Best Cabin Camping near South Beach, 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.

The South Beach State Park Campground is at the mouth of the Yaquina Bay in Newport, Oregon. The first thing you'll notice is the wind on the way in. Generally, north to south in the summers, the wind is strong, always strong, like 30 mph or more pretty much all the times according to the locals. It felt like it was raining, but it was just water being blown off the ocean. However, once you're in the campground you don't notice it at all since it is well protected by surrounding dunes and tree line.

There is a Tim Burton-esque trail system surrounding the camp leading out in all directions to the beach and bay. Some trails are blacktopped, some sand, and some horse accessible. Google maps struggled to get me to the correct entrance so pay a little more attention when arriving.

My visit was during Oregon Parks day so camping was free. The Hiker/Biker area is just inside the camp entrance across from the hospitality yurt where you can get hot tea, coffee, ice cream, wood bundles, stickers and Oregon Parks merchandise. The camping (all of it) area itself is pretty open with minimal privacy or separation from your neighbors, but everything is very clean and organized. 

The campground was packed, and the RV/Tent area was essentially a parking lot. It seemed like a lot of families to come to the same place, the same weekend every year. However, it was a well regulated, and well behaved campground. The nice thing about this campground is the location. There are hiking trails, beach access, and it is close to all the amenities of Newport. Once you left the camp on a trail you could wander the trees without seeing anyone for awhile if you needed to get away.

Hiker/biker area had faux fencing built up to separate sites and wood platforms to get tents off the ground which I haven't seen in any other hiker/biker camps. The fences were a bit weird but made it easy to lock up a bike, hang some laundry and would a good stop if I were traveling with a hammock.

Amenities include:

• Camp Store
• Storage box with usb charging station
• Raised wood platforms for tents
• Flush toilets
• Hot free showers
• Access to beach & trails
• Walking distance to Rogue Brewery, Yaquina Bay State Park, South Beach State Park, 
• Bike Stand and tools
• Fire pit and picnic tables

Pro-Tip: In Newport, just across Yaquina Bay, is the Newport Bike Shop. It is one of the few bike repair shops along the coastal Oregon Route. If you get a $35 bike tune up you can take a break in their upstairs lounge with tv, wifi, fridge with beverages, and washer/dryer.

This campground is always a safe bet any time of the year. Pets, children and groups are very welcome at this campground with nearby lakes, sand and ocean access. Rent kayaks and canoes at the lake. Visit the rustic and historic log cabin store with a southern exposure and bask in the afternoon sun. Kids can swim in a shallow roped off area out in front of the store with ample outdoor seating. Located near the ocean, this campground is protected from the heavy winds often experienced in other coastal campgrounds. Honeyman has access and a wonderful walking trail to Cleawox lake, where the dunes literally slope right into the lake. Sandboarding is popular on the hillside of the dunes adjacent to the lake. Fishing, non-motorized boating and protection from winds are the plusses at this nearby lake to the campground. Back at the campground, there are many loops for different kids of campers. Those with ATV's, Yurt camping, RV camping and tent camping. The hiker/biker campground is very quiet and private.

The quaint town of Florence is just a few miles north with historic downtown shopping located on riverfront. Locally owned coffee shop, Siuslaw Coffee Roasters offers comfy fireside seating with a view of the river and the historic and recently restored Siuslaw Bridge, designed and engineered by the famous Conde M. McCullough. Downtown Florence offers many specialty gift shops, eateries and fine dining as well as family pizza and locally owned BJ's Ice Cream Parlor with a huge variety of salt water taffy.

Across Highway 101 from Honeyman is Wohink Lake, where motorized boats are often seen pulling water-skiers. A great place to spend the day if you have a large group or have your own motor boat. Lots of sun, swimming areas and parking make this a convenient place to spend a day.

I have found this campground to be completely reserved 6 months in advance. They always seem to have sites available if you arrive early enough. I've never been turned away if I've arrived early.

After gallivanting through Central Oregon & Seattle, a coastal camping route along the way home (Sacramento, Ca) was sure to balance the 2,500mi road trip!

Having mapped out the trek in considerable advance, and after researching multiple state parks/ private campgrounds, South Beach State Park stood out for its proximity to the beach, surrounding nature trails, & it's shower facilities.

