Southern/central Oregon Coast

Nrobert10 · 07-19-2017, 06:25 PM

All ,

Heading from Seattle to the Redwoods National Park for 3 days then I have 4 days up the Oregon coast. Will probably send most of those days in Central to Southern Oregon.

Looking for boondocking locations and must sees along the Oregon Coast. It will be two vehicles my van and brothers 4-runner with rooftop tent. Heading south Tuesday the 25th and back to Seattle August 2nd.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Rob

larrie · 07-19-2017, 10:11 PM

Not much boondocking right on the coast. There are lots of State parks, waysides and beautiful scenery along the coast. There is boondocking in the Siuslaw NF which is just inland from the coast. If you do not have it, get a copy of the Ultimate US Campground app for your mobile device. It will show you the all the campgrounds in the area.

Nrobert10 · 07-20-2017, 10:59 AM

Thank you. I have not heard of that App I will load it. If you got any spots in the NF you would recommend I am all ears. We have no issues driving inland.

Thank you!

Otter · 07-20-2017, 01:46 PM

Larrie's right about boondocking at the coast. I don't think there's a single spot that hasn't been tried and ticketed, since so many folks travel there. But that app is great and will lead you to places not far from what you want to visit. NFS campsites can sometimes resemble boondocking sites, they're often that basic! But that means the big rigs are nowhere to be found - nice! Be sure to check out specific campgrounds before you go... many are now reservable instead of FCFServed, and it's helpful to know that ahead of time.

Must sees? Oh so many! I'm a fool for lighthouses and we've got some great ones to visit. Also, no coast survey trip would be complete without checking out the sand dunes in Florence. Nothing like it in WA, as far as I know. Rent a dune buggy for an afternoon and you'll have a blast.

Another favorite is the Rogue River. One of the best day trips ever is the jetboat ride up the old Mail route. Exciting and interesting all at once.

Always depends on your interests, but check out this link to the Coast's "Seven Wonders." Maybe my all-time favorite area is the Three Capes loop. Best scenery in the world. Have fun!

What Are the 7 Wonders of the Oregon Coast?

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Nrobert10 · 07-21-2017, 06:59 AM

Otter thank you! The list of spots to check out continues to grow. I believe it's going to be an incredible trip. Thank you for the info. I'm a travel by the seat of my pants. So I usually don't make any reservations because I never know how far I am going to make it each day. Thankfully to date I have never been stranded. I believe the Oregon coast to be way more accessible then WA coast. We have incredible places but most are a few mile hike to get to them so not as many people at them.

Thank you for the input!! Really looking forward to the trip

Rob

BrianW · 07-24-2017, 07:39 PM

We boondocked in two locations heading through Oregon in late June on our road trip. It wasn't quite high season yet, so maybe we got lucky on the one on the coast.

On the central coast we parked overnight at a USFS lot: Ocean Beach Day Use, US-101, Florence, OR 97439

It's about 15 miles north of Florence on 101. There weren't any "no camping/no overnight parking" signs, and there was one other small camper parked there, too. It's down a pretty steep winding access road, and it's a USFS site, so I figured it wasn't likely to be patrolled (compared with a state-run site). Nobody bothered us, although we got there about an hour before sunset and left pretty early (drove to a state wayside and made breakfast, cleaned up, etc.).

I also contemplated trying our luck near Florence in the "South Jetty" recreation area, just past the "South Jetty Beach 7 Day Use" area. It's clearly no camping in this large day use area, but at the end of the Beach 7 Day Use parking lot there is a new road that leads out of the Day Use Area and into Army Corps of Engineers area on the beach. It's a short paved road that turns into a sand road that leads to the beach. I saw several 4x4s down there when we hiked down (our SMB is 2WD). I think it would be a gray area to camp in, as it's outside the National Recreation Area (signs at the end of Beach 7 parking area say "leaving fee area" or something to that effect). So, if you feel brave, that might be a cool place to camp if you have 4x4. In fact, if you look at the Google Earth pics for that area, it looks like there may be some rigs camped in that very area I mention. You might even be able to get far enough down the road with 2WD to camp (my wife nixed that idea when I suggested it).

On the way to the coast, coming up from California, we stayed overnight at an Oregon rest area near Canyonville, OR, just off I-5: Jordan Creek Rest Area, 451-, 465 Creekside Rd, Myrtle Creek, OR 97457

It was REALLY nice; nicer that some campgrounds we stayed at. There is also free camping at the nearby "Seven Feathers Casino" and a truck stop is nearby, too, so the rest area doesn't seem to get heavily used by trucks throughout the night. We slept great there, and the bathrooms were clean and open 24 hours.

By the way: we've used the "Allstays" campground app for several trips, and LOVE it. Has lots of free sites as well as paid sites on it. User reviews, directions, etc. Well worth the $10 purchase price. It's paid for itself many times over by leading us to free campsites.

Good luck!

Glider · 07-24-2017, 08:45 PM

A friend of mine, who is known in the online world as Campskunk, lives in a Roadtrek motorhome with his wife. They spend a lot of time on the Pacific coast, and they pretty much boondock exclusively.

Campskunk wrote a series of articles on boondocking on the Oregon coast for a Roadtrek website. You can find them here:

Boondocking Along the Middle Oregon Coast - Roadtreking : The RV Lifestyle Blog
Boondocking Along the South Oregon Coast - Roadtreking : The RV Lifestyle Blog
Boondocking the South Oregon Coast Part 2 - Roadtreking : The RV Lifestyle Blog

Nrobert10 · 07-24-2017, 10:50 PM

All thank you for the info! We are heading out tomorrow after work and heading to the Redwoods for 3 days then the Oregon coast for the following 5. I really appreciate all the information. I will create a write up when we return.

Thanks again!!

Zappo · 07-24-2017, 11:49 PM

Hey bud,you gotta play in the dunes like I have a few times

Oregon Dunes Sand Dune Guide

TomH · 07-25-2017, 02:04 AM

Florence not only has dunes, it has a string of mountain lakes 4 miles inland from the coast tucked against a coastal range. The town is quaint and perfect for the quiet tourist, really opposite from Seaside, which is the typical tourist trap. Those lakes range in size from ponds to several square miles in area. Great paddling on all of them and speedboating on the biggest one. Also good paddling and fishing on the Siltcoos River.

I wanted to retire to Florence, but the wife wanted more city access so we're going to the east edge of VC, WA. Portland close on one side and the Cascades right on the other (St. Helens and Hood both visible from our neighborhood!)

Otter is right about the dunes. If you have kids, rent some sandboards, go to the top and sandboard down. Much like snowboarding.