SP Campground Review – Cape Blanco State Park, Cape Blanco, OR
A gorgeous and spacious first-come-first-serve state park on the S. OR Coast just ~10 miles north of Port Orford. If you love nature & lighthouses it doesn’t get any better than this!
Note/ Review updated as of last stay April, 2016
Link to campground here: Cape Blanco State Park, OR
Link to map location here: Cape Blanco State Park, OR
- Site Quality = 4.5/5
Very nice sites here with just a very few dings. On plus side sites are huge with LOTS of privacy, excellent separation (probably the best privacy of any state park we’ve been to!) and well protected from the crazy Cape Blanco weather. Sites are long paved back-ins (longest site is 81-feet!) with 50Amp/water and very nice “sitting areas” containing picnic table and fire-pit surrounded by green and trees. Sites on east of campground (~A12-A29) are more sunny than sites on heavily treed west side (A43-A53), but all provide excellent privacy and all are first-come-first-serve. The only dings are no full hookups and a some of the sites are unlevel. Also, as is common in Oregon State Parks inner-facing sites (sites on inside of the loop) are at right-angles to the road and not as easy to access for big rigs. Outer-facing sites (sites on outside of the loop) are nicely angled and a better choice for big rigs requiring swing room to get in. The 6-mile road to the campground has a few rough spots, but is paved and easy to drive . Road access inside campground is excellent and sites are easily big enough for any sized rig.
Note/ This campground also has a Horse Corral for those traveling with horses. No hookups, but sites are quite nice and private (in a separate area of camp from RVers). There are also 4 Cabins (very nice, one of which is dog-friendly) which can be rented too. - Facilities = 3.5/5
Good facilities here. Large flush toilets and warm showers with good pressure and kept nicely clean. Only ding is showers have those annoying timer-buttons and spray-heads. On-site picnic areas, river fishing, horse camp and group camp. There is an on-site dump station, but it has been out of order for over 4 years and there don’t seem to be any plans to repair it (= make sure you dump before coming!). - Location = 5/5
Outstanding natural location here. You come to Cape Blanco to see the lighthouse and revel in the fabulous and wild nature of the cape. This is natural beauty in its’ rawest form with lots of empty hiking trails, 2 enormous (endless) beaches, tidepools, forest and all kinds of weather. There are several jaw-dropping view overlooks, picnic areas, and historic Hughes House. You are only ~10 miles from Port Orford which is a lovely old town with lots of historic interest and grocery/eating/shopping/RedBox etc., plus you are ~1/2 hour south of fabulous Bandon. - Pet Friendliness = 5/5
Excellent location for doggie. Lots of space to hang out in camp, great hiking trails and miles (and miles) of free paw-friendly open space to roam on the beach. Most days you’ll be the only person on the beach!
Overall Rating = 4.5
BONUS ALERT: Stunning natural beauty plus gorgeous Cape Blanco Lighthouse on-site!
Summary: As far as natural beauty goes this is hands down our favorite state park campground on the entire OR coast. Cape Blanco is the western most point in OR and it is remote, wild and simply stunning! The campground itself is entirely first-come-first-serve, incredibly spacious with large sites separated by tons of space and privacy. Sites are long paved back-ins with picnic table, fire-pit and 50Amp/water. There is a 6-mile road to get here from Hwy 101 with a few bumps, but once you’re here you will be in your own world. Lots of hiking trails, dramatic cliffs, sweeping views, 2 enormous beaches, rivers, fishing, historic Hughes House and the lovely Cape Blanco Lighthouse. The campground is well protected, but be prepared for wind and crazy weather on your hikes and when that sun bursts out be ready to swoon from the sheer gorgeousness of it all. You are only ~10 miles from the old town of Port Orford which has some good eateries, groceries and historic interest, plus ~1/2 hour south of lovely Bandon. We loved it so much here we came back for 3 years running & volunteered at the lighthouse. This is one of our top-rated stops on the Oregon Coast, and we absolutely recommend it to anyone passing by this area. Don’t miss this special place!
Extra Info: 1-2 bars of 4G LTE on Verizon which was very stable with our Wilson Sleek booster. 1 bar ATT LTE which was variable, but could be stabilized with booster. Total 58 sites (50 amp/water), costing $22/night, all first-come-first-serve. Horse Corral sites cost $17/night. Cabins are $40/night. On-site dump station, but it is currently out of operation (nearest dump $3 at Chevron in Port Orford).
Video Overview: Want to see it in film? Feel free to watch our 6 1/2 minute video overview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smxFPY0vxqw
we loved it there….loved the proximity to many different places along the coast…and we had good weather while we were there….it was after we left the rains started…so I would go during a different month.
