Camp site suggestions West Coast

[paulj]

Generally BLM lands are grass lands and desert, that is, eastern California, OR, WA. But largely because of logging and mining claims reverting back to the government during the depression, there is a good chunk of forest BLM land in southern Oregon. So the coastal mountains are mix of BLM, FS, state, and private.

For example, BLM runs the river rafting on the lower Rogue River (Grants Pass to Gold Beach). But I think the FS runs more campgrounds in the coastal mountains than BLM. There's even a shore line FS campground at Cape Perpetua.

Reserveanerica handles reservable FS campgrounds.

In coastal NCalif and S Oregon I have camped at:
- Gold Bluffs (CA statepartk)
- Patrick Ck FS - inland on US199 a ways from Cresent City
- SP near Brooks
- a very nice FS campground on the lower Rogue, inland from Gold Beach toward Agness. (From Agness you can drive the notorious Bearcamp Rd to Grants Pass, or north to Powers)
- Cape Blanco SP
- dispersed camp spot near the Applegate Reservoir south of Medford (this was on a busy Memorial Day weekend).

Check the FS district for camping options in SW Oregon.

I just looked at a Reserveamerica map. They handle FS campgrounds such as Patrick Ck in N Calif, but in SW Oregon they only handle lookouts. They also handle a lot of FS campgrounds in the Cascades. And a bit further north on the OR coast they handle Siuslaw NF campgrounds, some close to the coast.

 

[Scenic WonderRunner]

You can also check out the websites for the CA. OR, and WA. State Park Systems. There are many campgrounds that run on a first come first serve basis. You can also check for "dispersed camping".

Search the sites....

http://www.parks.ca.gov/


CAPE BLANCO STATE PARK

OR....First-come, first-served camping

http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/PARKS/index.shtml


WA. State Parks....



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[paulj]

Though to get a first-come-first-serve site on a busy holiday weekend, you might have to arrive Thur or Friday early afternoon, and plan on staying put till Monday. That can apply to dispersed camping, since often the better sites are quickly taken by knowledgeable locals. In heavily forested coastal forests, the number of usable dispersed sites is limited.

On that Memorial 2004 weekend, I first got a FS site near LaPine on the east side of the Cascades. I had just plugged a tire leak, and didn't want to be too far from town in cased it didn't hold. Saturday I drove to the Crater Lake area, and we had lunch at Lemolo Lake FS campground. Since the campground was nearly full, and we liked the site we found for lunch, I opted to register for the night right then. We spent the afternoon touring waterfalls in the area.

Sunday we drove SW to the Medford area. I thought from the DeLourme Atlas that I'd have a chance of finding FS sites around the Applegate Lake (almost on the CA border), but the best was a dispersed site - a short spur off the main FS road. No table or pottie, and not much of anywhere to walk, but otherwise nice and not too much traffic on the road above us.

Monday I crossed Bearcamp to the coast, my main reason for visiting this part of the state. The James Kim death had occurred the previous November, and I was curious. There was a lot of end-of-the-weekend river rafting shuttle traffic, but the campgrounds had lots of space.

 

[rynosurf]

How about the National Forests? You can get an Adventure Pass($30 for the year) and stay in Los Padres. There are a bunch of primitive sites and a few you can drive to http://www.mtycounty.com/pgs-parks/los-padres.html.

 

[Scenic WonderRunner]

If the beaches are full, you can get creative and look inland to find little known areas.

Example....

Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest



Just inland from Gold Beach Elko or any dispersed site along the way.

Elko Campground

http://www.eugenecarsey.com/camp/siskiyou/elko.htm



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[paulj]

Just inland from Gold Beach Elko or any dispersed site along the way.
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Elko is an example of a more remote, small FS campground.

The one I stayed at, after Memorial day is Quosanta, with state park like facilities. It would have heavier use.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/rogue-siskiyou/recreation/camping/campgrounds/siskiyouarea/quosatana.shtml

 

[Scenic WonderRunner]

Another inland idea. Just east of Brookings OR.

Redwood Bar on the Chetco River.....

"Located on the Recreation portion of the Wild and Scenic Chetco River, about a 1/2 hour drive from the coastal town of Brookings, Oregon. Enjoy summer fun in the crystal clear waters of this outstanding river. Picnicking, sunbathing, swimming, floating and other forms of non-motorized water sports are possible".



If it's full, just camp at any dispersed campsite that you find along the FS roads. The key is finding the Forest Service Roads!



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[Scenic WonderRunner]

Camping in the Redwoods....CA.


http://www.redwoods.info/showrecord.asp?id=2796


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[Darby Darrow]

OK we may be moving it back a couple of days to avoid the big weekend.

We will probably stay at my sister's house in Simi Valley and use that as the jumping off point after the 4th.

Day 1: Looking to drive from Simi to just north of San Fransisco area

Day 2: SF to Crescent City area (looking at evldave's suggestions

Day 3: CC area to Astoria area

Day 4: Astoria to Anacortes

Each of the areas being approximate based on responses here. Any revised suggestions?

 

[coolfeet]

I would suggest takin 1 (pch) up as far as you can. Theres plenty of places off that hwy to camp. Big Sur, other state parks. Los Burros rd is right off hwy 1 near pfeifer state park. I jsut spent 2 days there. There are no reservations, and no charge. Just find a spot. los Burros rd goes further up and there are some great spots up top.

Nice campsite! I live in the Bay Area and now I know where to camp with a million dollar view for free. Thanks