With summer just around the corner, now is the time to think about planning those camping trips, and if you’d like to fall asleep to the sounds of the waves, there are some amazing places to camp on the beach in Washington and Oregon, including these.
Salt Creek Recreation Area, Port Angeles, Washington
Salt Creek Recreation Area offers some of the most impressive views over the Strait of Juan de Fuca and its campground was once named the very best in Clallam County. It’s the ideal spot for outdoor adventure and relaxation, where you can explore some of the Northwest’s most exceptional tide pools at low tide and view sea urchins, starfish, anemones, sea cucumbers and more. There are nearly 100 campsites, hiking trails, a marine sanctuary, five shoreline access points as well as horseshoe courts, a baseball field, volleyball and basketball.
Second Beach, La Push, Olympic National Park
Second Beach, Olympic National Park, Washington
The beaches of LaPush are some of the most breathtaking on Earth, and Second Beach, accessed by an easy .7-mile hike, is considered the crown jewel on Washington’s coast. Here you can pitch your tent right on the sand, taking in views of rugged headlands, natural arches, bald eagles, seals and more.
Ozette petroglyphs
Ozette Campground, Olympic National Park, Washington
This coastal campground is rugged and often muddy, but it not only offers the chance to enjoy lots of tranquility and gorgeous beach scenery, but one of the most incredible hikes in the state. The Ozette Triangle Loop is just a stone’s throw from where you’ll pitch your tent and provides access to some of the most remote coastline in the nation. One of its highlights is the Makah petroglyphs, etched right into the Wedding Rocks, a cluster of boulders that hug the shore about halfway along the coast. These sacred artifacts predate European settlement in the Northwest. Along the way, you’ll see gorgeous sea stacks, sea lions, sea otters, and, of course, beautiful ocean scenery too. If you’re lucky, you may even see a whale or two. A little over three miles follows the shoreline where you can look for starfish, watch the oystercatchers search for their meal and gaze up into the towering trees where bald eagles are often perched.
Pacific Beach State Park, Pacific Beach, Washington
This state park on Washington’s southern coast is a 10-acre camping park with 2,300 feet of breathtaking ocean shoreline. There are 18 standard campsites, 42 utility sites and two yurts – 22 of the sites are right on the waterfront.
Cape Disappointment State Park
Cape Disappointment, Ilwaco, Washington
Cape Disappointment is a 1,882-acre camping park on the Long Beach Peninsula. It’s fronted by the Pacific Ocean near the Columbia River and features yurts, cabins and even historic vacation homes. Visitors can also enjoy hiking through old-growth forest, ocean tidelands and saltwater marshes, as well as clam digging, fishing and kite flying.
Peter Iredale Wreck at Fort Stevens State Park
Fort Stevens State Park, Warrenton, Oregon
In Northern Oregon near Astoria, Fort Stevens State Park offers a family-friendly campground as well as a shipwreck, and old military fort, bike trails and a long expanse of beach where the Columbia River meets the Pacific. There are more than 500 sites, including yurts and cabins, making it easy to snag an ideal spot.
South Beach State Park, Newport, Oregon
Located just south of Newport, South Beach State Park hosts a large campground along the central coast that’s provides an ideal base for families with children, with so many kid-friendly attractions nearby, including the Oregon Coast Aquarium and the Hatfield Science Center along Newport’s Bayfront.
In addition to offering an outstanding campground, the park offers fishing off of the jetty, crabbing in Yaquina Bay, beach-combing, and kayak tours in the summer. Sites incl. The full-service campground features 227 sites with electrical and water hook-ups, 60 large tent sites, a hiker and biker camp, and 27 yurts.
Honeyman State Park
Honeyman State Park, Florence
Honeyman State Park is located just a few miles south of Florence, and hosts a large campground that serves as a popular playground for dune riders and sandboarders. There are two miles of magnificent dunes that separate the park from the ocean, as well as two freshwater lakes that are popular for boating and swimming.
Sunset Bay State Park
If you’re hoping to cool off in the water during the warm summer months, Sunset Bay State Park is the place to go. Not only is the campground, which fronts the bay, especially picturesque, it’s home to the Oregon coasts only true swimming beach. Hiking, boating and fishing are available too.