WINDY COVE “B”, SALMON HARBOR, WINCHESTER BAY, OREGON

Our Opinion: Neutral.  Salmon Harbor/Winchester Bay area is fun for RV’ers; this is the most reasonably priced FHU campground in the immediate area.

Date of Stay: September 28-30, 2009

Weather During Stay:  Cool, some heavy rain one night.  Partly cloudy most of the time.

Sites: Windy Cove is a Douglas County campground tucked under the bluff on the south edge of the Salmon Harbor camping area.  Two camping loops hold 40 FHU sites and 29 no hookup sites.  We stayed in a FHU site and didn’t explore the no hookup sites.  22 of the FHU sites are reservable (541/957-7001); $10 additional fee to reserve.  The remaining sites are first-come, first-served.

Full hookup sites (30 amps) are arranged in three rows on a narrow strip of land nestled between Salmon Harbor Drive and a high, forested hillside.  Sites are reasonably spacious with campfire pits and picnic tables.  Restrooms with showers.  On-site office.  Roads and sites are paved.

Rate: $20 per night for 30 amp FHU.  Add $3 for extensive cable TV if desired.

Phone/radio/TV: Strong Verizon phones and aircard signal (broadband).  Satellite TV will not work in most sites (hence the cable TV for $3 more per night).  Didn’t try TV antenna.  NPR available on 89.1 and others.

Elevation/Landscape/Terrain: Flat, level parking at sea level.  We were in the front row, closest to the road, with expansive views of the water and marina.  The two rows behind had less spectacular views, with the center row facing away from the water towards the steep hillside.

Lighting/Noise: Quiet at night.  Lighting is reasonably unobtrusive. 

Favorite Sites: Sites 29 through 40 are in the front row, with the best views.  We had site 29, on the east end of the row, one of the few where a TV satellite will get a signal. 

Hiking/Walking: Great walking around the huge area of the Salmon Harbor Marina and the small town of Winchester Bay.  Dunes and a lighthouse nearby.

Comments: Windy Cove Campground has one drawback for me: it is nestled at the base of a steep hillside which effective blocks sunshine much of the day.  This area is cool or cold WAY more often than it is hot, so sunshine is an amenity - and much of it is lost in this campground.  Winchester Bay has a GREAT Thai restaurant, Pah Tong’s Thai Cuisine.  Call 541/271-1750 for reservations or take out.  Closed Tuesday.  Highly recommended by us for lunch or dinner!

DRY CAMPING AREA, SALMON HARBOR MARINA, WINCHESTER BAY, OREGON

Our Opinion: Rave, if you are willing to pay to dry camp.  Salmon Harbor a great place to know if you find yourself traveling the Oregon coast without a reservation on a holiday weekend.
Date of Stay: September 24-27, 2009; again for a few days in mid-August, 2011 
Weather During Stay:  Cool.  Calm mornings, cold, windy afternoons.  Frequent fog.
Sites: 166 reasonably level dry camping sites on asphalt.  Pull-through sites are arranged in a long, long row down the center of a long parking lot. More spacious back-in or pull-in sites lines the edges of 2 asphalt-topped piers that extend into the water of the the marina.  Sites on the piers have picnic tables, a bit of grass, and are most spacious.
Clean restrooms with showers.  No water or electric at sites.  Dump station available. Recycling. There is an on-site host.
The dry-camp area is just one of several camping options here, ranging from $11 dry-camping to $36 FHU sites in a lovely resort.  Lots of camping and fishing activity goes on all day long - great people- and activity-watching, but don’t come here for seclusion.
Rate: $11 per night for basic pull-through sites; $14 per night for larger sites on the piers; $18 for the few sites at the very end of the piers. 
Phone/radio/TV: Strong Verizon phones and aircard signal (broadband).  No obstructions for TV satellite.  Didn’t try TV antenna.  NPR available on 88.5, 89.1 and others.
Elevation/Landscape/Terrain: Flat, level parking at sea level on asphalt.  Views are very appealing: other rigs, boats in the marina, seabirds, blue water, and forested hillsides.  
Lighting/Noise: Very quiet and dark at night if you avoid the strategically places security lights. 
Favorite Sites: We try to get a pier site, and pull in front to the water for the best view.  On this stay, we lucked out and got a huge site on the end of a row on Pier C.  Sites are first-come, first-served except for group reservations.
Hiking/Walking: Great walking around the huge area of the Salmon Harbor Marina and the small town of Winchester Bay.  Dunes and a lighthouse nearby.
Comments: This busy area is a fun slice of life for RV’ers and fisherfolk.  The setting is beautiful, with lots to do in the area.  If you find yourself caught without a site on the Oregon coast, this is a good spot - we have never seen it full in four visits.  Winchester Bay has a GREAT Thai restaurant, Pah Tong’s Thai Cuisine.  Call 541/271-1750 for reservations or take out.  Closed Tuesday.  Highly recommended by us for lunch or dinner!

