7 days on the Oregon Coast, sights, drycamping, seafood

Elk Valley Casino on the south end of Cresent City allows free camping in their gravel lot just east of the main lot. The Casino is smack right at the start of Howland Hill Road. Howland Hill road is not recommended for RV's, but you could easily cycle it by doing an out and back or make a very long loop. It'd be dusty. After driving it for the first time this summer, I would definitely recommend it for the scenery.

Prairie Creek SP off of the Newton B Drury scenic parkway is not free, but it is very nicely located. There are some trails and double track open to mountain bikes nearby. You may want to research what trails are available for riding near there if only to stop for a ride.

Lucky 7 Casino just south of the Oregon border allows RV's to camp for free on the east side of their hotel.

In Oregon, The Mill Casino charges RV's to camp on their lot, but Three Rivers in Florence and Chinook Winds in Lincoln City do not.

It's tough to find much free camping along the Oregon coast. You could probably pull off on some of the larger pullouts if not signed no overnight camping, but many of the pullouts are signed as are the day use areas for no overnight parking. Driving inland may or may not find you much depending on the highway.

There's a very cool free campground inland northeast of Reedsport about 35 miles up the Lower Smith River Rd called Vincent Creek. Far up the North Fork of the Suislaw River out of Florence is a campground that would make a good base camp for a 40 mile loop ride involving that road, a gravel connector and Hwy 101.

There isn't much single track along the Oregon Coast. There are plenty of gravel roads waiting to be explored in the coast range.
There are some epic trails to be ridden inland including the McKenzie Trail, the Umpqua Trail, Waldo Lake, and others. There also a few freeride areas such as Black Rock.

Ken, we looked carefully at the Ossagon trail -- too technical for us! At my age, I have become a mountain cruiser, rather than a real mtb guy. These days, a nice tame fire road looks a lot better than a tricky single track. Three bad bike accidents, and that is enough for me.

Hopefully, Niner, you are still a real mountain biker, not like me!

Actually, I'd be fine camping a little bit inland away from the coast, on a few nights, so I wake up in sunshine instead of the fog. I live close enough to the beach here in So Cal that I have seen plenty of the Pacific Ocean in my lifetime, from San Diego to San Luis Obispo, I've fished quite a few harbors from tuna, to king salmon, to rockfish, ling cod, etc.

Don't per say need hook ups... take on 10 gallons on a 30 gallon tank at a time usually makes me good for 2 or 3 days, still not too heavy to trailer it. Usually after a week, it's time to use a dump station, and go to an RV park that has TV signal too.

As you know, OR state parks are among the best in the country. Try a little quieter one like Sunset Bay. Tillicum Beach NFS CG and Beachside SP are right on the beach. The campsites away from the water are a little more roomy and private. There are also a variety of NFS CG's along the Oregon Dunes Seashore (no hookups though).

For seafood, try Waterfront Depot in Florence. If you're travelling solo, the bar is right in the dining room and you can eat right there. Well worth the stop (and the wait on a weekend).

I'm sure you've scoped out the mountain biking, but let me add a heads up for the Ossagon Trail in Redwoods National Park. Yes, a trail in a NP where mountain bikes are allowed! Still a very memorable experience even though it's been four or five years since we did it. Link 1 Link 2

First, I would hit the coast as soon as possible – take 20 to Ft. Bragg. I would take 5 to 20 and then over to the coast -- by that time, the fires near Clear Lake should be out. By the way, stop for sandwiches at Granzella's in Williams, where 20 hits the 5.

Near Ft. Bragg, there is great boondocking in Jackson State Forest. It’s not free, but it is terrific. Great mtn biking in Van Damme and Russian Gulch state parks – great hiking on Mendocino Headlands. Good mtn biking on fire roads in Jackson State Forest – not right on the coast, but in the redwoods. The Haul Road at MacKerricher State Park is a good mtn bike ride, too, as is Big River just south of Mendocino. Smoke will not be a problem on the coast -- the wind is almost always from the west.

North of there, you can get to Mattole State Beach, a BLM campground, via Mattole Road out of Humboldt Redwoods State Park. Good beach hiking out there. Great riding on Mattole Road in the Redwoods. Riding on Avenue of the Giants is good, too.

North of there, don’t miss Prairie Creek State Park. Great riding on Newton Drury Parkway and on the Coast Trail. James Irvine Trail is our favorite hike in that area. Not too much boondocking in that general area, but Elk Prairie Campground is very good. You mention reservations – most of the public campgrounds on the coast have about 40 percent of their spaces as first come first served. If you arrive right around mid day on a weekday, there is a very good chance you will get a space. Weekends are a zoo, so we tend to stay put and switch campsites on other days.

North on the Oregon Coast, we found everything to be kind of crowded, but the seafood is amazing almost everywhere. Much better than in Calif – I am not sure why. Clams in garlic sauce, crabs at Kelley's in Brighton, salmon everywhere. Fine local beer everywhere.

Although we stayed at an RV park in West Yellowstone (Grizzly) because we were there in mid-October and needed hookups, I am told that there is good boondocking just west of West Yellowstone in the national forest. In Yellowstone, try the hike to Imperial Geyser -- nobody there but you and the bison.

In the Tetons, see if Atherton Creek Campground is still open when you get there, in the national forest just east of the Tetons. Very quiet, very well located, lots of wildlife. There is boondocking near Slide Lake, too. If you hike in Yellowstone or the Tetons, make a lot of noise -- September is the month when the grizzlies are eating like crazy to stock up for the winter, and they are not picky eaters.

If you are interested in more info on any of the places I mentioned, just plug those names into the search bar on my blog (see link below). Lots of photos.

weedrancher wrote:
If you're dragging a trailer, 299 is the better road. 36 is closed due to fires. Hwy 20 and 299 have fire fighting apparatus going to and from large fires in the area. Be safe!

Holy Smokes, there are a lot of lightning induced fires in that area. Pretty unhealthful air for mtn biking in.

If you're dragging a trailer, 299 is the better road. 36 is closed due to fires. Hwy 20 and 299 have fire fighting apparatus going to and from large fires in the area. Be safe!

I would cut over to the coast - well at least to hwy 101 anyway, on hwy 20, a bit north of the bay area -(not hwy 36!). Not may boondocking places along the coast of Oregon, but we have seen a few people park on some of the bigger turnouts for some shut-eye.