I recently started a new job, two of them actually. I have gone down to the one that will work best for my family. However since i have very few skills and no relevant experience to a real job Im back to working ion bar, that means weekends. SO our outdoor adventures have been killed for a time, which sucks to seriously no end.
But i didn't want to leave my readers out in the dark (Hi Mom!!) so I decided I could post a few places we'd been in the past with some reviews. I realized that most of my posts were free sites and they don't always work for car campers, but we do our share of state parks, we just try limit the amount we spend on camping, an activity that by all rights should be free. So a couple of reviews of pay campgrounds we camped at...
Cape Disappointment State Park, in Washington. Beautiful coast along the Pacific North West and this was no exception. The park itself had plenty of beach access and even had a really groovy bluegrass band playing in the park the weekend we stayed. We drove out here, like most places we visit, on a whim. The website said they had primitive campsites for $12 a night, they were near the ocean, that was enough for us. However when we got there and went to check in we were told that the $12 sites were hiker/biker sites, and that the cheapest basic site was 29!!! A NIGHT!!! TO PUT UP A TENT??? But we paid it. The sites were really close together and there was little to no privacy. This was a "what you expect" at state park camping spot. They had free hot showers and flush toilets, all sites have picnic tables and fire rings and of course you can buy firewood from the host. There was a camp store with limited and overpriced items. There were a couple of towns near by to visit. All in all it was nice but tooooo much money to camp. I mean we could have rented a shady motel for the same money.
Beverly Beach, in Oregon. Oh SOOOO Beautiful. We were there in off season so we had the whole of the tent camping area to ourselves, just about. The RV section was fully reserved. We went when it was still a little chilly and a little rainy. That doesn't stop us, an extra layer and a set of dry gear, cooking sucks in the rain though......
We were actually on our way to a freebie spot I had scouted on the net but after taking the day in and letting Atreyu play in the sand we didn't have the heart to put him back in the car for another hour when this spot was right here. If I recall it correctly it was $17 a night for tent camping this time of year. They had a small office/interperative center/gift shop where the nicest old guy worked. We spent the evening friday strolling on the beach, I went back wasted to listen to the waves after everyone else had passed out. Saturday we had coffee on the sand and came back to a hot breakfast cooked open fire by yours truly. I had seen eggs and bacon (in a paper bag!!!) method online and decided to adapt it for my camp pot. Worked great!! All day Sat we chilled on the beach, napped, strolled through the nature trail, ate snacks and laid around reading: it was wonderful. The Campsite was a 3 minute stroll from the ocean and you could hear and smell the salt water as you fell asleep. Sunday we booked out early cause it was still rainy and it was starting to get kind of..... wet. We hit a pig n pancake, saw another beach in groovy little coastal town and headed home. The caveat to this place was; I would never want to go here when it's tent busy, during peak season the campsite are right on top of one another, of course they're separated by a sort of natural barrier, but waaaaaay to close for stretching out a bit. Same accommodations you'd expect at any state park, showers, fire pits, picnic tables and firewood available from the camp host.
Deschutes River Recreation Area. This was a gem. We passed a bunch of spots along the way here specifically because I wanted this spot. We head out here because it is in the high desert and it was supposed to pour anywhere west of the cascades that weekend, so we headed east. The campsites weren't amazing, a field with a number of parking spots and fire pits and picnic tables. NO shower for the tent sites! But spots were only $5!!!! We woke up in the cusp of a valley, on either side of us the spring flowers of the desert cropped out in all directions. It was beautiful, like a painting. We were camped less than 150 feet from the Deschutes river, amazing water, right near where it meets the Hood river. You'd could get cheap supplies from the host, but there was no town near for shopping or dining. Although there was a corner off an exit to the highway near by where you could have your choice of truck stop convenience stores and fast food joints. The park is most famous for a hie that follows the river into the desert (start early and bring lots of water and sunscreen) and for a bike road that leads to some cool destinations, about an 11 mile ride, I didn't bring my bike, don't make the same mistake.
Well I think thats probably enough for now, I want to save a couple of ideas for another time and stuff on the internet should be kept as short and sweet a s possible.
Pro tip of the day: Off season many of these places are not policed and have no host, not always the case but often, now I'm not saying you shouldn't pay, but it's possible no one will ever know you were even there. #Ninjacamping
****ninjacamping is not a trademarked idea and I'll remind you that you are already paying for this place to be built and operated with tax dollars, a place it might totally be free to camp if they hadn't built a state park there....
