The Gateway
Agreed, the secret’s out. 80% full on the last Friday (9/14) of the season. Was featured on a TV show about 3 years ago and a popular camping book gives it a scenic rating of 10/10, though I wouldn’t go quite that high. The friendly, professional camp host told me not to write a review-“don’t do that, it’s too busy already!” So I told him I’d also write reviews of some other good campgrounds in the area, so look for-Beaver Eddy (recently closed for logging, though didn’t look like a permanent close + one roadside site was open), Cook Creek (designated dispersed sites), Henry Rierson Spruce Run (larger, more open, right off both road and Nehalem River, with good hikes right there) and Morrison Eddy (my favorite). A Tillamook State Forest Recreation Guide will show you the way. But Nehalem Falls would always work because it has the right mix of fantastic tree cover, decent vegetation between spots, a walk-in campsite area, and being right off the small but self-important Nehalem Falls, set in a picturesque curvy rock valley replete with swimming holes. The whole Nehalem River valley is gorgeous, with minimal traffic noise.