Best Glamping near South Beach, OR

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.

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.

 This campground wasn't my first or even 4rth choice. I didn't try to reserve a campsite until the day after it opened for my date, so out of luck. I wanted a site by the ocean, but this campground doesn't offer ANY sites with an ocean view. It's still turned out ok

though.

South Beach campground is HUGE! Lots of sites laid out in circles with a bath house in the center. Your best bet is a site on the perimeter. We had C-15, which has to be the best site there! Large& private. The showers are free. About as clean as any state park usually is, which is fair. Try to avoid a site by the bathroom. Tight sites with no privacy.

We had no issues with noise after quiet hours. This was one of the few campgrounds on our trip we could have a fire.$5 a bundle, which is the least expensive during out trip.

Newport is one of the larger towns in the area. We did hear traffic noise & the foghorn. Some sirens every day also.

In the campground this is a VERY busy, loud place. If you dislike the sound of children playing, you may hate it here. Lots of skateboards, bikes, scooters& people walking on the roads. Be careful driving& take it slow. There's beach access you can walk to or drive to. The beach looked nice. Some trails also.

All in all, we had a very good time here. Although we didn't feel unsafe, we didn't leave much of anything out either. I would recommend making a reservation as early as possible. Every campground we passed in a 70 mile radius had NO vacancy signs.

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!

-Close to lots of hiking in the area -Working with camp hosts was easy. Money drop box or can use card with host (just call ahead) -Tent spots have room for car next to your area. Extra cars are an extra fee. Sites have a fire pit with grate and a picnic table. -Trash / recycling on site. -Close to town-campground sells firewood -It is what you would expect from a county park camping ground in terms of layout. You will feel safe here, shower/bathroom amenities, and kind hosts. Short walk to the bay and about mile down road / or walk along the bay to the open ocean !

I camped here twice this year. Once in June in the Hiker/Biker area, and again in July in a regular site. The experiences couldn't have been more different.

Hiker/Biker is fairly segregated from the rest of camp. The access point is actually before the entry to the main campground itself. My first visit left me surprised at the beauty of the camp. It feels like it is in the wilderness despite being less than a few miles from Florence's cool Old Towne.

The trees here are big, and the ground cover lush with ferns. The trails are canopied by Rhododendrons. Nature paths lead off to Cleawox and Woahink lakes. Sand dunes abut the west side of camp. They seem endless, and otherworldly. At Cleawox Lake day use area there are paddleboats, boards and water toys for rent by the day or hour. Sand boards are available from a temporary space set up in the day use parking area. 

On my first visit the entry Ranger station was closed but the Welcome Yurt was open. Maps, advice, firewood, a lending library was available. 

Honeyman Camp is huge. When I was there in early June it made for a lovely exploration, and seemingly great spaces between campers. In late July the vibe had completely changed. Each of the several hundred spaces was occupied by a seemingly large family with 5 kids to every adult, or 25 belligerently drunk RV campers who felt the need to blast Fleetwood Mac. 

That second visit, in the main campground, made it very clear that your experience here will depend on the quality of people choosing to stay in the same park. All the amenities were the same, but despite it's size, a campsite with stereo speakers set to full boar are hard to ignore even when you're on the other side of camp. Now multiply that by several campsites per loop.

One thing of note: Each campsite is issued a set of rules, including "Quiet Hours". Unlike some other sites in which hosts ignored those rules in an attempt to avoid confrontation the hosts here were on top of it. For as obnoxious as the camp was at 9:45pm, by 10:15 it was silent, and we were able to enjoy the remains of a campfire and view of the stars in the slight clearing between trees.

Amenities include: 

• Flush Toilets

• Hot Showers (free and some without having to keep pushing a button!)

• Picnic tables & Fire pits

• Welcome yurt

• Kids playground

• Access to lakes and dunes (Bear sitings on the path to Woahink Lake in July)

• Nature Trail

*Pro-Tip: Stop in Old Towne Florence and buy some fresh fish or get a coffee at the local roaster.

South Beach State Park is great for families. They have an excellent Junior Ranger program and 2-3 ranger lead activities per day each weekend throughout the summer. The Foghorn Amphitheater has a fire pit and screen for evening presentations. Big yurts and RV spots. Two play structures for big and little kids. Large paved paths to the beach make it great fir bikes, strollers, and wheechairs. The last bit of path to the accessible viewing area unfortunately was covered in sand and therefore not truly accessible. I recognize that it must be challenging to maintain however, it was really sad to see a once spectacular accessible viewing spot covered in four feet of sand. fair warning - lots of mosquitoes Otherwise this is a fantastic campground.

South Beach SP Oregon Site B1 Memorial Weekend Crowded but nice. Some loops very narrow rods and lots of kids on bikes. We were in a back in end site. A bit more room but beach access walkway next to us meant a lot of foot traffic. Large open beach with small waves. Access is ADA friendly. Level asphalt pad. Minimal privacy from trees but they do provide some shade. So.e skeeters but not to bad yet. Large trees at rear or site. Average bathhouse close by. CG has yurts, and tent sites too. Great restaurant close to SP has fresh crab, salmon, halibut and cod. Right next to it is a fresh cherry stand