry bogs and Bandon Cheese too.

blarkman
09-18-2004, 04:45 PM
IF YOU BELONGS TO THE THE ELKS LODGE TRY THEIR CAMPGROUNDS AT LINCOLN CITY THEIR FULL HOOKUPS RUN 12 A DAY AND IS VERY NICE. WE USE THEM TWO-TIMES A YEAR. THEY HAVE LOTS OF ROOM AND ARE OFF THE MAIN TRACK

HamRad
09-18-2004, 05:47 PM
We looked at the Elks Lodge in that area and they are nice. Really nice. And sort of out of the way. Excellent parks. I think I will look into becoming a member of my local lodge. They do good things and support good causes. Something to think about. Met a really nice fellow at the Elks BOF Escapees Escapade in Goshen. If half the folks in Elks are half as nice as he was then it is a good organization. More to look into......

We will, in the next couple of years, do the OR and WA coast again. You can't do too much of this area..... Good luck to any and all who are doing or will be doing it. HamRad

But it is hard to go wrong in any of the State and or County parks in OR. Just before you get to Sunset Beach SP there is a very nice County park. We were going to stay in it but we drove on down to Sunset and there was no turning back. Sunset just grabbed us and said we HAD to stay!

Even on our trip to the Rally we stopped at one OR SP. It was just east of the The Dalles. It is located right on the DeSchutes River. It was HOT that day. When the sun went down it was a little less HOT but not much. We were in the overflow area of the park and had no electric. So it was HOT. Thank goodness there was a pretty good wind. We had all windows and vents open and fans running.... but it was still hot.... it finally cooled down to 82 that night. But even in spite of the heat problem it was still an excellent place to stay and we'll do it again if the situation comes up again.

toolmanroy
09-18-2004, 08:14 PM
HamRad that is Bastendorf Beach county park in Charleston, Oregon. It is a nice park. I am not sure about hookups. It is first come, first served and since we only get away on holiday weekends we have to have reservations somewhere. Just next door to the county park is Oceanside RV Park (Good Sam), and that is really close to the beach. Good selection on that road. I am happy to find someone else who likes Sunset Bay as much as I do.

ragdoll
09-28-2004, 06:35 PM
PJ and Nan - good to know where you are. We did the Oregon Coast this past June and really enjoyed it - would have liked to have had all this wonderful information that I have read on this post. We enjoyed so many of the State Parks, some we liked more than others and some we couldn't have stayed at with a larger rig. Ft. Stephens was so nice and enjoyed that one. Two weeks going up the coast with some days only driving from one park to the next. Coos Bay was our first stop and sorry we didn't know there was so much to do there. We came across from Medford but don't be in a hurry. If going from Portland I would go out to Seaside then head down. Stop at Depot Bay - a really grand view!

Safe travels.
Lorraine

Northstar
09-28-2004, 09:42 PM
I am really impressed with all these excellent postings. Happyrving.....

Montana_440
10-02-2004, 11:40 AM
Don't miss Mo's Clam Chowder....or the cheese in Coo's bay.

Treecounter
10-03-2004, 04:29 PM
If you are a member of the Elks. The Beaverton Elks and Hillsboro club have RV parking water and electric. Beaverton has a dump site in the parking area. At th Hillsboro club you have to go about 3 Miles to a dealership to dump. If you belong to C to C or RPI They have some really nice parks along the coast. Treecounter

Treecounter
10-03-2004, 04:41 PM
Best road to the Coast is rout 26 out of Portland. If you travel South on I5 then 26 just North of Eugen to Florence The pass there is 700 ft. But you miss a lot of the coast line. On 26 (Sunset) you will travel the whole coast line with a stop at Tillamook for the best cheese and ice cream in the world. Treecounter

toolmanroy
10-04-2004, 04:00 AM
That is the shortest route to the coast, as well. Love that Tillamook cheese. We also have fond memories of Cape Lookout State Park.

ragdoll
10-07-2004, 03:04 PM
Treecounter is right - stop at Tillamock Cheese Factory, cheese is the best and don't forget the icecream :)!! Mo's (Newport, I think) was great but eat at the original - right hand of street, there is another one on the water side - they say that is the best. Don't forget the seal lions........

Safe travels.
Lorraine