I camped at Bullards Beach State Park Campground in August 2026 with my daughter. We pitched our tent in site A25. I became familiar with A-Loop. I only drove through the other two loops. B-Loop looked similar with sites for tents and RVs. C-Loop looked like it is better suited for RVs.
PROS & CONS
First of all, the staff I interacted with were all wonderful. The weather was unseasonably cool, but we still enjoyed our week at the campground. The biggest draw in my opinion is that the Pacific Ocean is only a short trek away.
Camping on the outside curve of A-Loop was nice because it was relatively calm and quiet, even on the weekend. Everyone respected quiet hours at this campground, more so than at any other campground I’ve stayed at. The sites have electric hookups and a water spigot, as well as a picnic table and fire ring. Firewood is sold at the entrance to the campground for $7 per bundle. Payment is card-only. Firewood bundles can also be purchased at McKay's in Bandon. Another option is a place named Frontier Unlimited just south of Bandon on the west side of highway 101. The firewood at Frontier Unlimited is in a gravel parking lot right before the Ocean Spray Cranberries facility. Unfortunately, they were sold out when we were there in late August.
There aren’t many trees in the Bullards Beach campground, but most of the sites in A-Loop at least had bushes surrounding them. I brought a hammock, but I couldn’t use it because there was only one tree in our campsite. I couldn't even find a good s'mores stick. As I walked around A-Loop, I didn’t see any sites that had more than one sturdy tree. There may be some sites in B-Loop with more trees. C-Loop has sparse vegetation, which is why it looked better suited for RVs.
The A-Loop restroom was kept cleaner than most public restrooms I’ve ever used. Besides the outstanding cleanliness, the restrooms are typical of Oregon state park campgrounds. The main drawback of the restroom is that there are no paper towels, only inadequate hand dryers. And the faucets just had cold water, although I found one faucet that could produce lukewarm water if I was patient. Another shortcoming is that the two stalls in the men’s bathroom are cramped. The campground is huge so I expected the bathrooms to have more than two small stalls. Also, there are no hooks in the men’s bathroom. At least there is a bench and there are metal trays above the three sinks. There is however a private, spacious handicap bathroom with a large counter, sink, bench, toilet and shower. I took a shower in there and man the water was hot! It was actually a bit too hot to bear.
BEACHES
From the campground entrance, the walk to Bullards Beach is about 1.25 miles down a mostly paved path. Along the way there is a string of parking lots with picnic tables and barbeques for day use. There is even a horseshoe pit near the middle of the day use area. It costs $10 a day to park in the lots. At the end of the parking lots there is a small sand dune, and beyond that is Bullards Beach. When we crested the dune, we found that the beach was mostly deserted. That could have been due to the foggy, windy weather, but it seemed like most of the tourists congregate at Bandon Beach. Regardless of the weather, I recommend visiting the historic Coquille River Lighthouse at the south end of Bullards Beach. I saw that the B-Loop has its own path to Bullards Beach called Pearl’s Trail. I didn’t notice it until we were leaving, so I don't know what it's like.
Besides Bullards Beach and Bandon Beach, which is a short drive south, we explored Seven Devils State Recreation Site 7 miles to the north. Also, at the south end of Bandon we checked out Tish-A-Tang Beach, which is 5.5 miles from the campground. One day we drove 30 miles south to Port Orford to see the desolate Cape Blanco Lighthouse and the little beaches below it. The lighthouse is cool but the weather wasn't conducive to hanging out at the beach down below, so we skipped that. I had been out there before, but I forgot that there are no public restrooms at Cape Blanco Lighthouse. I suggest making a pitstop in Port Orford before heading out to the second-most westerly point in the contiguous United States.
SUMMARY
Bullards Beach Campground is a peaceful, clean and comfortable place to “glamp” on the rugged southern Oregon Coast. The campground is home to a few wild turkeys and an abundance of lively birds. As for mammalian wildlife, the chipmunks were ever-present, we caught glimpses of rabbits, one evening a small bat flitted by, and we encountered a family of thieving raccoons. (I learned to store our food very securely). The Pacific weather can be capricious, but on the other hand there are very few insects. There were no mosquitoes, but I saw an occasional butterfly, moth, and flying termite. I just wish there were more trees in the campground so I could relax in my hammock. What I remember about the Cape Blanco State Park Campground (31 miles to the south) is that it's in a forest of Sitka spruce trees. But I would rather camp at Bullards Beach because it’s more sheltered from the stormy weather coming off the Pacific and there are more wide-open stretches of beach close by. I look forward to staying there again.
Traveler
