South Beach Campground, near Port Angeles, Washington, is a stunning spot right on the Pacific Ocean, perfect for those who love the sound of waves and breathtaking views. With a mix of tent and RV sites, it’s a popular choice for campers looking to soak in the natural beauty of [Olympic National Park](https://thedyrt.com/camping/washington/near/olympic-national-park).

The campground offers basic amenities, including clean bathrooms, but keep in mind there’s no drinking water or showers available, so come prepared. Many visitors have raved about the easy access to the beach, where you can stroll along the shore and even catch a glimpse of whales during the right season. As one camper noted, “Take an evening stroll along the beach and look for whales.”

While the sites are fairly close together and privacy can be limited, the friendly atmosphere makes it easy to connect with fellow campers. Some have mentioned that the sunsets are spectacular, and the starry nights are a sight to behold. If you’re looking for a place to unwind and enjoy nature, South Beach Campground is a solid pick.

For those wanting to explore, you’re just a short drive from Kalaloch Lodge, which offers dining and shopping options. Whether you’re here for a weekend or a longer stay, the combination of ocean views and the charm of the surrounding park makes this campground a memorable destination.

Positioned on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, South Beach offers panoramic ocean views and beach access.

South Beach Campground — Olympic National Park

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Taholah

The Best Camping Near Taholah, Washington

The downside of the beach side campgrounds on the Olympic Peninsula are their close proximity to the busy road. The upside of the beach side campgrounds is you are feet from a ridiculously beautiful beach full of life and so much to see. You could live on the beach your whole life and not see it all.  

Noisy, but so Scenic and Memorable

What a great experience camping so near to the beach.  The park is lovely- so many different areas to check out and experience. Our campsite was average.  It was somewhat busy while we were there, but this is an ideal campground so that makes sense.  Very pleased with our stay here and I recommend it. 

near the beach

This is a 50 or so spot open campground. Trails down to the beach, which is filled with driftwood, rocks and beautiful sand. You can watch whales from your site. It's a short drive to the House National Rain Forest. There are many things to do in the area.

Open campground on a bluff overlooking the ocean

This campground is awesome.  Waking up in your tent to the sounds of crashing waves and drinking your coffee on the bluff looking out over the ocean is as relaxing as it gets.  THe campground is about 50 spots that are tightly packed with nice restrooms.  THe beach is accessible to roam miles each way.  Bring water.

Overlooking the Beach

This is the best place I ever set up a tent. To smell the ocean and it’s calming effects is probably the most relaxed I’ve felt in a long time. I just saw a sign on the road and decided to turn and I ended up here and was so happy there were still tent sites still available. It’s first come first serve and it’s worth it! I will come back again!

Enjoy the ocean breeze

The campground is first come first served small sites that are cramped together but close to the ocean. $15 per night.

Next to the ocean

With a short hike to the beach, there’s nothing like camping on beach with the nearest person more than a football field away! It was my first beach camping experience and it was amazing!

Beautiful beach camping

This campground is first come first served and when we arrived it was full. There are very few campgrounds around the area and they were all reserved. We were allowed to stay for the night as we arrived late and left very early. Be wary that the site may be full. 

Beautiful sunsets

We loved the view of the ocean and proximity to the beach, but we’ve not stay at many campgrounds where we were so close to our neighbors. At times it felt difficult to socially distance...spots are that close. The views and beach make up for it though. We spent all our time on the beach so it was great. 


Million Dollar Views - Close to your Neighbors 

On the western side of Olympic National Park, this campground was right on the top of the dunes/bluffs overlooking the water. It is a long narrow loop with very tight sites right on top of each other and no privacy whatsoever. First warning- there is NO water available here(ironic as you look out at the Pacific Ocean), not even in the bathroom(just flush toilets, no sinks). So bring all that you might need. Second warning- LOTS of RVs that will block your view if you end up on the uphill side of them. Most sites had picnic tables and some had fire rings. Tide charts are posted at the bathrooms, which would be very important if you want to spend any time along the narrow beach below the campground. All that being said, I loved being able to watch the sea otters and gray whales while I ate my dinner.

Camp with the whales

My partner and I thought this campground was a great find. We got there around 1 on a Thursday and we were able to grab an ocean front spot for our skoolie. The beach was beautiful, huge washed up trees that we had fun climbing on and some really cool rocks to be found when combing the beach.  Has bathrooms but no sinks or showers so bring your own water. 20$ for the night. 

