Best Glamping near Eugene, OR

Spent the first weekend in June here with a bunch of parents and kids. We had a site near the end of F loop right near a playground that was great for younger kids and had a sandy patch for ball games for the older ones. It was right up against the dunes with a trail to get out onto them, very steep in some parts of course. An easy walk to the lake for fishing, swimming, boat rental and sandboard rental if needed. Nice trails throughout if you want to go for a run and a natural loop through the campground for skateboarding and biking for kids of all ages. All in all a great family campground especially if you're coming from Eugene, which is about an hour and twenty minutes away. The ocean is a pretty long hike through the dunes, but the South Jetty area is a short drive away if you want to spend some time at the beach. Honeyman is typically packed in the summer, so not the place for peace and quiet, but my only real significant criticism is the fact that there are no lifeguards in the swimming area and it's just too busy and crowded to not have that, especially with a raft that is quite a ways from shore and can be tempting for inadequate swimmers. I personally observed three young kids almost get into trouble heading out there, turning around when they realized it was too far, and almost not making it back. The State Park system is courting disaster, but just make sure you closely supervise young kids and poor swimmers and you'll have a great time.

Stayed in Yurt #2 in the Yurt village on Fathers Day weekend. There was also a fishing tournament this weekend, so the park was completely full. The Yurt Village stayed very quite. Most noise was the Trucks/Boat coming and leaving the boat ramp which is about 400yds away. 

Yurt #2 & 3 are deluxe yurts. All this means is you get a larger deck and propane firepit. To use the firepit you need to bring your own propane, large 20lb style. The Yurts have solar lights inside and out, not sure how long they run, but they lasted us a weekend with conservative use. There is 2 pit style bathrooms in the yurt village. Bathrooms are located at the parking lot.

The yurt village is a ways from the RV/Tent sites. Not a quick or easy walk. 

Parking at the yurt village is a little walk from #2 and #3. Best to bring a wagon or such to help transport. Its about 100yd walk each way. 

There are 3 beds, one full side bottom with a twin bunk on top and one full size futon. There is a dining table and 4 chairs. There is no running water, bring your own water. I saw a fountain near the parking lot, but did not test it. 

While it says no pets, one other yurt had two well behaved dogs. The park knew and didnt stop them, so make your own decision with your pets but dont ruin it for others please.

Weather was pretty good for us. No mosquitoes, though lots of nats but able to sit outside all day without being bothered too much.

My sister and I were road-tripping down the 101 of WA, OR, and CA and making it up as we went. After looking through a list of Oregon campgrounds/State Parks, we settled on Honeyman since it had yurts available and it was forecasted to be a rainy night. The yurt was great and well taken care of. The campground was fairly empty and our site was private, though that was likely because we visited in late November. I would love to go back and explore the dunes and surrounding area more. Great place for an overnight stay and a good alternative to soaking all of our gear before heading further south.

As a Ranger for The Dyrt I have the awesome opportunity to test and review products from great outdoor companies every once in awhile. This is my review of https://www.roanline.com/ a company that provides outdoor and camping gear. This review was conducted at Whittaker creek recreation site in Oregon.

Campground review

Whittaker creek is a medium size 30 site, BLM, first come first served campground encircling Whittaker creek, where it meets the Siuslaw river. It is a mile or so off of hwy 126, just before Mapleton on the way to the Oregon coast; approx. 1 hr from Eugene.

I like the setup of this campground, it has very dense vegetation surrounding some sites, but others are wide open at the foot of the Whittaker ridge. If you luck out, a few sites have private access to the small wading pool created by a bend in the creek. It is a small pool, but nice for young children to swim, for adults to float, or just sun on the rocky shore. If you want a bigger swimming area, there is a river access trail to the siuslaw nearby. Just be aware, it wasn't maintained as of this review. I had to do some bushwacking and log hopping to get there, just gave me another reason to jump in and cool off. Also, be on the lookout for skeeters, I usually don't have an issue with them, but here they were on the attack.

Off of the main campground access road is the Whittaker ridge old growth trail to the Armantrout loop trail. This can be taken from either side as a point to point, or looped together for a 3 mile jaunt. The trail gains 900 ft. in a mile, so not the easiest for young kids, but I'm sure some can tackle it.

This campground is more primitive offering only 4 all gender pit toilets, wood sales, potable water bibs and dish water troughs. They also have garbage services, but I did not see a recycling area. They do not have RV specific sites, so no power, water, or sewer.

I suggest looking for a site on the back side of the creek (higher numbered sites) there are more on the creek and they are farther from the entrance. I wasn't so lucky and had to make due with one right as you drive into the grounds. I was surprised of the flow of cars in and out that seemed to just hangout for a bit and leave. This did lessen as the night went on. There also seemed to be lots of teenagers whooping it up, but this also died down later in the eve.

Overall an okay spot with plenty to keep you busy, and just a nice spot to take in the Oregon green.

Product review

This is my review of the 3 products that I found on https://www.roanline.com/

I want to start by saying this website is great. It has a lot of cool camping accessories and apparel for the outdoors. I like that this is a company started by a women for women, but they are not leaving out the men in their pursuit to outfit adventurous folk. I also like that they focus on smaller up and coming American businesses as well as companies that give back to the natural world.

