Starting our journey back North our next stop was only a very short one hour drive, which was perfect after having spent a good part of the day golfing. South Beach State Park in Newport is a gorgeous camping spot with access to the ocean via walking trails that go through forest and dunes.
A couple of friends travelling home to Canada joined us for our two days at South Beach, and we really enjoyed our beach walks and had a good day of down time – we had looked forward to a fun evening catching up around a campfire but Mother Nature intervened with heavy rain.
We parted ways the next morning under cloudy skies. Our friends had a long day’s drive to catch the ferry home, but we were headed to another golf course to play 9 holes, hopefully, if the weather would cooperate. The rains held off and we stayed dry until the last hole. Cedar’s getting the hang of it – he played a great game.
With the entire afternoon ahead, we had plenty of time to make some stops along the way to Fort Steven’s State Park, our next home for two nights. We stopped at Yaquina Head Lighthouse, Devils Punchbowl, and did a little shopping at the Christmas Cottage and Chocolate shops in Nelscott.
I bought some cute Christmas ornaments made out of welded and painted metal (apparently handmade by a particular family in China, if the shopkeeper was not stringing me a line).
We arrived late in the day to Fort Steven’s State Park (one of the largest in the US – 4300 acres) located on Clatsop Spit which has the Pacific Ocean one side and the mouth of the mighty Columbia River on the other. The area was a military installation used to protect the Columbia for 84 years. You will find old Batteries, a museum, an observation tower, a very visible shipwreck washed up on the beach, and a large campground. There is an abundance of well maintained walking and biking trails, and a 2 mile hiking trail around Coffenbury Lake. Lots to do and see. Across the river in Washington State is another very large area called Cape Disappointment which was also a military installation – between the two, I think the Columbia was in good hands. We’ve previously been to Cape Disappointment and it is also impressive and worth a visit. There are remnants of Batteries, a very impressively maintained light station, now with gorgeous B&B quarters, and a great campground.
But, back to Fort Steven’s: We found our sites in Loop L. – I had booked a couple drive through crescent shaped sites, instead of the usual back-in type, just to try it out. The campground has about 12 loops, some dedicated for tents, and one for yurts, and it appears there are also quite a few seasonal campers. Although it is a bit of a walk to the lake or ocean, the trails are well maintained.
On our first foray, to check in at the office the next morning, we came across some elk wandering down the road. The ranger explained that they have some large herds in the park year round. We didn’t visit the beaches on the river side, but the Ocean beach was quite a surprising change from those just a little south with it’s blackish sand. It was very quiet the day we were there, except for the vehicles which are allowed on the beach. The shipwreck of the Peter Iredale is kind of cool to check out and there is a large plaque to explain the tragedy.
