Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Pacific City, 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.

Ended up staying here (Light site) for 3 nights after my group had to make a last second pivot with smoke in Central Oregon. We were super happy with the location and privacy of the site (quick 15 minute drives to Pacific City/Lincoln City or 5 minute drive to Neskowin).

We ran into a bit of confusion booking through the Dyrt as it wasn’t clear what the difference was between Light site and Sublime site (Hipcamp clearly shows the difference btw). The difference is that Sublime is a pretty open plot of land with plenty of room to run and explore whereas Light site is a narrow 15x80’ strip of land on the side of a hill. It sounds lame, but it actually worked out well. A lot of the exploring areas on the property described on the Dyrt seem only to apply to Sublime site. Also, The Dyrt makes it seem as if pets are allowed on the whole property, but apparently they are only allowed on Sublime. So if your booking through Dyrt, check out the Hipcamp description of sites to make sure you are getting what you want.

My biggest quibble is that while this ended up being a great site, we probably will only come back here in a pinch because the price is nearly 4x what you would end up paying at a public campground and there is no water, trash, or bathroom services included in this price. We had a large group and there is a surcharge of $5/person/night (including kids) over the base (2adults/2kids)…so we ended up paying $270 for 3 nights. In comparison, the campsite in Central Oregon that we cancelled due to smoke was $60 for all three nights.

In summary. This is a great spot, but the price is bloated for what you get (especially for larger groups).

This campground is absolutely beautiful to me. It's nestled in the woods next to the beach with the cute little town of Pacific City just 5 minutes away. The staff was very friendly. We have yet to meet an unfriendly staff member at a Thousand Trails campground. There are two entrances... Just make sure you go in the one with the big sign. The other is actually used moreso as an exit. Some of the roads get a bit steep so be slow and cautious. We have a 38' rig. If you have a bigger rig we were told to avoid the Section I because it's hard to turn around. We went towards Section E instead. With a 2 week stay we needed sewer hookups which are very limited. We got space E1 which was fairly private, full hookups, 50 amp, and right by the bathrooms too. If you come to Section E do NOT turn around at the bathroom. It's too tight. Go straight to the turnaround at the end and come back. We saw way too many people almost trash their rigs. It looks like there are some higher up spots that have amazing views but they were all already taken. Limited services at them though.

The facilities all looked great! Well kept and nice. The lodge is the one place with internet since the repeaters weren't functional yet. Someone mentioned people keep hitting them too much to get them up and running yet. The  indoor pool is clean and next to an outdoor hot tub. Some of the recreational amenities are a bit worn but I can understand not keeping them up as it doesn't seem like people use them much anyways. There are a few spots to just sit and look out at the ocean that we enjoyed. There's also a nice trail that goes down to the ocean. You do cross the road so just watch out there. It's marked for cars to be aware too.

The sand dunes nearby are a great spot to see. We also hung out for a bit at the beach in Pacific City. Tillamook is a short drive and worth the trek as well as Cape Meares to the north.

I camped twice at Cape Lookout this season - in June in a yurt, and in July at the campsite right behind the dune.  

In June, it was freezing, rainy and windy, and the yurt was fantastic. The most amazing feature of the yurt was the heater. It really kept the place warm, and the yurt was spacious. We were 3 adults, and could easily have slept another one or two. Each yurt has a small patio as well as a fire ring- and inside was electricity and a power outlet. Best of all, you were still just steps away from the sunset on the beach.

For camping, there are so many different kinds of sites at Cape Lookout - Sites closer to the entrance are very woodsy, the sites closest to the beach frontage (behind the dune) are very very open, and sites along the furthest perimeter are a little more spacious and some have trees (important to note if you want to hand a line or a hammock!)

We camped at the site right behind the dune where the beach access is. It was a little noisy since everyone passed our site on the way to the beach, but very lovely to be just steps away. Each of the tent sites has a fire ring and picnic table. In both June and July when I visited there was no fire ban.

Hiking is great in the area. You're also close to Pacific City, Jacobson's Salt, the tunnel at the Oceanside Beach, and Tillamook if you're staying here longer and want to take day trips outside of the State Park.

Recommend booking early for summer campsites. The yurt I booked in June was available for booking same day.