I get the impression that Oregon is sort of okay, in a barely-passable way. We may get there. If we keep drifting north, we may get there by winter.
Boy you sure do a THOROUGH review. I feel like I’ve been there myself. Thanks!
Glad you like the review 🙂
Nina
Reblogged this on Wheeling It and commented:
Just a quick update of our campground review for Cape Blanco State Park. I have to admit this may be our absolute favorite campground on the Oregon Coast. There may not be any full hookups here, but as far as privacy, campground size, raw nature & sheer natural beauty it rates a 20 out of 10! This year the campground got one more bonus when Verizon turned on 4G LTE (just this month!), thus vastly improving the internet connection in camp. We love this spot and plan to come back many. many times in the future.
All I can say is THANKS…..
Wonderful, sunny day photos. Personally, I’d have to knock off one point for no reservations, another for no sewer hook-up, and one more for lack of functioning onsite dump station. The lack of the latter would severely limit our stay. My wife has an unnatural aversion to the public facilities! 🙂
By the way, did you ever get a chance to indulge in a Langlois hotdog?
It’s always interesting to see how people rate things. I actually consider it a positive that there are no reservations here since it allows you to drop in anytime (even in the midst of heavily booked summer) without having to have a firm plan. As a fulltimer i always prefer first-come-first-serve sites and can never find enough of them. And for us hookups are a toss-up. We can go 2-3 weeks without them, so they don’t figure heavily in our plans. But that’s why I include details in my reviews…so people can make their own review too 🙂
Never did taste a Langlois hot dog. No gluten free option unfortunately. I did like the market though.
Nina
If there are no reservations, does it fill up every day? We would like to head there with three motorhomes next Sept. Do they turn a lot of people away because it is full?
This Sept the campground has had open spots each day, but has also been filling up by around 2pm each day. They DO have overflow camping in the group and horse area, so if you arrive too late for a main slot you’ll be able to go there.
Nina
We were one of the drop ins last year in July. It was our first stop touring the Oregon coast, and we were fortunate to get one of the beautiful west side spots. We just fell in love with the area and it ended up being our favorite Oregon campground. Your review is excellent, and thanks for all the great blogs. I blog while we are traveling and appreciate your site, the details and the sharing.
Thank you Brady and Charlene! Sure happy you liked this spot as much as we did.
Nina
Hi:
I was just wondering…in any of these places, do you do the extended stay or are you on the move constantly? My husband and I are just a few months away from being full time gypsies….lol. I love this blog, I just found it this morning at 9 am and it is 5 pm in Texas and I have been on this blog all day. So thank you!
We generally like to stay at least a week at each place we go (one of the big mistakes we made in our first year RVing was moving TOO frequently and almost burning ourselves out), but the places we REALLY love we’ll find a way to stay longer. Here at Cape Blanco, for example there’s a 14-day stay limit, but we love it so much here that we typically stay for 1-2 months by volunteer hosting at the Lighthouse. This year will be our 3rd year hosting here in summer.
Nina
Finally crossed Cape Blanco off the bucket list. I have been following your blog for several years and so much wanted to experience this place. Last week, four couples plus my husband and I and our doggies stayed at the campground for four days. We were lucky to get a spot on the west side that provided a filtered view of the ocean. However, not all of us were able to find spots together due to the popularity of this campground. It filled up fast and early which we didn’t expect since our stay took place after the kids returned to school. The rough spots in the 6-mile road to the campground are still there and the dump station is still not working. Dings in my book but still very worth the time there. We had rain and fog but that did not dampen our spirits (pardon the pun) and enjoyment of the Cape. The lighthouse and the Hughes House were wonderful to explore when we couldn’t be on the beach. Overall, we will surely be back! Thanks for the wonderful descriptions and ratings of the places you stay.
Soooo glad you got to enjoy it! Thanks for reporting back on your experience.
Nina
Thanks for the encouragement to go out of our way. We just checked in for 10 days. The CG host is a rock hound who shared his best agate spots. If you are going through WA one of our favorite spots is the RV Park at the Swinomish Casino next to Anacortes. It’s right on Padilla Bay and there is a great nature trail near the wildlife refuge. Genny
Oh fabulous!! Enjoy our stay (I’m a bit jealous, admittedly) and say hello to the lighthouse hosts from me. I soooo love that place!
Nina
Thank you for this exciting and detailed post. Would you be so kind to clarify two things, please? 1. Where and how far away do you dump your tanks? 2. With the update of Verizon 4g LTE you mentioned in your post, is it still only 1 bar? Thank you!
This review was updated just last year so it’s all current. There are dump stations in Port Orford and Bandon. Look on Sanidumps.com to find then.
Nina
It”s 2023 and sites are reservable now………not much else has changed
Ahhhh thank you for that update.
Nina