South Beach State Park Campground

It's been a couple of years since my first review and I wanted to share new perspective.  This time around we took our 9 year old grandson.  He loved the play structure and we had the convenience of backing in to a site that was near the kids area.  All went well till he fell out of a tree and broke his arm.  😂

Actually we enjoyed hikes to the beach, some whale watching and playing games when it rained.  We were there over New Years Eve. 

What surprised be is that the campground was FULL that week!  And, it wasn't at all offensive.  Still pretty quiet and great. 

One negative:  When rain came through some sites really flooded.  This site did at the front of the truck.  Not too badly, as we were still able to get into the truck.

We'll enjoy this campground again in the future.

Large campground with a ton of spots. Pretty open in some spots, so may feel more like an RV park. Great for groups and easy setup with minimal leveling needed. Easy walk to the beach with lots of trails.

I pulled in before the ranger station closed, and was able to get a tent site for $24. Amenities are super clean, unlimited use showers and perfect spacing in between sites.

First time camping here in the last week in August 2023. The sites on the inside of each loop are exposed to one another as our site F19 was and are close together. The outside sites on each loop have more shade, more privacy and are much better to camp at. The week we were camping the campground was FULL. So over 350 camp sites were being used. It rained the first 3 days of our camp trip and when we arrived no camp fires were permitted. On the 4th day camp fires were allowed, but we only found out when we stopped a park ranger and asked. They said they would notify all campers about fires but did not. On the 4th day we road our bikes on some trails. This was very nice. On the 4th day W\we also went to the beach via the day use area because each loop access was from a 1/4 of a mile to 1/2 a mile hike to the beach. Very nice beach for sure! Newport was really close and handy to get food and other items. We stopped and ate at the South Beach Fish Market on the south end of Newport. Really great food but costly. We spent$40 for two meals. The campground bathrooms stalls were tight but clean. Showers were hot but some what dirty from all the mud after the rain. The wife said she would camp here again, I'm not so sure I would.

Campground is clean and quiet, camp sites are a good size our site had plenty of room to fit a 10 person tent plus tables and canopy. Rangers there are very nice and patrol regularly, one ranger (forgot his name) went above and beyond to help me, I needed an outlet to blow up an air mattress and he walked me around till he found a utility closet that had an outlet so thankful. Free hot showers and close to beach.

A large park with expansive grounds. Large area for kids, some good RV spots. We had water and electric and used the dump station. Lot of things to see and do here, or do nothing. This location lends to all. From here, we rode bikes into town, down to the beach on paths that connect to the park. We got a crab boat near by and hauled them in. We got our limit for the two of us, 24 Dungeness crabs in all. 4 never made it out of the parking lot after they were cleaned and cooked. Tailgated them! :-) I'd go again.

Got lucky with great weather in April during our one night stay. Bathrooms were clean and easy walking distance from our site. Short hike from the beach, and close to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. The kids loved the playground next to the campsite (giving the adults a brief reprieve while still in eyesight of the kids).

We camped in our Model Y as we drive the Oregon coast. This was a great spot to sleep with clean bathrooms, great host and quiet.

Really nice here, quiet, very pretty. Showers were hot with good pressure, but they need a shower curtain. I definitely would come back here.

This is a large campground but very quiet. Beach is about 1/2 mile walk/bike ride away. Close to town and many great sites.

—————INTERNET—————

Verizon via iPhone 12: 8.41 mbps down and 0.45 mbps up with 40 ms ping. T-Mobile via Nighthawk MR-1100: 19.1 mbps down and 3.10 mbps up with 110 ms ping.

——REASONS I STAYED HERE——

To be near Newport.

—————BASIC FAQ—————

[Rig. Mercedes Sprinter. 22 feet]

Dump station? - Yes

Water fill or hookup? - Both

Electricity? - Yes

Clean site? - Yes

Clean bathroom? - Yes

Flush toilet? - Yes

Showers? - Yes

Laundry? - No

Dish washing sink? - No, but it has dishwater drains throughout the campground

—————PROS—————

→ Close to Newport

→ Great cell signal

→ Level sites

→ Beach access

→ Can buy firewood on-site. They did run out one day because there’s a bajillion campsites.

—————CONS—————

→ The campground has so many sites that there can be traffic congestion at check-in time. Come earlier rather than later.

—————OVERALL—————

5-stars - It’s a safe, inviting, well manicured campground. One might dock a star off because of the campground congestion and their noise but the plethora of amenities compared to surrounding campgrounds boosts it back up to 5 stars.

This is a great campground -biking, hiking and beach access

Big and busy campground - lots to do, family friendly. Can be loud , but depends on who’s camping around you. Nice paths to walk and access to beach. Nice level site and had good antennae coverage, low Verizon service.

This is a huge campground with clean facilities, nice amenities, easy access to the beach, and it's close to the Oregon Coast Aquarium.

We spent a late-Spring night here and enjoyed all aspects of the park and campground. South Beach State Park is on our list of campgrounds to visit every year.

It is a nice campground, but a little tight backing into the sites. The tent bathroom and shower around loop H are nicer than the one near loop D. There is a steady background noise of a horn coming from the coast.

We showed up here in early June with no reservations and had no problem getting a spot.

Oregon State Parks now charge a 25% surcharge for non-residents for RV / hookup sites.

Tent/non-hookup sites are only $22 (whether resident or no), and electric/water sites are  $35 for Oregon residents and $44 for non.  There are no sewer hookups here but there's a free dump and water fill at the entrance. There are water spigots throughout the campground.

