SP Campground Review – South Beach State Park, Newport, OR
A very pleasant and lively state park just south of Newport, OR on the north-central coast.
Link to campground here: South Beach State Park, OR
Link to map location here: South Beach State Park, OR
- Site Quality = 4/5
Very decent site quality here. Sites are paved back-in with 30Amp/water, good separation, and nice grassy “sitting areas” with picnic table and fire-pit. There are several loops (A-G) as well as a separate “primitive” area best-suited for smaller rigs plus a small hiker/biker campground. In our mind, the best sites are the beach-facing sites. Although there are no actual beach-views and these sites do see more road traffic than the “back of loop” areas, they back-onto a large, open, grassy space which makes for very sunny & enormously spacious “sitting areas” right behind your RV. Plus, you are closer to the trails for the beach. Some of back-of-loop sites are more wooded and private, but don’t have as much open space. - Facilities = 4/5
Generally nice facilities. Clean toilets and individual shower stalls with separate clothing area, good water pressure & temperature and *no* timer buttons. Only slight ding is that they do have those annoying spray-heads. LOTS of other facilities all around the campground incl. day-use areas, picnic areas, playground, biking trails etc. On-site dump station. - Location = 5/5
This park is in a great location. It’s on the west-side (beach-side) of Hwy 101 (so, no highway to cross) with short 1/4-1/2 mile trails from the campground loops to a lovely, long beach and view of the jetty. You’re only a few miles from the Newport Aquarium, the Rogue Brewery and downtown Newport, plus within spitting distance of the Yaquina Bay and only a short drive to Yaquina Head Lighthouse. Lots and lots to do in both the park (walking, biking, beach) plus the surrounding area. - Pet Friendliness = 5/5
Another great doggie park. Good space to hang-out in camp, plus only short 1/2 mile hike to the paw-friendly beach. There are also several additional on-site trails, including a nice path all around the campground. Poo bags provided.
Overall Rating = 4.5
BONUS ALERT = Camp within 1/2 mile of the beach and just south of Newport, OR
Summary: Yet another great Oregon State Park! This State Park is set just a few miles south of Newport on a quiet shoreline next to the jetty. Sites are generally very good. Paved back-in, 30Amp/water hookups and good “sitting areas”. The nicest sites IMHO are the beach-facing sites which back onto a large, open grassy area and give lovely views of the surrounding trees. Location is also excellent. There are pleasant short 1/4-1/2 mile hiking/biking trails (mostly paved except for the last portion) to the long beach and jetty and you are within spitting distance of the Newport Aquarium, downtown Newport and the two excellent lighthouses in the area. The only real ding I could give this place is that it does tend to be a popular and busy campground especially when school is out for the kiddies. This means more people around, plus a fair amount of traffic on the main campground road. Despite this we really enjoyed our site and found it much more pleasant than Beverly Beach State Park (just north of town) where we stayed 2 years ago. A lovely campground and we would certainly come back.
Extra Info: Decent, solid 3 bars of 3G Verizon here. Sites cost $27 in summer, $22 in off-season all reservable (225 30 Amp/water sites). There is also a separate primitive area plus biker/hiker camp area. On-site dump station.
Note/ You can get a pic of each and every campsite at this park at campsitephotos.com
why do you like this park better than the one you used last time?
Sue
Two main reasons.
First South Beach is on the west side of the hwy whereas Beverly Beach is on the east side. So, at Beverly you have to cross under 101 to walk to the beach, plus the beach there is right next to the road. South Beach is on the other side of 101 with a much quieter beach. No hwy noise and much more pleasant walk to the beach.
Secondly the sites at Beverly are somewhat overgrown and dark, whereas South Beach has more open sites and green space. There’s also a bunch more trails at South Beach.
Overall the vibe at South Beach was just nicer 🙂
Nina
Appreciate your thorough and detailed campground reviews. The link to CampsitePhotos is an added bonus. However, we do have one personal preference that influences our priorities, sewer hookups. My better half prefers to take her showers “in-house”. Our trailer holding tanks are only 30/30/30, so extended stays are problematic from a gray water standpoint. I do have an 18 gallon Thetford Smart-tote, which we used in Yosemite and Zion, where the dump stations were within walking distance. I thought about rigging up a pump to transfer shower/tub water into toilet, but that would just delay the inevitable! All of this is by way of saying that in the Newport area we prefer Beverly Beach over South Beach because of the availability of full hookups. We also prefer a more “wooded” setting. Agree completely with your opinion of “annoying” shower heads. Also, on the subject of campground showers, the only ones available in Yosemite are pay showers at Curry Village, which we never found/used, and there are none in Zion, although they are replacing all the old restrooms with brand new buildings, but without showers. Bummer!
Good point about the hookups. I have to admit it’s one of the things we don’t rank too highly. I always mention what kind of hookups are available in the review, but they don’t make too much of an impact on the final numbers rating. We have a 60 gallon grey tank which lasts us 2-3 weeks so I rarely think about it 🙂 But, I know that for some folks hookups will tip the balance on where they stay. This park, as well as Nehalem Bay (where we last stayed) are both water/electric only…and Beverly Beach definitely has the advantage of full hookups.
Nina
P.S. I agree on the showers. Since we boondock a lot in winter we’ve gotten very good at fast/short showers, but it’s a bummer to pay for partial hookups and then not have showers available too. Our current park (Harbor Vista) has water/electric and pay showers only. That will definitely “ding” the review for us.