Oregon State Parks....campsite sizes?

[texasdiver]

Hi all.

My wife and I are looking at relocating back to Oregon from Texas. I grew up in Oregon in the 70s and did a lot of camping at state parks along the coast and in other parts of the state in my younger years. But always car camping or backpacking. So I'm pretty familiar with the park system and have my favorite parks.

What I don't know because it has never been an issue is how large the campsites are and how accommodating they are to larger 5th wheels in say the 37-38' range. I'm trying to play ahead and make sure something I get for this year in Texas will still be usable for camping mainly in state parks in the Northwest.

Any comments? Is there a certain size I want to stay under for maximum use of public campgrounds in the Northwest? Does anyone know of any other sites that are more dedicated to camping in this region of the US where that information might be more available?

Thanks!

[2gypsies1]

We've traveled the Oregon coast many times and our 40' motorhome fits in quite a few state parks. Using public parks are always our first choice - national parks, state parks, forest service, COE, county and city parks. We had no problems with our 40'. I would suggest getting a RV that is comfortable for you and one you can live in for a long period of time. Big holding tanks are a big plus especially with children.

We have never HAD to stay at private RV parks because of our size.

Look at particular state parks on their reservation site and you'll be able to get an idea of what size RV will fit in the park. The site will give the length of the parking space. Tents are very doable but if you take long trips it becomes a chore sometimes, especially in rainy areas such as the Oregon coast. You'll always be packing it away wet. For a weekend it would be great.

[texasdiver]

cpaulsen wrote:
I also host at Oregon State Parks and have found almost all have a few spots that will take over 35 foot rigs. You may have to park the tow vehicle in extra vehicle parking but they are usually very close to the sites.

What size would you recommend we stay under for maximum weekend and holiday use of Oregon State parks?

I'm thinking of selling my popup when we leave Texas next year and buying something hard sided for Oregon use but don't want to wind up having to stay at KOA and other crowded private campgrounds because we overbought. We are 15 years from retirement so for at least the next 15 years we'll be competing with the rest of the state for sites during prime weekend and holiday dates. Maybe we are better off getting something smaller like a Casita and kicking the kids outside to sleep in a tent or perhaps in the truck bed with a truck camper of some sort

[cpaulsen]

I also host at Oregon State Parks and have found almost all have a few spots that will take over 35 foot rigs. You may have to park the tow vehicle in extra vehicle parking but they are usually very close to the sites.

[texasdiver]

Thanks guys. It really seems like it defeats the point of living in Oregon if one is forced into staying in KOA type campgrounds next to freeway interchanges because one owns too large of a 5th wheel to get into the nice parks.

But it sounds like a modest 5er in the 30-35' range will about hit the sweet spot for comfort and keeping one's options open. The problem is with the RV shows when one goes with the wife and she sees what a 42' model looks like inside with all the residential stainless appliances and 5 slide-outs.

The last time I did the Oregon coast parks was 2 years ago but that was with my daughter on a tandem and we tent-camped so I never paid attention to the sizes. We stayed at maybe a dozen different parks between Astoria and San Francisco, mostly camping in the hiker-biker sections where they always accommodate you no matter how crowded the rest of the campground is.

[hotjag1]

We have stayed at several beach st parks in Oregon. When we had our 33' MH, it was never a problem fitting into a camp space. With the 40', there were several sites that we could not fit in, or even get around the loop(because of trees or rocks) to get into a site. I would recommend not going over 36'.

[Wishbone51]

downtheroad wrote:
The reservation system for Oregon State Parks details the length of each site in every park....and shows a picture of the site.

Oregon State Parks Home Page

Yes. That's very convenient. I'm booked at Ainsworth State Park in the Columbia Gorge next weekend, and used that feature to determine which campsite I would fit in, and be able to park my tow vehicle as well.

[RoyB]

If no clear camp ground map is available for us to look at before making reservations we sometime will zoom in with GOOGLE SATELLITE VIEW of the camp ground and look for our selves.

We have found that most reservation places have great info about the lot sizes and many include lot photos... It is hard to identify the exact lot but you can at least know which side of the campground is best for you.

Roy Ken

[goducks10]

A good example of an Oregon coast St park is South Beach St park near Newport Or. They have loops from A-G. Most of the loops have outer and inner spots. All the inner spots are relatively short and would barely accommodate a 16' TT and SUV. The outer spots are a lot longer and will accommodate much larger trailers/MH. Like mentions above no one size fits all. It's best to search the state park CG system and see where you want to stay then look specifically at that CG.

[rr2254545]

You will be fine we have camped in many Oregon state parks in a 35-37 ft motor home

We have spent 10 weeks on the coast the last two winters - as you might know Oregon State parks has many full hookup sites - my home state has none at all
Oregon State Parks - north to south
Park Full Hookup Electric Near City Region
Fort Stevens 170 300 Astoria North
Nehalem Bay 0 265 Manzanita North
Cape Lookout 35 1 Tillamook North
Devils Lake 25 5 Lincoln City North

Beverly Beach 53 75 North of Newport Central
South Beach 0 225 South of Newport Central
Beachside 0 30 Waldport Central
Washburne 50 5 Florence Central
Honeymoon 45 120 South of Florence Central
Umpqua Lighthouse 10 9 Winchester Bay Central

Tugman 0 94 South of Reedsport South
Sunset Bay 30 35 Coos Bay South
Bullards Beach 100 82 Bandon South
Cape Blanco 0 50 North of Port Orford South
Humbug Mountain 0 40 South of Port Orford South
Harris Beach 35 50 Brookings South

[MarkTwain]

texasdiver wrote:
Hi all.

My wife and I are looking at relocating back to Oregon from Texas. I grew up in Oregon in the 70s and did a lot of camping at state parks along the coast and in other parts of the state in my younger years. But always car camping or backpacking. So I'm pretty familiar with the park system and have my favorite parks.

What I don't know because it has never been an issue is how large the campsites are and how accommodating they are to larger 5th wheels in say the 37-38' range. I'm trying to play ahead and make sure something I get for this year in Texas will still be usable for camping mainly in state parks in the Northwest.

Any comments? Is there a certain size I want to stay under for maximum use of public campgrounds in the Northwest? Does anyone know of any other sites that are more dedicated to camping in this region of the US where that information might be more available?

Thanks!

Look up "Travel Life Directory" on the web for each of the parks you are interested in. It will tell you size of the RV sites.

[amandasgramma]

I agree with the others. We're at Diamond Lake Campground in our 34 foot rig. This pull through could accommodate a 40 foot rig. Site right across from us barely would hold a 20 footer. So check those details on each site. As of this weekend, I highly recommend reservations........:)

[downtheroad]

The reservation system for Oregon State Parks details the length of each site in every park....and shows a picture of the site.

Oregon State Parks Home Page

[donn0128]

Like any other park system it varies. We camp host for OPRD, and I will tell you, there is no one size fits all in the parks. Where we are going Monday there are sites that can fit a 40 foot MH, and there are sites that barely accomodate a single car and tent. OPRD parks are mostly older, meaning at least 20 years old. Ther were generally not designed for the large RVsmfound today. But having said that, we have not had a problem finding sites for our 35 foot fifth wheel. Coast parks tend to be more closed in than say central and eastern Oregon. But even on the coast you can find decent sized spots with a little research.