Cape Lookout State Park

Nice camping experience. Even though it was a full Saturday night, it didn’t feel crowded. Only issue was someone showed up after midnight at the site next to us and spent about 10 minutes maneuvering a vehicle into the spot with the headlight on our tent. The whole time one person was giving directions as if the place were empty. I view this as another idiot problem rather than a camp problem. There’s no beach at the day use area at high tide.

Amazing place to spend time at the beach! Beautiful semi-​secluded sites spotlessly maintained. The fact that we scored a full hookup site with no reservations was a bonus! Spent a wonderful time there and would certainly return if we were in the area again from NY. Can’t comment on the bath facilities as we travel in a motorhome.

Camp host Nancy was awesome! Super clean restrooms, wonderful yurts, camp fires and the Pacific Ocean is right here! Cheap and fun!!!

Cape Lookout was just a wonderful surprise on our journey back to Portland from the coast. What a beautiful sight, from start to finish. I wish that we had had more time to explore, hike, and enjoy the scenery, but we were pressed for time.
I had no idea that cabins were available here, as this a perfect place for a family vacation. The wooded area is lush and green, overlooking this amazing coastline.
5.00 for parking, and then you are set to explore. We arrived on a day that was crisp and cool, not many people out and about. It seemed like we were alone in the vast state park. I would have loved to spend the entire day here, but made the best of it by taking a short hike along the coast. Amazing scenery in a tranquil setting. It doesn’t get better than this.

Tried to camp here last weekend — NOT a good idea this winter with out a trailer or yurt camping because of all the heavy wind and rain warnings. Yet we took our chances. haha. I always have enjoyed this campground. Right next to the beach, lots of tent spaces and a few RV hookup sites. Lots of fun tree formations that have occurred from the ocean over time. The RV sites are in the trees which is nice when its raining, but most of the tent sites are out in the open so unless its a nice day… you’re going to get all the elements. They have showers which I wasn’t too much a fan of. They are the kind where you push a button and it lasts a few minutes… but the water is trying so hard to be sort of warm but I just couldn’t do it at the end. Very pretty scenic drive from Portland, not super close to any large towns so its nice to kind of get out.

Great short hike with a great payoff! I didnt expect to see so many whales so it was an unexpected surprise! It’s a perfect way to show off the Oregon coast to friends from out of town :)

Came here on a hot summer day. Parking is five dollars. The beach was quite busy and there was actually a wedding and reception going on in the reserved area. The beach itself was nice and there were park rangers walking about, so it felt very safe as well. There were many kids playing in the water. The only thing is that there are many unleashed dogs on the beach and it was very crowded. For that reason, I think I would rather go to a more secluded or expansive beach.

Came back here again since I had a wonderful time last year. Nothing to add except that I really enjoyed my time at this state park, facilities are super clean, beaches are still amazing, and I got to see my whales again! Oh yeah, and there was another cute, friendly park ranger manning the entrance again when I arrived.
This place is also super safe, lots of families camping here, so if you are a single female traveler like I am, there is absolutely nothing to worry about. I love how the beach and the ocean is so close to the campgrounds and you can listen to the ocean as you fall asleep.

The campground here is great. Super close to the beach with nice greenery between each campsite for privacy. If you’re looking to camp as close to the beach as possible on the Oregon coast, this would be the place. Very family-​friendly, with kids running around on scooters and few cars. Not too windy to set up a tent because of the great tree cover.
Heads-​Up:
Park rangers will tell you to drive to Netarts if you needs to pick up any goods, but there’s really only one general store there that has extremely little in terms of produce, fruit, drinks, etc. Tillamook is your best bet.

Cape Lookout Trailhead is located about 2 miles past Cape Lookout State Park. The trailhead offers three different trails all with amazing views. The easiest of the three trails is the Cape Trail. This trail is traversable by your average everday walker.
I’m a big big girl, and though it takes my breath away and provides a helluva workout, I can walk this trail. My husband with no cartlidge in his knees can also walk it, That’s not to say he’s not in pain during and/​or after.
The trail is very well marked, and fairly level. There’s a slight decline on the way down though, so there’s a HUGE incline on the way back ;).

We spent 2 nights here and we enjoyed it so much we are already checking our calendar to book another trip. The ranger was nice and the place was quiet.

Although the campground was nice but one of the female ranger was rather rude. The rules are very strict. The campsite are very compact. Our overall experience was NOT pleasant at all. Thanks to that rude female ranger.

This beach was secluded which was welcomed! There were only about 5 cars in the entire parking lot. Maybe it’s still considered the off season (went this week) so there was no one in the booth collecting fees. So they have an honor code system where you put $ 5 CASH into an envelope and deposit it into the pay box and rip off the receipt as proof of payment.
We loved it here. I’d definitely consider getting a cabin here on a future trip. We loved that they had picnic areas with BBQ pits, ample parking, bathrooms, and expansive beach. Just gorgeous.

I just wanna warn everybody of this place. It may be just about one angry ranger we came across but it sounds like she patrols the camp and will jump on any situation she can to have a power trip. I could only image if there are other park rangers like her, one angry park ranger is too much to never return. We came to Cape Lookout for the day to check it out for some future camping. We had a great time on the beach then decided to take a look at the cabin rentals right next to the restrooms since they were vacant and we were interested in possible renting one. We only looked for 2 min’s, started to walk away with our two small children and this rude park ranger on a power trip approached us yelling at us and making a huge scene. She said we were trespassing and was grilling us like a mad Nazi. She accused my husband of being a peeping-​tom for looking in the windows… Are you kidding me?! We were all looking in the windows of a very vacant cabin. She practically ran us out of there yelling. I told her we were considering renting here but not after our rude encounter with her. She ruined our afternoon treating us like we were criminals. Never going here again it’s supposed to be a vacation spot and our short experience was far from relaxing and fun. That women had no right to yell at us making my kids and us feel uncomfortable.

