Best Equestrian Camping near Nehalem, OR

[ PROS ]

• We came during offseason (November) and camped at this State Park for 3 nights. Man, it was so amazing. It was super quiet and empty so we felt like we had the entire park to ourselves.

• A family of deer visited us every single morning/night during our stay. We definitely didn't try to interact with them, but they were comfortable to roam right around our site which was a really magical experience

• Nehalem Bay is such a beautiful area and the State Park is nestled in lots of beautiful, lush greenery. There are lots of birds, plants, and other wildlife to observe. We loved hearing coyotes yapping in evenings from the campground.

• It's very peaceful and serene here. It's right by the beach and an easy walk to the coast. We also got to visit Manzanita for a little day trip and had lunch out there. Such a cute little coastal town worth checking out.

• Free hot showers and really nice restrooms. I'm starting to realize that Oregon State Parks are SOOO much superior to California State Parks. The amenities at all the Oregon campgrounds I've visited are wonderful. We definitely got spoiled by camping in Oregon that it will be hard going back home to California

• Very close to stores, restaurants, and gas stations if you need to pick up supplies.

[ CONS ]

• While it was a beautiful campground, the sites are rather small and close together. We obviously didn't experience this campground when it's crowded, but I can imagine how packed it would feel.

Nehalem State Park is located just south of Cannon Beach in the town of Manzanita. There beach lends some spectacular views of the coast. The beach is accessable from several short trails.

The campground has 265 campsites all of them include electrical and water hookups. There are also 18 yurts some with wheelchair ramps. There are also a number of walk-in and horse campsites. Each loop has a centralized bathroom/shower facility with hot water.

The only place to put garbage is located at the entrance of each loop which can be far hike. Campsites are a bit close together with no real privacy. Due to the location of the playground and bathrooms we had a steady stream of people cutting through ours and other neighbors campsites.

Hares Canyon Horse Camp is one of three campgrounds in Stub Stewart State Park and unlike other horse camps which often allow the overflow of tenters and rv'ers without horses, this horse camp is equestrian only.

The Campground is set up in one loop and offers both single and double sites, ADA facilities, showers, toilets, and trash. Each site has a picnic table, fire pit, and a corral. There is a double corral on the double sites.

You must clean up after your own horse. Manure bin as well as shovels/brooms are provided onsite.

In mid May, the sites were very wide open.

My SO and I happened upon Nehalem Bay State Park Campground when looking for a place to camp on the Oregon Coast in a pinch. We were on a weeklong trip to the Pacific Northwest, with twenty-four hours to experience the coast, as we made our way from Olympia to Portland.

The enchanting scenery along the 101 had us giddy and wishing we could set up our tent somewhere on a magical, desolate stretch of beach along the road. Unfortunately, the laws on the 101 (or at least the stretch we were on) prohibit vehicles from parking overnight. As the golden hour waned, Nehalem was the closest campground.

We arrived to find a tent-city. Hundreds of little sites were packed tightly together, with nothing separating them, but an asphalt pull-off for your car. Laughter of children riding scooters echoed through the paved roads. I was disappointed. Nonetheless, sites were available, and there wasn’t enough daylight to shop around for another place, so we stayed.

It was $40 for the night. The rangers were friendly as we registered to camp. We settled on a site near the beach path--after a futile hunt for a secluded site--and headed for the beach just in time for a glorious sunset.

My gripes about the campsite’s claustrophobic layout faded as we walked down the path. This was my first time on an Oregon Coast beach, and the beauty of its vast, open expanse of milky dunes had me stunned. We made a fire and happily chatted the night away amidst a gentle lullaby of waves. Once we were tired, it was a quick walk back to our site, where I instantly fell into a peaceful slumber.

The next morning, I was happy to roll out of my tent and wander to the beach. We spent the rest of the day exploring highlights of the coast, just down the road, before the hour and a half drive to Portland.

So yes, the camping area here lacks that nature retreat feel. But staying here is effortless, and its facilities are pleasant and clean. Its closeness to an awe-inspiring Oregon beach, is a worthy trade-off for the close-quarters of its sites. In the twenty-four short hours I had on the Coast, staying at Nehalem enabled me to fully appreciate its magnificence.

I’m not even sure if the Oregon Coast campground of my dreams exists. But if I find myself there again, I will do a little more research, so I can find a place to camp that’s closer to that dream.

Youre most likely to get a spot at nehalem if you reserve in advance-- of if you get lucky like we did and walk up right when someone passes by to say they are leaving their site early.

Nehalem SP is awesome because of its convenient location next to Manzanita and the campground is literally over the sand dune from the pacific.

its a crowded campground and feels more like a parking lot than a secluded nature experience and there are lots of RVs.

Each site has picnic tables and plugins and water access. The electric came in handy to charge my laptop :)

Bathrooms were far away from my site but there are great facilities and a nice playground. The best part is that you can walk over the dune and be on the coast to watch the sunset in 2 minutes from your tent!