South Beach State Park, Oregon (A-)

On our first camping trip to the Oregon coast we decided to try South Beach State Park in Newport, Oregon. Neither my husband or I had been there before and weren't sure what to expect. We stayed 3 nights. We loved so many things about this park. There were only a few negatives. Let's get to it! (Pictures at the end)

The Good

1. The sites were spacious and had long RV pads. There were plenty of places to put a tent. The sites were clean and well maintained. We rode our bikes through the rest of the park and didn't see any loops that were bad, some just offered different amenities like a playground, or closer to a path to the beach. 

2. The bathrooms were some of the best we've seen at any campground. They were located in the middle of the loops and close to almost all sites. We never had to wait to use the shower and they even had a special needs restroom/shower. 

3. Each site offered water and electric hookups. There are no full hook-up sites at this campground, except for the Camp Host sites. However, there are gray water drains that you can use close to most of the bathrooms. We used a bucket and emptied off some of our gray water that way. 

4. The trail to the beach was AMAZING! We had one very close to our site and it was a short 1/4 mile paved trail directly to the beach. We rode our bikes and locked them up in the bike racks next to the beach access. It would also be a very easy walk with no hills and a great view of trees and plants along the way. My husband took off for a long ride on his bike and says if you like to ride, this is a great place to go!

5. There are many different kinds of activities for all ages. There is a Jr. Ranger program, interpretive center, Frisbee golf, great trails for bike riding or hiking, multiple playground structures, very close to the Newport Aquarium and much, much more! 

6. The beach was perfection. Soft, clean, beautiful sand. Great views. Very little wind, no rocks. A+ Oregon coast beach! 

The Bad

1. The dump station was available and free but at least a 45+ minute wait each time we drove by.  There were probably 6-10 RV's waiting in line always. They really need to add another dump station or 2. There is room to do it!

2. Lots, and lots of people. This was a very large campground. We were laughing when we saw there are loops A-I. That's 9 (!!!!) loops throughout the campground. I have never stayed in a campground this large.

3. There aren't a lot of trees within the campground. It's pretty open and not a lot of privacy, no matter which loop you are in. 

4. Full hook-ups would really add a lot to this park for RV campers. We didn't want to break everything down, go dump and set back up again. So that limited us to about 3 days max. 

The Ugly

Nothing ugly! 

Overall, and after consulting with my better half, we have decided to give this campground an A-. We really did enjoy ourselves. Riding to the beach and playing multiple times a day was just perfect. Having access to restaurants, crabbing and other activities was great. It wasn't quite "camping" but it was a very cheap place to stay on the Oregon coast and better than a hotel! 

Bathroom, just across the road from our site.

Back half of our site. And Grandma and Grandpa :)

RV pad, room to park 2 trucks and tent trailer.

Beach walkway and back racks (on either side)

Beach boardwalk

Crabbing just down the road on the public pier in Newport

Crabbing. All too small, but we had fun!

Memaloose State Park, Oregon (C+)

On our trip to the Oregon coast we needed a place in the middle to crash for a night. We decided to try Memaloose State Park. It was right off of the freeway just east of Portland, Oregon. I didn't take any pictures of this park, nor did we explore much but I'll make a few brief comments about our experience.

The Good
This is a great place to pull over if you need to crash for a night. It's clean, spacious and has full amenities (showers, etc.). There are big mature trees and grass. Also a play structure for kiddos. The campsites were level and paved with plenty of spaces for tents and long RV pads. We didn't have a reservation and were able to have our pick of 10+ spots on a Thursday night. We had one interaction with the camp hosts and they were very, very nice. The dump station was convenient and easy to use.

The Bad
The lady at the check in booth was very rude. I think she was a State employee and she had a major attitude. A lot of the grass was dried out but they were doing their best to water it. This isn't a place to camp, only to stay for a night while you are traveling through. It is VERY loud here and not a peaceful quiet camping experience. I can't imagine wanting to stay more than 1 night unless you sleep like the dead. The campground is bordered by the interstate on one side and a train track on the other. The trains went through all night long. At approximately 330am one of them started blowing their horn multiple times just as they were beside the park. There is no vehicle or other crossing there and no reason for them to do that other than they were being jerks. This isn't the parks fault, they are making good use of a difficult piece of property that would otherwise go unused.

The Ugly
Because of the loud interstate traffic and train whistles/rumbles, our children would not sleep. A little over 2 hours of crying and just being angry. Not a great first night of camping for the kids.

Overall I give this campground a C+. If it were in a different (quiet) location it would be great! The river is beautiful and the trees were big. Again, if you just need a place to sleep en route, this would be a good choice!