Ocean front 

Campsite overlooks the beach and ocean. Sites are fairly close to each other and very open. Not much trees or shade. It can be tricky to find a spot with an actual view sense at lot of RVs will fill up the front row blocking the ocean view for any sites behind it. Trails that lease straight to the beach. 

Great View

South Beach campground is one of those hidden gems I wish I had gotten to spend more time at. It seems at first glance like overflow camping from Mora, but if I’m ever in the area again I’ll choose this site over that in a heartbeat. There isn’t much privacy, and there are only about twenty sites, but don’t let that dissuade you. The sunsets are spectacular, the stars at night even more so, and the beach is only a few steps away the entire time. 

Hidden Gem by the Ocean

Pulled in on a Monday and found a spot along the beach.  The site was pretty small and there was next to no privacy.  Some of the sites are so small that I don't even see how you could put up a tent.  Parking an RV would leave you partially blocking the road in some sites.  If you look at the size of the park on a sat image and consider that there are 50 sites in this tiny area, you can get an idea of what to expect.  There is a lot of gravel around the sites, so you end up with rocks underfoot.  Barefoot isn't the best option.
The views were amazing and a moonlit walk on the beach is always nice.  There are bathrooms with real toilets rather than stinky pits in the ground, but there are no showers or sinks.  
$20 a night seems excessive for what you get here, but there aren't many options for beach camping around.  

Nice, but crowded.

While the campground doesn’t offer any privacy for each spot, it is in an amazing location. Take an evening stroll along the beach and look for whales. During September there were 2 really close to shore showing off their fins for hours.

There are bathrooms but no water hookups or any outlets.

Saw Whales at Dusk!

Paid campground that was pretty crowded but luckily we got the first spot on the right when you come in so we had some privacy. There were bathrooms and tables and you could walk down to the beach which was amazing. Convenient spot right off the highway but you couldnt hear the cars on the road.

Awesome campground right on the pacific 

Stayed here for two nights after a friend recommended it and it’s definitely a gorgeous view of the ocean but it’s by no means private. There’s only a few places you can actually put a tent as most sites seem to cater to van or RV campers. Some noisy neighbors but most were great. Our second night someone camped right next to us at our site but they were fun to talk to nonetheless. Kalaloch lodge down the road is great for dinner and shopping. no water but good bathrooms

very crowded but nice people 

This campground is part of the Olympic National Park, it’s FCFS only, and very bare bones. There are flush toilets, but no sinks or showers or water spigots- don’t forget to bring your own water! 

  

It’s $20/night, and you pay when you arrive after you select a site. You pay either via a QR code with PayPal or a credit card(if you have cell reception), or fill out your credit card information on a slip that you drop in a deposit box. No cash and no checks accepted. No campfires allowed at this time. The ATT phone had decent reception, the Verizon phone was very weak and basically unusable. 

  

There is a row of sites along the edge that are the primo sites- full ocean view. Everyone else can make do with the ocean views they get from in between all the other campers. The waves are calm and steady all night, very relaxing and nice for drowning out generator sounds. There are trash bins but no recycling bins. Each site is attached to a numbered picnic table. If there’s no free picnic table then it’s not a site (we were confused by this big open area that would have easily fit us, but it wasn’t actually a site. Look for the picnic table). 

  

There is a host on site. There are trails down to the beach, after climbing over driftwood and rocks, but otherwise no trails or hiking or anything else to do directly from the campground. We stayed one night.

Nice if you get a front row spot

Such a beautiful view, hard to beat! clean bathrooms and everyone was very friendly. Lots of little trails straight to the beach. Great place to watch the sunset and have a quiet campfire

Very enjoyable

Perfect hideaway spot! Bathrooms weren’t open, but they have porta-potties.

No hookups, no dump or water plug in. They do have dumpsters around the camp.

I believe this is first come first serve. Where you drop in your payment they have pamphlets of the park available!

Trail to beach runs between sites 36 and 33, so expect some foot traffic if you're staying in those spots.  
  
Per the The Whale Trail, South Beach is a haven for marine life and common sightings of Orcas, gray whales, and sea otters.

Photos of South Beach Campground — Olympic National Park

Real photos from real campers