At first glance, using a reservation website with photos, the campsite view didn't impress much... Immediately upon pulling into the grounds, the park was gorgeous- lush green shrubs, subtle salty sea breeze, generous space between campsites, and the friendliest rangers ever encountered! Our site was flat, which is ideal when one's converted a vehicle into a camper (the Millennium Falcon is a Honda Element outfitted with a homemade, tri-folding loft bed platform).

For two road-weary travelers, access to the beach was just a 1/2 mile mellow nature path away. With the option of following a bark path through the campground- which eventually intersects with the multiple paved avenues to the grassy beach dunes- or merely sticking to the paved trail, the relaxing evening stroll was just right for stretching the legs before cooking dinner.

Overall, great firepits, flat tent sites, roomy between campers, excellently maintained facilities, easy access to dish cleaning/ dishwater disposal stations, beautiful park with miles of trails! Also, the hospitality station offers fat-bike rentals for beach riding, disc rentals for disc golf course, and local firewood for surprisingly reasonable prices.

Remember to always buy your wood on-site to deter the spread of invasive insects!

This is the second time staying in and reviewing this campground. The first was in a yurt with my 82 year old pop, this time was with my best friend and his family; including his 3 year old. This trip was quite a bit different than the first.

This time we stayed in the tent specific loop H, loop I is also a tent specific loop. These are the deepest loops into the park, with zero hwy noise, and are off the paved road which continues graveled to the sites. The sites in these loops are WAY better than the others. The others in this huge campground are mostly R.V. sites and are crammed in like sardines. They do offer power and water hookups, although I did not see sewer at those sites. The tent sites, on the other hand are way bigger and are more spread out, with a little more privacy. Each of the sites have standard fire rings w/ grills, picnic tables, with dish water troughs and water bibs nearby.

Last stay I noted how the pit toilets in the yurt loop were outdated; not so for the tent loop. It was a newer lodge looking complex, with gender specific, clean, flushing restrooms, with running water. They also have the single, private shower rooms, with hot water that are free to guests, not timed, and there is a small changing area in each of the shower rooms. These had not been cleaned as early as I used them, but I could tell they were well maintained.

Within the campground there are a few trails, some wooded, some to the beach, and some are ADA paved interpretative. We utilized the nice little trail behind the sites that spits you out right at the updated play structure and grounds. We took another to the beach, each of the access trails are easily located on the main drag and range from 1/3 to 1/2 miles to the beach. Easy for most and just short enough for the little ones. The day use area can also be accessed via the "Cooper ridge trail", or stop off at the disc golf course on the way.

The only downsides to this campground are, even though this is one of the biggest campgrounds on the coast with hundreds of sites; it does fill up fast in the busy season. With that being said, there are people everywhere. That's not a big deal unless you are looking to get away from the crowds and have a quieter experience. This is definitely geared towards families and tourists checking out the beautiful Oregon coast. The other was the fog horn blowing in the distance into the wee hours. At first not a big deal, kinda cool, but every 10 seconds. I don't recall this last time, so I imagine it is just in use when the fogs in and you actually get used to it after a while.

All said a good place to go on the Oregon coast and it is very centrally located with many tourist opportunities nearby, including: The Newport aquarium, old town Newport and the Rogue brewery. There are also many more just south of the campgrounds. Stop in for a good stay near the beach with plenty to keep you busy.

I had such a nice time at this campground. We went in the off season (in the winter) so the campground didn’t have many people staying- most being in RVs and us in a yurt. I have a toddler and it ended up being so helpful with the weather being a bit rainy and getting some creature comforts while still enjoying nature.

The yurt comes with a bunk bed (top a twin and bottom maybe a full size), pull out couch, small table with 2 chairs and a heater. Our location was conveniently located near the bathroom which made for night bathroom visits easier. The bathroom is also very clean with multiple stalls and showers (push button but not coin operated).

The campground had a playground for kids, a small free library and ranger station with a couple of souvenirs of the area. The campground offers firewood to buy and extra ice.

The campground is located near the dunes, not far from the city with grocery stores if you forget something, it’s not a far drive from Seal Rock, and the lighthouse.

Overall we loved it. Wish I had an extra booked night to really get the most of the location