The RV loops are more like your basic crammed in RV park sites, with all sites closely in a row.  The two tent loops, H and I, have a nicer feel, more spaced out, more trees, and quieter.  RVs are allowed to camp in tent sites, and no generators are allowed (yay!).  There is some tree cover but there are plenty of sites with enough open sky so you can use your solar panels easily.

Showers are really nice, and free.  They are set up in individual units, which I prefer.

The trails to the beach are nice, but were really swampy when we were here and the mosquitos were really aggressive (bit me through two layers of clothes!).

There's a cool disc golf course but we didn't get to play, mainly because of the mosquitos. 

Campground is close to the cute town of Newport.

Overall we liked it here.

ATT phone had good coverage.  Verizon was usable but weak, but the cell booster helped.

I visited in February so i had no trouble getting a spot.

Great cell phone service

level, paved road and sites

large sites with a good amount of space between each

electric hookups

dump station available

fresh water available

huge grounds and lots of hiking trails around-close to the beach

only downside i experienced was the showers there have low pressure and don’t get warm

We were out trying out our new-to-us travel trailer and decided to check out South Beach State Park.  Being here in January was great.  Pretty quiet and worth the somewhat inclement weather.  We did get the opportunity to get out and walk and hike on the many trails in and around the park.  The walk through the woods to the dunes was beautiful!  You safely can walk to the Aquarium from here, as well.  

We had a site with electricity and water.  Felt private and a nice greenway behind us.  Plenty of camp hosts around taking good care of the park.

I'm sure it's very busy in the summer season.  Not sure it'd be my cup of tea , then.  However I see why it's popular!

Oh, p.s.  Many of the campsites were flooded, but there were plenty to choose from so it wasn't a big deal at all.

Huge facility with a lot of options from basic tent camping to fancy rv.

Just spent the night, don't know a lot about what's here. Near town and the aquarium. Huge place.

It was a peaceful night. From our spot we could hear the sea lions off in the distance. There were plenty of open spaces so you didn’t have to be right up on anyone else.

Spent 3 nights here, great sites, very clean campsites. Peaceful and quiet long before 10pm. Close to town, sightseeing and the beach. Will stay here again. One of my favorite campgrounds.

If you're in an RV or similar and aren't looking for much privacy nor much of an outdoorsy feeling with much privacy, then you might love this campground. But if you're more into solitude and space and privacy, i would suggest you keep looking. While the tent sites offer a bit more space from one another and feel a lot less like a parking lot than the fully accessible sites, you can hear the regular sound of the jetty horn every 12 seconds.

 This campground wasn't my first or even 4rth choice. I didn't try to reserve a campsite until the day after it opened for my date, so out of luck. I wanted a site by the ocean, but this campground doesn't offer ANY sites with an ocean view. It's still turned out ok

though.

South Beach campground is HUGE! Lots of sites laid out in circles with a bath house in the center. Your best bet is a site on the perimeter. We had C-15, which has to be the best site there! Large& private. The showers are free. About as clean as any state park usually is, which is fair. Try to avoid a site by the bathroom. Tight sites with no privacy.

We had no issues with noise after quiet hours. This was one of the few campgrounds on our trip we could have a fire.$5 a bundle, which is the least expensive during out trip.

Newport is one of the larger towns in the area. We did hear traffic noise & the foghorn. Some sirens every day also.

In the campground this is a VERY busy, loud place. If you dislike the sound of children playing, you may hate it here. Lots of skateboards, bikes, scooters& people walking on the roads. Be careful driving& take it slow. There's beach access you can walk to or drive to. The beach looked nice. Some trails also.

All in all, we had a very good time here. Although we didn't feel unsafe, we didn't leave much of anything out either. I would recommend making a reservation as early as possible. Every campground we passed in a 70 mile radius had NO vacancy signs.

State campground. Lots of trails, spacious sites. Full hookups. Clean bathrooms and showers.

We loved this spot. Hot showers, walk to the beach, quiet at night. They sell firewood for $5 a cord and fire pits at every site.

Great for camping with kids. If you don't have kids and don't want them tramping through your site, then don't come here! My site had no privacy, no shade and a family who thought my site was part of their soccer field. Glad I was only there for one night. 

$42.

It was a nice campground. Definitely the largest one I have ever been to. Most people there were in RVs and campers. The sites were level, most of them were in full sun but some had shade along the tree line and on the main road through the campground. The bathhouse was clean but smelled a bit funky-air freshener would have been a good idea! The bathroom toilet stalls were SUPER tiny. You had to step next to the toilet to close the door behind you-not ADA compliant-but they had a separate room for ADA use. I liked how the path to the bathhouse was lit with yellow lights at night.

I loved the open space behind my specific campsite (D32). My site had water and electric hookup (I didn't use). There is an airport nearby and a few small private planes flew overhead while I was there but it wasn't too noisy. I could hear the ocean since it was only a quarter mile from the campground. I also loved the day use area at the campground, the parking lot was huge and there were bathrooms there (I didn't use them though) the trail I walked on was paved and very flat (easy on my knees!) and the boardwalk was pretty picturesque. The campground has a hospitality store if you forgot items, a playground, and even a 18 hole disc golf course! Lots of trails to hike on around the campground. Overall, it was a nice time-I enjoyed myself and would return.

The place was packed but you still had so much space. We were right on the playground which was awesome. Camp hosts come between guests and clean out / leaf blow the whole place. It was incredible. Bathrooms super clean. A great walk to the beach and we walked to rogue brewery too. Bonus!

Our site, B8, was right on the main road, so a lot of traffic was always going by. Sites in this part of the park are close together with little vegetation in between, so not at all private. The bike trails to the beach access points and jetty are lovely and the many dog-friendly pick-up bags and receptacles are much appreciated.