Best Glamping near Depoe Bay, OR

We headed to the Pacific City in search of fresh air in mid September when much of Oregon was consumed by wildfire smoke. The friendly staff at Cape Kiwanda RV Resort were very welcoming and we opted to stay in one of their cute cabins as rain was forecasted. Cabin N was comfortable and had electric heat, a TV, dorm fridge, microwave, porch swing, outdoor water, BBQ grill, picnic table and outdoor firepit.  The campground had cute wild bunnies hoping around, and amenities such as a playground, full market, and pool.  It's located a quick walk from a beautiful sandy beach, brew pub, coffee shop and other convenient options are nearby.

This is a beautiful campground between two popular towns on the Oregon Coast - Depoe Bay and Newport.  The geology here is amazing - you can have a load of fun looking for fossilized shells and agates at the beach.  The campsites are set among old trees - and are pretty private.  The prime spots along the creek are hard to get so plan ahead.  I always camp in the F circle so I have not had issues with highway noise - but some sites are a little close to the road.  Only 10 miles north of Yaquina Head natural reserve - and the city of Newport.  Great people - happy to help you with firewood and ice and any info about the area. Oregon State Parks do it right!

The South Beach State Park Campground is at the mouth of the Yaquina Bay in Newport, Oregon. The first thing you'll notice is the wind on the way in. Generally, north to south in the summers, the wind is strong, always strong, like 30 mph or more pretty much all the times according to the locals. It felt like it was raining, but it was just water being blown off the ocean. However, once you're in the campground you don't notice it at all since it is well protected by surrounding dunes and tree line.

There is a Tim Burton-esque trail system surrounding the camp leading out in all directions to the beach and bay. Some trails are blacktopped, some sand, and some horse accessible. Google maps struggled to get me to the correct entrance so pay a little more attention when arriving.

My visit was during Oregon Parks day so camping was free. The Hiker/Biker area is just inside the camp entrance across from the hospitality yurt where you can get hot tea, coffee, ice cream, wood bundles, stickers and Oregon Parks merchandise. The camping (all of it) area itself is pretty open with minimal privacy or separation from your neighbors, but everything is very clean and organized. 

The campground was packed, and the RV/Tent area was essentially a parking lot. It seemed like a lot of families to come to the same place, the same weekend every year. However, it was a well regulated, and well behaved campground. The nice thing about this campground is the location. There are hiking trails, beach access, and it is close to all the amenities of Newport. Once you left the camp on a trail you could wander the trees without seeing anyone for awhile if you needed to get away.

Hiker/biker area had faux fencing built up to separate sites and wood platforms to get tents off the ground which I haven't seen in any other hiker/biker camps. The fences were a bit weird but made it easy to lock up a bike, hang some laundry and would a good stop if I were traveling with a hammock.

Amenities include:

• Camp Store
• Storage box with usb charging station
• Raised wood platforms for tents
• Flush toilets
• Hot free showers
• Access to beach & trails
• Walking distance to Rogue Brewery, Yaquina Bay State Park, South Beach State Park, 
• Bike Stand and tools
• Fire pit and picnic tables

Pro-Tip: In Newport, just across Yaquina Bay, is the Newport Bike Shop. It is one of the few bike repair shops along the coastal Oregon Route. If you get a $35 bike tune up you can take a break in their upstairs lounge with tv, wifi, fridge with beverages, and washer/dryer.

Beverly Beach is a great park, centrally located on the coast halfway between Depoe Bay and Newport.  We used it a a home base to do some epic tide pooling during some negative tides and it was perfect. Most sites in the park have ample trees for hanging hammocks, but a few don't (ours didn't). Due to Covid, the bathrooms weren't being cleaned as often as normal. Hopefully that won't last much longer. Bonus - there's a small store right outside the campground entrance that has just about everything you could imagine, including fire wood for a little less than in the park!