Honey Bear by the Sea RV Resort & Campground

I hate having to leave a 1-star review as I do actually like this campground; however, I must make others aware of this issue. I was traveling south from Coos Bay, OR. Evidently there was construction on US-101. Not being from the area(or able to predict the future or knowing anything about a service called TripCheck at the time), I was just following Google Maps, Apple Maps and RV Life like I always do. All of the platforms had me circling around for 6 hours leading me onto unpaved roads that would eventually dead end. Evidently all of the mapping systems think there are roads around the problem area, but they were wrong. I would have to unhook, turn everything around, etc. It was terrible!

I alerted Honey Bear as soon as I became aware of the situation that I was stuck in Coos Bay for one extra day. I thought for sure that management at Honey Bear would be understanding of the situation and to my request for a refund of(1) night for the day I was not able to stay due to Oregon DOT. I was wrong. Evidently management believes that all customers are supposed to be aware of all road conditions ahead of time.

If you do intend on staying here, be sure to check all road conditions in the area as YOU will be reasonable for them. This means hurricanes, earthquakes, typhoons, construction, etc. You MUST be able to predict the future and route yourself accordingly. If not, management WILL NOT waiver and you'll stick be stuck with the bill. What a shame.

When I booked this, I was under the impression we'd be able to see the Ocean from the park. Don't get your hopes up. Only certain spots actually get that perk, and "premium" sites like the one I reserved are not among those that get a view. In fact, we were more than a little confused that the "premium" site we paid good money for landed us right next to the dumpsters and sewer station. Our "lawn" area between us and the nearest neighbor was a narrow patch of powdery dirt and dying weeds. From where we were, it looked like all the camper spaces on the Southeast end of the park were in the same situation. Zero shade, zero green grass, and campers wedged as closely together as the law allows.

The activity room in the lodge building was a plus. The kids had a blast playing ping-pong, arcade games, and foosball. We arrived at about ten minutes til 4pm, and the gal working the counter took every effort to communicate that to us as clearly as possible that we needed to leave by 4. If you want to have fun up there get an early start.

The showers/bathroom were nice, albeit in desperate need of ventilation.

This area of the OR coast is beautiful and there are plenty of things to see and do. It's not so touristy as the northern OR coast, and not as populated as the central OR coast. The beach is probably a 10 minute walk from most sites, which is okay unless you want to take chairs, picnic basket, etc, then you'll be driving to Ophir beach, which seemed to have its share of recreational smokers and the kind of "pilgrims" you tend to see along the 101.

My main problem with Honeybear was the price. We paid a premium price for a spot that ended up looking nothing like the photos I was looking at.  There were no trees or shade, no ferns or other foliage. It was just a patch of semi-flat dirt. Walking through the park I did see a lot of far prettier spaces through the grounds where there were lots of trees, or an ocean view so I'd highly suggest you do your research before reserving a space. Avoid spaces 74 and up, unless you're fine camping in a parking lot.

Full disclosure: I did book this spot 1 month before our arrival date, so there wasn't much left at that point… that's on me. Even so, the term "premium" just feels like false advertising to me.  Premium price, yes. Premium location, no.

All the campsites along 101 for miles were taken and we saw the sign to this place...

Wow! We were surprised that they had a single tent camping site left. They were surprised too in fact. Anyway, the place is a legit resort. Its some 50 acres and the tent campsites reside away from the RV area a little ways. Enough to seem secluded. They situated the place perfectly. My words cannot describe the elegance. Its a great natural setting. They set you up with a map. $25 a night but well worth it. Your closest neighbor is like 50-75 yards away at least. Soft grass ground, picnic table, fire pit. We got a site placed right behind two large ponds huge meadows. It was great. Very clean. Staff are mostly there to run the main store and RV area and are very accommodating if you need assistance. Again, the buildings and RVs are a little walk (out of sight) of the tent camping area. Showers if you need them. Beach is a short 1/4 mile walk across 101. Water available. If you’re looking for deep forest rough camping this isnt it. If you’re looking for easy going camping and beauty, this is just the place.