Queen Mary; Reagan Library; Sequoia; Yosemite; Golden Gate; Salem, & Portland OR

We are trying to put together a trip. We are starting in the San Diego area and moving north possibly up to and into Canada.

We are looking for camp sites with a view (Papa prefers mountains and trees to ocean), but not expensive, we are often happy and some of our best experiences have been w/ dry camping. We will be using our Chevy 'Pup' to get around, but don't want to have our RV too far away.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Sandra

We are booked at Turtle Rock RV resort in Gold Beach, OR later this week. We are in one of the Hunter Creek sites and just a short walk to the Pacific. We are paying less than $25 per nte using Passport America. I will let you know next week if it is as nice as it looks on the website.
http://www.turtlerockresorts.com

Dream Chasers said:

We are booked at Turtle Rock RV resort in Gold Beach, OR later this week. We are in one of the Hunter Creek sites and just a short walk to the Pacific. We are paying less than $25 per nte using Passport America. I will let you know next week if it is as nice as it looks on the website.
http://www.turtlerockresorts.com

Click to expand...

You should do one of Jerry's Rogue River Jet boat trips. We went on the long one, full,day, it was incredible, one of the highlights of our 4 month trip. Opens 1st May. Great history, wildlife, etc.

We stayed at William Tugman State Park in the woods next to the 101, can't remember the price, think around $30. It was very quiet with nice spots and close to Eel Lake and a few miles from Winchester and Reedsport. We went on the sand dunes, they were amazing.  Some first come sites.

There are some sites in Winchester Bay Salmon Harbor Marina, which is really a big car park for rvs and very cheap. No hook ups if I remember but water and dump station definitely. 100 sites first come basis.

We stayed at Netarts bay near Tillamook. Cannon Beach is a popular place to visit, nice town and beach.

There are a lot of state parks in Oregon,  particularly on the coast so depending on your route there are plenty to choose from.  We looked at several and they were all nice. Some in woods. Be careful if driving up,the 101 as some bits of the road had subsidence, it was still fine for driving but you need to keep,your eyes open.

http://oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=visit.dsp_find

We really liked Cape Blanco it was nice although the dump station was not working.  Beverly Beach was recommended to us and looked nice on passing.

If you are near Depoe Bay stop and watch the grey whales that live there year round. We saw several. You can also see them offshore from other spots along the coast although those ones may have been seasonal.

Also look for the volcanoes as you drive North,  stunning. 

Have fun guys ?

Thanks for the replies and suggestions! I look forward to any others as well.

Sandra

I can't comment except to say that the drive up the coast from Newport, OR up 101 through Astoria had some really beautiful stretches.  I was in a rental car and it was a long time ago so I can't comment on RV driving on it....

There's not a lot in the way of "scenic" around the Queen Mary since it's pretty much in the middle of the industrial part of Los Angeles.  Dockweiler State Beach is probably closest, it's a parking lot on the ocean but right underneath the takeoff path for LAX.  Bring earplugs. <g>

Further up the coast, there are several beachfront state parks along Hwy 1 between Ventura and Santa Barbara.  These are basically parking spaces along the old road adjacent to the freeway.  They're about 45 minutes to an hour away from the Reagan Library in Simi Valley.

A similar distance from the Reagan Library is Balboa RV Park in Van Nuys. It's an older park that has been extensively renovated and is about 1/3 permanent residents, 1/3 seasonal workers in the movie industry and 1/3 overnighters.  Getting in and out of spaces can be tight due to the park layout, but the owner and his staff are extremely friendly and will guide you in and out.  It's also a good base to explore Hollywood and Universal Studios if you're interested.

When you are at the Queen Mary at the bow end there is a Russian Foxtrot Diesel- Electric Submarine from the 70's on display.

Camp Sherman is near the top of the Santiam pass in central Oregon, about 1.5 hours from Salem.  It is one of the nicest campgrounds in Oregon.  If your rig isn't too big you can camp in the Smiling River camping section and possibly get a space within 30 feet of the Metolious (sp?) river.  Last year we were there mid week just after the July 4th weekend and more than half the spaces were vacant.  Weekends are another matter.

I've been to Salem many times in 50 years and never seen anything remarkable.  Perhaps I didn't look hard enough.

There is a little known but rather large RV park behind the Woodburn Outlet mall which I think is exit 271 off I5.  It isn't more than a place to park for the night and can be quite crowded.  Better yet, there is a Camping World just north of Woodburn Oregon.  If you are desperate for a place to get four hours sleep, the Woodburn Walmart (as of July 2016) is quite lax about overnighters.  Be advised that anything public on the I5 corridor thru OR and WA will be heavily infested with freeloaders, some of which can be quite aggressive.

If you like scenic views you won't beat Crown Point about an hour east of Portland on the Columbia river.  The drive up to the point is narrow and curved so you might want to take the toad if you have one.  I do not recall if nearby Rooster Rock Park allows camping.  If so then it would be a good base camp.  Bridal Veil Falls is also nearby and has a large parking area right on I84.  It can get crowded.

There is a small RV park in Garibaldi Oregon, right on the bay.  I have never been by there that it was not packed so call ahead.  You can rent a boat and crab pots from the local marina.  Just make sure you follow their advice about tides or you will be swept into the Pacific.

Portland is a slow moving parking lot. Don't even think about taking a big rig in there.  Parking downtown is practically nonexistent because apartment developers were not required to provide tenant parking lots.  My niece and my brother both have to park on their lawns and they aren't even near the downtown area.  Vehicle vandalism is also a problem.  The Max public transport will allow you to park in an outlying area and take the train into town.  Uber is also alive and well in Portland.  The food and pubs in Portland are typical Portland, interesting or weird, depending on your POV.

HWY 101 from northern CA into OR is far more interesting than I5.  I would never take the interstate route again unless I was in a big hurry. From the Golden gate head to Eureka and stay on 101 until Lincoln City OR.  It's the prettiest road in America, IMO.

There are several campgrounds along I5 from the Columbia river to Olympia WA.  I have never stayed at one so I can't offer any advice on them.  If they are 10 miles or so away from I5 you should not have to deal with freeloaders.  The locals run them off.

Doug

We stayed at Pleasant Cove RV Park in Rockaway Beach OR last week.  It was $20 through Passport America.  The park was a dump and in need of good management but there were full hook ups and a gorgeous view.  It was right on the river with mountains across and there were very few people at the park.  We enjoyed our stay there because of the view and the park was very quiet.  We stayed on the lower section right by the river.  There are much nicer sites at the upper section but they don't have the view of the river.

We also stayed at Champoeg State Park off HWY 5 between Salem and Portland.  We stayed in the B loop and the sites are very large and have privacy between them.  The State Parks in OR are great but all seem to be booked up on the weekends.  We paid $29 for full hook ups.

We are currently at Crown Point RV Park in the gorge.  With Passport America it is $20.  It is fine, but,  I would probably opt for one of the State Parks if I had to do it again.