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FLORENCE ELKS LODGE RV PARK, FLORENCE, OREGON

Our Opinion: Rave.  This is a beautiful, lovingly maintained Elks RV park.  Private; you must be an Elk to stay here.

Date of Stay: September 18-23, 2009.

Weather During Stay: Rain, sun, cool, warm... typical Oregon late summer weather.

Sites: Forty roomy sites are spread throughout a large RV park, four or five miles north of the town of Florence and the Elks lodge there.  All sites have 30/50 amp electricity and water, and 4 channel cable TV (the 3 networks plus PBS).  Sixteen sites are long pull-throughs, facing north; the remaining sites are back-ins. All are suitable for big rigs, level, and unusually spacious, with room for your slides, awnings, and tow or towed vehicle at your site.  All sites have wooden picnic table. 

A bath house has toilets and showers.  Two dump stations serve the park. Roads and sites are gravel.  Large and small evergreens surround the park and are scattered throughout, so a roof-mounted satellite would present challenges in some sites. Beautiful landscaping throughout the park.

Rate: $18 for electricity and water, dump station use, cable TV and WiFi. 

Phone/radio/TV: Verizon phones and aircard work here, but the signal is rather weak – it was difficult to make phone calls. We opted to use the free, blazing fast WiFi instead of our aircard.  Pick a site carefully for roof-mounted TV satellite (many will work).  Just four cable TV stations.  We didn't check antenna reception.  Local NPR on 89.7 FM.

Elevation/Landscape/Terrain: Level sites in a beautiful RV park separate from the Elks lodge (RV parking with water and electricity is also available in the lodge parking lot). Elevation is near sea level. Views are of large and small evergreens (looks more like the mountains than the coast) with other rigs hidden in the foliage.  

Lighting/Noise: Quiet and dark at night.

Favorite Sites: Many, many beautiful sites here.  Because of our roof-mounted TV satellite, we would avoid 1-6, 22-27, 31, 32, 37 and 38.  Sites 9 through 20 are south facing back-ins, nice to catch winter sun (if it exists).

Hiking/Walking: Walk around the park for a short bout of exercise.  Sutton Recreation area (across Hwy 101) has hikes through the dunes, or head back south towards Florence a short distance to Heceta Beach for miles of beach walking.  For a longer hike, drive several miles north to Heceta Head Lighthouse to hike over the headlands. 

Comments: What a beautiful park!  Wonderful, friendly hosts.  It’s about 5 miles to Florence and the Elks lodge.  We began in site 10 (a back-in), then moved to site 29 (a pull-through) so we could stay a few days longer than our original plan.  Reservations recommended; probably essential during the summer.  For an excellent meal, visit Waterfront Depot in Old Town Florence (close to the bridge), a favorite with locals (for reservations, call 541-902-9100)

OCEANSIDE RV PARK, CHARLESTON, OREGON

Our Opinion:  Recommend.  If you want a beautiful beach location with good hiking nearby, this is for you.

Date of Stay: September 14-17, 2009 (Our third stay here.)

Weather During Stay: Cool, some sun, some showers, some fog.  Usual coastal summer weather.

Site Description:  We were in site 21A, a long level back-in.  Sites are slightly larger than typical commercial park standards (in other words, you have room for slides, awnings, the provided picnic table, your towed or tow vehicle - and room for your chairs, too!).  All sites have FHU, with 30/50 amps.  Cable TV is provided, with 14 channels. 

This park has 67 FHU sites, most of them back-ins around the perimeter of the park.  The condition of the utilities varies from one visit to the next, but is generally fine.  Sites are level, and all have a picnic table and a bit of grass.  The 17 pull-throughs are quite long.

Rate: $30.30 per night for RV sites.  Fantastic tent sites in the dunes are available for $21.21.

Phone/radio/TV: Verizon cells phones and the aircard work well here.  We didn’t check local TV stations on the antenna since basic cable TV was included.  No obstacles for satellite TV in most spaces (those just north of the bluff might have a problem).  Local NPR is available on 88.5. WiFi is available, but we didn’t try it.  Propane is available for sale on-site.

Elevation/Landscape/Terrain:  This small park is at sea level, with a small width of sand dunes separating the park from the beach.  Views are of neighbors, a tree-covered bluff, and the short dunes.  You DO NOT see the ocean from your site (not a problem for us) because of the grassy dunes between the park and the beach.

Lighting/Noise: Night lighting is unobtrusive.  Very quiet at night.  Road noise is not a problem even in those spaces that are close to the road.

Favorite Sites: The back-in sites around the perimeter offer a little more privacy than the pull-throughs.

