Camping Is For Everyone!: 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!