My only criticism is the selection of sizes of the men's apparel. I get that this company was started due to lack of options, sizes and fit for women, I respect that and appreciate that they are not leaving the men out. However, I am a bigger guy around 6'4" 260 lbs. With that being said, the sizes offered end at xxl (with true fit disclaimer). I feel this can scare aware potential online buyers as I was deterred from purchasing, due to unsure sizing. I think they are missing out on a large demographic, no pun intended. Maybe they could offer a looser fit or a tall size, just an idea.

I did end up finding some nice camp accessories that I have utilized camping the past few months. These items include: the Sturdybros.com duck canvas dopp kit, and the Unitedbyblue.com Enamel camp mug and Mt. Mazama 100% Organic soap.

https://www.roanline.com/sturdy-brothers-dopp-kit-in-grey/

https://www.sturdybrothers.com/products/grey-dopp-kit

Sturdy Bros. is an American born company started by a couple of brothers. They hand make all of their products, featuring tool bags, aprons, gear bags, and an array of other leather and waxed duck cloth items for the handy man, or woman and any outdoor enthusiast.

I decided on the in house waxed duck canvas cloth dopp kit. This is incredibly well made, with a brass YKK zipper and hand sewn seams. It is a bit small, but it is just the right size for the essentials without adding a lot of pack weight. I feel this dopp will last me the rest of my life and is well worth the price. I was amazed at the quality, you definitely don't see this quality too much these days. I will be looking into more products from Sturdy bros. maybe a tool bag for my offroad rig.

https://unitedbyblue.com/products/22-oz-national-parks-enamel-steel-mug

https://unitedbyblue.com/products/mt-mazama-rogue-spoap

United by Blue is a company big on ocean conservation and healing the natural world. Offering products made with organic and recycled materials and others that are easy on the environment. They also remove one pound of trash from the ocean for every product sold, although I do not know if this goes for product purchased from Roanline.com.

I decided on the UBB Metal Enamel mug as I was tired of the stoneware enamel mugs that were prone to breaking if dropped while camping and hiking. I also like that the metal keeps your hot drinks hot and your cold drinks cold, longer. This mug is also safe to use on the fire or stovetop. It is the National parks foundation mug, so it has some N.P. logos around the outside of the mug. I really like this mug and found no issues with it; except maybe that they left out Crater lake. A good mug that is big and what is expected and at a fairly reasonable price.

I also was interested in the UBB Mt. Mazama Rogue river series, clay and geranium soap. This soap is 100% natural and organic, so you can use it in the river without the worry of polluting the waterway. It also smells great, suds up nicely and washes away cleanly without leaving your skin tight. Did i mention it smells Awesome! Its not a strong perfume type smell and totally reminds me of the outdoors. A great addition to any dopp kit and camp showering routine. I just wish they sold mill ends so I could buy bulk at a discount as it is on the spendy side. Worth the splurge though.

https://www.roanline.com/ offers many good products, so head down and check it out and then go spend some time at the Whittaker creek recreation site in Oregon. Happy camping!

One option when looking for a campground last minute during the summer close to Eugene, Oregon. This one is not usually very busy during peak season in my opinion.

This is a primitive campground so no hook ups for your rv. Bring the generator if your needing a power source during the day.

There are restrooms/ showers on site along with drinking water, a playground, and an rv dump station. Picnic tables and fire pits at each site. Trails are nearby along with a beach/ swimming area at Dorena Lake. Watch for signs of Algae or Swimmers Itch as it has been present the past few years at Dorena Lake.

Overall its a great last minute campground not far from town ( Cottage Grove- Eugene), but doesn't make my list of top 5 if I can make reservations a head of time.

Jessie M. Honeyman is an Oregon State Park just a few miles south of Florence, Or.

We traveled in on a Wednesday at the beginning of June with friends, kids, and a canoe. We stayed through Saturday night and moved on up the coast to another site just outside of Newport. The park has a lot going for it -- especially if you have kids -- but it also has some deal-breaker drawbacks. As with a lot of other busy state parks, your experience will depend a lot on when you go, what site you book, and who happens to show up as your neighbors.

Pros: • Very close proximity to Lake Cleawox and the boat house / facilities there. You don't leave the park to go from the camp sites to the lake. At the boat house, you can rent paddle boats ($7 / 30 mins, $10 / hr), canoes, or kayaks. You can also rent sandboards and zoom down the dunes on the far side of the rental facility. The setup is awesome and looks like an idyllic version of everyone's summer camp - real or imagined. • Woahnik Lake, a much larger lake than Cleawox, is right across the street and offers a lot of options for more swimming, boating, and paddling. We saw two large groups of scuba divers while canoeing around the lake. • Sand dune access. You can literally ride an ATV or quad from your camping site to the dunes, because the camp is adjacent to the Oregon sand dunes. • Hot showers. • Super friendly rangers and staff. • Large play structure in the sand for kids. Same thing you'd find in a city, but it's a nice option. • Yurts. We stayed in #316. Staying in the yurts is a great all-weather option.

Cons: • Campsites - tents, yurts, RVs - are crammed in. Some areas don't have good tree coverage (the closer you get to the dunes), and are wide open. You can see and hear your neighbors, so good luck. • ATVs and quads. Because the site backs up to the dunes, it's ground zero for ATVs and quads. You hear them running at peak times on the weekend. The site attracts a lot of giant diesel trucks that idle through the camp site hauling their trailers, so it feels like you've set up camp right next to a trucker super highway.

Given how popular the spot is, the wildlife are very used to people, and you'll be marauded by cunning squirrels and chipmunks. Don't leave food out for a hot minute.

Don't stay in any site off the main branch to all the camping loops. Accessible yurt #404 is probably the best site in the entire campground.