Hiking/Walking: Walk a short distance through the dunes to a beautiful beach, at least a mile long.  Beautiful Sunset Bay State Park is one mile away, with a few miles of hiking trails along the coastal bluffs.

Comments: If this park was in a more mundane location, we wouldn’t stay, but this location makes it special.  Wander out to the beach, explore the tide pools on the rocks to the south, or drive the short distance to the state park to hike the bluffs or visit the gardens at Shore Acres.  The scenic fishing town of Charleston is nearby, and major shopping is not far away, in Coos Bay.  Reservations recommended.

BROOKINGS ELKS LODGE, BROOKINGS, OREGON

Our Opinion: Recommend.  Private; you must be an Elk to stay here.

Date of Stay: September 12-13, 2009.

Weather During Stay: Foggy and overcast, with light rain from time to time.

Sites: Seventeen sites (2 pull-through and 15 back in) have at least 30 amps (rumor has it that some sites have 50 amps, but we didn't research this) and water at each site, along with cable TV.  All are suitable for big rigs and unusually spacious compared to most Elks parking, with room for your slides, awnings, and tow or towed vehicle at your site.  All sites have wooden picnic table in decent shape.

About half the sites are on gravel with some shade from perimeter trees; these are fairly level.  The remaining sites are on asphalt and are rather sloping; rigs in these sites are jacked up pretty high. We used blocks under our front jacks in site 7. 

The very nice Brookings Elks lodge is up a hill just east of Highway 101, in the middle of town.  The RV parking area is behind the lodge, away from traffic noise.  Easily accessible dump station and even a laundry room!

Rate: $15 for electricity and water, dump station use, cable TV and WiFi. 

Phone/radio/TV: Strong Verizon phones and aircard signal.  No obstructions to block TV satellite.  Lots of cable TV stations, so we didn’t check antenna reception.  Local NPR on 91.1 FM.

Elevation/Landscape/Terrain: Mostly level parking on the perimeter of the large parking lot behind the lodge.  Elevation is near sea level, but high enough to be out of reach of a tsunami! Views are of the row of rigs across from you, green trees, and the back of the lodge.

Lighting/Noise: Quiet at night; reasonably unobtrusive lighting.

Favorite Sites: We liked 7, but 1-4 look the most appealing - except that the trees behind them tend to drop dirt and tree litter on your rig.  (Our neighbor in site 6 was complaining about the work of cleaning the tree drippings off of his motorhome.)   The shade would be welcome on a hot day.

Hiking/Walking: Walk down the hill to town.  No good hiking without driving, but there are many nice beach walks a short drive, including Harris Beach State Park a mile or two north. 

Comments: This was our second stay here.  Convenient location in a nice small town with scenic marina and a nearby state park.  Good price for the services and large sites.  Walk to Fred Meyer or Ray’s Place for groceries, and the Fred Meyer had good prices for fuel.

EUREKA ELKS LODGE, EUREKA, CALIFORNIA

Our Opinion: Recommend.  Private; you must be an Elk to stay here.

Date of Stay: September 8-11, 2009.

Weather During Stay: Sun and fog, cool nights, overcast mornings.

Sites: Twenty-four back in sites have 30 and 50 amps, FHU (yes, sewer too) and cable TV.  All are suitable for big rigs, but they are quite narrow.  Your slides will fit, but not necessarily your awning.  Sites are gravel; some are more level than others.  We needed blocks under our rear jacks in site 8.

The RV parking area is down a hill next to the lodge, away from traffic noise, but in easy proximity to Hwy 101.  Very secure.  No dry camping allowed; if all the RV sites are filled, head to Redwood Acres, the fairgrounds, and come back early the next morning!

Rate: $20 for FHU, including cable TV and WiFi. 

Phone/radio/TV: Strong Verizon phones and aircard signal.  No obstructions to block TV satellite.  Lots of cable TV stations, so we didn‘t check antenna reception.  Local NPR on 90.5 FM.

Elevation/Landscape/Terrain: Level parking in a bowl - heavy bushes and tress on one side, a hillside on the other. Elevation is near sea level. Views are of the row of rigs across from you, green trees, and the side of the lodge.

Lighting/Noise: Quiet at night; reasonably unobtrusive lighting.

Favorite Sites: Doesn’t make much different, as all sites are narrow backins.  Pick your row based on whether you want morning or afternoon sun (assuming there IS sun).

Hiking/Walking: No good hiking without driving, but there are many, many nice hikes and beach walks within a short drive.  This photo shows the wetlands at the Arcata Marsh, 15 miles north of the Eureka Elks.

Comments: This was our second stay here.  As before (June of 2006), all 24 sites were full every night.  The price is right for full hookups, and the location convenient.  If the RV parking is this full next time we come, though, we might drive on out to the Redwood Acres Fairgrounds simply to have a bit more space (check with them first to see if they have an event going on).  They have FHU for $25/night.