Every Oregon state park - smallest to largest - from Washington to California
- >>>>>This is just a stub on 8/1/26 - It will take a lot of time and work to get this going <<<<<<
In the summer of 2026, I set out to drive the length of the Oregon coast to visit every state park on the coast, large and tiny. I pulled our 13-foot Scamp trailer and stayed in it every night but two for a month, camping in state park campgrounds. I had mostly good weather and very few problems. My wife had planned to go with me, but family obligations out of state prevented that. In the parks, I explored, hiked, wandered, took some pics, and wrote notes. I started in the north and ended in the south.
My initial intent was to use a checklist for every park, but I quickly realized that a general checklist doesn't fit every park. I decided to just take some photos (iPhone 16 Pro Max) and write a brief description of each park. I was convinced before the trip that these 360 miles are among the most beautiful on the planet, and I'm even more convinced afterward. It is magnificent. Not only that, the temperatures were 15-20 degrees cooler than inland. Note that, in general, the wind comes from the north. Another wind hint is that when you go to walk on the beach, walk INTO the wind first so that when you're weary you have the wind at your back and sand not blowing in your face if the wind really picks up. Early morning is usually less windy.
The Oregon State Parks website: https://oregonstateparks.reserveamerica.com/, is the place to go for information and reservations. Or, use your search engine to find the park and then go to that park's website. If the park has a campground, there will be a tent icon and "Reserve" on the right side (as the pages are designed today). If you can't get a campsite, look for the "Create availability notification" and set it up. It's a waiting list, and you will be contacted via email if a site opens for your date(s). When you get notice, go reserve NOW. Everyone who has asked for those dates is notified at once. Beware of ADA sites. You can reserve one even if you're not ADA, but if someone who is ADA shows up, you lose. Many state parks have nice cabins and yurts, but you will still need at least some sleeping gear. If you're out-of-state, everything costs more. The parks have increased fees and are in the process of using the money to catch up on long-neglected repairs and upgrades.
There are many small to medium towns, and if you don't camp, there are hotels of all sorts. I mostly cooked my own food, but there are all sorts of restaurants, with seafood being well worth eating. Gasoline can be expensive, so use GasBuddy or some such because prices can vary a lot between towns. Fred Meyer is a reliable place to shop for most anything, but there are other stores.
This is laid out in sections with subsections. For instance, I camped for 3 nights at Fort Stevens State Park just south of Astoria, and from there I visited 6 other state parks before moving on to Nehalem Bay State Park to camp. Those 6 will be under Fort Stevens, and then 4 others under Nehalem Bay, and so on. I will divide the main menu into thirds: Northern, Central, Southern.