Oregon/Washington Spring or Fall

[DougE]

I'm a solo traveler, retired, and have no time of year restrictions. Since my departure point is in south central Texas, planning enough to make reservations on the Oregon/Washington coast is problematic. I want to avoid cold weather too. When would be the best time to roam on an unscripted basis? I have done the California coast this way changing campgrounds every other day and thoroughly enjoyed it.

[stevenicol]

jhlady wrote:
Doug,

I would recommend mid-September through mid-October. Warm days and cool nights with less chance of rain than in the spring and once the kids go back to school most of the coast is free and clear.

Even the North Coast is free and clear!

[Naio]

Fall is dry, spring is wet. (Tho, as frmAloha said, things are becoming less predictable.)

Once you get there, you can stay put on weekends (pick a spot thursday or early friday) or make a res a few days ahead, as you like. Weekdays should be no problem.

[2gypsies1]

September is a very nice time, along with May.

You're retired and have a small RV, why do you feel you need to make a ton of reservations?

We've traveled the Oregon coast in spring, summer and fall without reservations for our 40' motorhome. Of course, we don't require 'resorts' and don't even like RV parks. We stayed in the state parks and even a few national forest campsites on the coast. Some parks don't even accept reservations. If you pull in early morning you can even get cancellations.

Try going without reservations. You'll be surprised how much more relaxing it is. If you want to stay somewhere longer, you can. If you want to leave the next day, you can. You don't have to shuffle around your planned reservations.

If we had to make reservations for every night of our 16 years of constant travel we would have never traveled full-time.

Some parks we've stayed in without reservations are: Beverly Beach, Bullards Beach, Cape Blanco, Carl Washburne, Harris Beach and Fort Stevens.

[frmAloha]

Although the weather is becoming less and less predictable, fall is usually beautiful and still warm. Kids here go back to school right after Labor Day so that's the time I choose to travel.

[Jpjlauer]

ScottG wrote:
Definitely spring.

ScottG, why spring? We are planning on visiting Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. Leaving Indiana after Labor Day. Just wondering why you say spring is better than fall.

I have a question for you unrelated to this thread. I will PM you.

[jhlady]

Doug,

I would recommend mid-September through mid-October. Warm days and cool nights with less chance of rain than in the spring and once the kids go back to school most of the coast is free and clear. The only possibly exception will be weekends and the closer you are to the Portland Metro area. I would assume Washington will be pretty much the same with the same proximity to Seattle issues.

Hope this helps.

John

[accsys]

We are currently in Lincoln City, OR for a month. We made reservations six months ago but had to split the month between three different sites to get it all. A couple pulled in next to us last night wanting to stay two nights but only one night was available. They called another place up the coast and got their last site for tonight. Of course this is the busy time of the year but we have noted many more RVs on the road this year. The campground we are in fills up every night - 80 sites. Unless things change, I think many who like to free-wheel without reservations are going to have to take what's left in an area.

[MaverickBBD]

Spring might be a bit warmer. Stress might. But the activity level seems to be on the increase. The jet stream hasn't changed to a summer track yet. Fall is my favorite. Weather can still be summer like on occasion. Everyone is settling into post Labor Day routine. There is a H.S. football game in almost every town you stop.

[ScottG]

Definitely spring.

[Tom_Barb]

It's a mild 70 degrees today on the island. come on up.