Best Tent Camping near Pacific City, OR

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.

We showed up here in early June with no reservations and had no problem getting a spot.

Oregon State Parks now charge a 25% surcharge for non-residents for RV / hookup sites.

Tent/non-hookup sites are only $22 (whether resident or no), and electric/water sites are  $35 for Oregon residents and $44 for non.  There are no sewer hookups here but there's a free dump and water fill at the entrance. There are water spigots throughout the campground.

The RV loops are more like your basic crammed in RV park sites, with all sites closely in a row.  The two tent loops, H and I, have a nicer feel, more spaced out, more trees, and quieter.  RVs are allowed to camp in tent sites, and no generators are allowed (yay!).  There is some tree cover but there are plenty of sites with enough open sky so you can use your solar panels easily.

Showers are really nice, and free.  They are set up in individual units, which I prefer.

The trails to the beach are nice, but were really swampy when we were here and the mosquitos were really aggressive (bit me through two layers of clothes!).

There's a cool disc golf course but we didn't get to play, mainly because of the mosquitos. 

Campground is close to the cute town of Newport.

Overall we liked it here.

ATT phone had good coverage.  Verizon was usable but weak, but the cell booster helped.

In brief: quieter campground, good for families, small groups, dog owners and hikers.

If you love being lulled to sleep by the sound of waves, this is your spot. The Pacific ocean sang us to sleep each night. 

But enough poetics, this is one of the comfiest beach access campgrounds within an hour-ish of Portland. Large tent sites leave plenty of room for you to bring a buddy or to pop out extra lawn chairs. 

When we were there the only showers available were over in the RV area but they were clean, private and warm - car camping jackpot! We saw the park staff cleaning the restroom at regular intervals and there was always toilet paper. Fire rings have grill bars on top for hotdogs and that perfect baked potato.

There are always lots of dogs here and while the rangers try to get everyone to keep their pups on leash in camp, be prepared for a surprise sniff or two. Plenty of firewood for sale - and the ecological importance of not bringing your own is pretty big unless you live nearby.

In the summer months expect kids to be riding their bikes and scooting through the park loop Dawn to dusk but at least they are outside! 

We've been here in the winter months and it is much quieter, if a cloudy day is your thing then that's a good time for you to go as well.

We always scout out the whole grounds for future trips and take notes on our favorite spots, I'll include some of those below:

D circle

55 and 54 spacious private

42 full shade lots of trees full shade smaller Camp pad

32 Shady Tree filled has a climbing log. Room for multiple tents privacy longer driveway

27 much wider cement pad room for at least three tents 26 right next door both pretty open and connected

67 has hammock trees and room from multiple tents.

Backside of D loop will be great for summer heat

Great spot to go if everything else is full which it was, first time we've ever headed to the coast with no reservations in an act of "spontaneity" or "adventure". I advise against doing that in the summer, lol.

Key Points:

• Bring Cash. Cash only.
• First come first serve.
• We got conflicting rate info from another source, it is $25 a night.
• Firewood is $5 a bundle but it is much more than you normally get for $5 at other campgrounds; it's a plastic tub that you just stuff with wood.
• Ice available $2/bag.
• Hot showers are 50 cents for three minutes. Shower area is kept clean and fresh smelling, restrooms are gender specific and each have two toilets and a shower stall.
• There was no check out time as long as we didn't stay another full night.
• Traffic noise is moderate, you are near the hospital so you may hear sirens which then trigger the coyotes to get in a yelling match with each other.
• Dog friendly, lots of dogs, on-leash only but lots of 'em.
• Mixture of sites with shade and full sun, not level but you're not sleeping on slope either.
• Close to town so getting extra marshmallows is easy.

For an RV oriented place, the campgrounds are pretty okay. There aren't site numbers or designators, it's just pretty much anywhere on the grass that has a picnic table. There were at least a dozen sites that we could see and we got the impression that you could really pitch a tent anywhere as long as you didn't try to move the fire rings or disturb the RV folks, we were literally instructed "just stay on the grass".

There is definitely a mixture of long-time residents and short term weekend warriors in the RVs themselves which I always find interesting. In one site we had a family in a rental RV rolling in from Cali and in another site, there was a shirtless old man playing with bubbles and blasting Spanish opera music. If you use the expression "variety is the spice of life" then you might enjoy it here. If camping alongside folks who live in their older RVs 24/7/365 makes you uncomfortable, then this won't be the place for you. There is a Harley riding resident who seems to make a lot of motorcycle trips in the day but not late into the night and not early AM, everything was peaceful and quiet by 10pm.

Additionally, if you are a camper that doesn't want nature too much in their face, this may not be the place for you either, there are a butt-ton of coyotes in the area and we had some stubborn garter snakes in the site that didn't seem fazed by us at all.

This fella did a great drone video of the grounds, you can get an idea of all the options for water play options with the river:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTkGoLyQv_g

Lots of fishing access though we didn't get a chance to try it, we could see 'em swimming which is always promising.

We will probably come back here if we have plans to kayak as it is easy, gentle access to the river and we know we'll have a basecamp and a hot shower (albeit a paid one) to paddle back to. Other than that, we'll probably only come here if Cannon is full.

Trask River Campground is 20 minutes away from Tillamook. There is not a lot of service around the area going to Tillamook so go straight to Tillamook town center and start your GPS for accurate directions (or until you get good service). You will have no service whatsoever up at the campground but that’s what camping is for, to enjoy your time outdoors! You might as well get all of your needs in town before you head up, Safeway in Tillamook has bundles of wood for $5.99, for two nights we used 4 bundles (they come with fire starter kits).

There is no showers or sinks but there is multiple “vault” toilets around the campground. For clean water there is multiple pumps around the campsite, bring your own soap.

Nice swing set and grassy areas for kids or pets to run around. If you’re lucky enough you will wake up to elk grazing in the grassy areas.

There is a main road in between the campgrounds since sites go from A-C. People fly up and down that road at 50+ MPH so watch your kids and pets.

Multiple trails and cool things to see around the campground! Enjoy!

This small campground is very far off the 101 so if you are looking for a coastal vibe this is not it. Deeply wooded, green, and beautiful. One side of the campground sits alongside Nehalem river access, on hot days this is a popular hangout so expect to see a lot of people. Vault toilets after a busy summer season were ammonia rich and hard to handle. Trash receptacles and potable water available. (Old school pump) I’ve heard that it stays wet enough back there that this campsite never really has a fire ban, but always check with the camp host, they also sell fire wood. First come first serve campsites Using reserve America online. Do Not confuse this campsite with Nehalem Bay State park when reserving.

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.

I LOVED this place! I was really impressed with the closeness to the beach and how secluded it was. Although that could be due to it being January. After being wind blown but having a blast on the beach it was great to walk back to our yurt and warm up. When we arrived there was already an air purifier and the heater running. It was super cozy in there. Both my husband and I slept like babies on the beds - don’t forget your own sleeping bags though of course.

I was impressed with the sweet smelling restrooms and hot (free) shower. Everyone was quiet and respectful and masks were required in the restrooms and facilities and such. One of the nicest yurts I’ve stayed at!