Beautiful coastal camp site. 5 minutes to beach, clean facilities, hot showers, friendly and helpful staff.
Sites are hit or miss: some are private, some are pretty exposed. The hiker /​biker section is really peaceful and rustic, but we had a car and kids, so maybe I’ll stay there some other time.
Pro suggestion– would be so great to have hot water for washing dishes. Whatever: it’s a great campsite.

I LOVE this park! They have a few different trails to choose from and they are all wonderful with spectacular views of the towering trees and the coast. Even if it is foggy out it’s a nice hike and the fog in the trees looks beautiful. I took so many gorgeous photos on our hikes through here people didn’t believe me that I hadn’t used any filters! There are port-​a-​potties in the parking area, too. The trails were relatively easy to traverse with normally wide paths, too. Keep your eye out for the big banana slugs, too! You don’t want to accidentally step on one!

I always made fun of people who take their kids to the same place all the time… till I had kids and realized that having a «go to» vacation spot isn’t bad… especially at Cape Lookout! I love the easy beach access, campfires allowed on the beach, camping spots in the woods, clean bathrooms, available yurts (if you buy them 9 months out) on
Just did the 5 mile Cape hike with the family… it was gorgeous hiking on the capes edges (hold on to your kids hands!) But maybe a little long for the 4 year old girl who had to be carried the last uphill mile.
Discovered the excellent and free Jr. Rangers program put on by the Oregon State Parks Rangers… beach, campfires, hiking, star gazing, time spent unplugged (sketchy cell service except on Verizon) with the family… what’s not to like? Only downside was it’s always packed in the summer. Use my strategy to book weekends months early and you won’t be disappointed!

Camping close, so close to the beach. So nice! Tent, hiker/​biker,& rv hookup sites. Cabins and yurts available to stay in. Very short nature trail and a couple of longer trails through the gorgeous woods. Bathrooms are a bit older. Cement floors in the push button showers. (At least in C loop, didn’t check out the others). Plenty of dog waste pick up bags available so please pick up after your pet.

One of the best state parks we’ve been to. We don’t favor camping in campgrounds anymore, because it is crowded and noisy but we didn’t mind it here.
PERKS?
* it’s located right next to the beach
* shower stalls without need for coins
* bathrooms are clean & stocked with toilet paper
* the rangers are super nice
* check-​in booth is open until 11PM at night
* campsites in the D-​section, are sectioned off with thick bushes, so you can’t see your neighbor
* the campground location is beautiful
THE UGLY:
* Too popular, so you will need to reserve a spot at least 1 week in advance on
* campsites are very close to each other
I highly recommend this campsite if you are doing a long road trip from Washington to Oregon to California and want to stay at a campsite on the coast.

We stayed at Cape Lookout for three nights in the middle of the second week in July 2012. The valley was having sunny 80 something degree weather but on the coast it was 60 degrees and overcast most of the time. We picked a camp site unseen based on some reviews and map of the campground. Camp sites are rather close to one another (with a few exceptions) even though on the map they look to be somewhat apart.
The rangers were friendly and very helpful when we arrived.
Sections A & B are closest to the surf and if you are lucky, there is a bit of brush or a tree between you and your neighbors. If you like that kind of camping, cool, we don’t. Sections C & D have more brush and trees but most of the sites were divided only by several more bushes and trees than Sections A & B. If you are looking for some degree of seclusion, I recommend the following sites: D35 (The site we stayed in, bring a rope and blanket for one side), D32, D30, D49 (an RV is on one side behind some trees), D55 (a bit close to the road) and D56 (also a bit close to the road and could be windy as there is little cover from the ocean side).
There is a small stream running through much of the D section and behind many of the sites, I called this «the swamp» because it is full of skunk cabbage (not in bloom when we were there thank the heavens). The mosquitoes actually weren’t very bad at all, sure, we were bitten a little but we didn’t even use a repellent. Either they treat the swamp, or we just timed our visit right. Recommendation: Bring bug repellent.
Several of the camp sites on D section had some mud or soggy ground and a few had graveled covering these wet areas. Our neighbors told us that they’d been told that there’d been a recent unexpected downpour and it has flooded several of the campsites. Now that would be nasty! I noticed that in many campsites in D section the swamp was right along side or behind and all it would take is a good rain to cause the water to rise and creep into the campsites. Recommendation: Tarps just in case and don’t even consider in the rainy season.
You can hear the ocean in D section at night when it is quiet, that was nice. We took our three terriers on this camping trip and they all did very well.
Restroom, the best thing I can say about them is they were functional, running cold water and two sets of electrical plugs. I can’t say anything else about them. We didn’t use the showers, heated water and washed up in the tent.
There are NO campground trash containers, so you have to accumulate your own and deposit it all the way up front at the ranger’s station/​entrance along with recyclable containers. Recommendation: Bring trash bags.
We bought three bundles of firewood from the campground at $ 5 each. It was hard to split into smaller pieces and sometimes impossible because most of it was from small trees (knots). When split the wood was moist to the touch and very difficult to burn. Our only saving grace was that we had brought along some good dry wood and several commercial fireplace logs (sawdust and wax). Burning our good wood and the fireplace logs (cut in half or thirds) kept the moist wood going and helped dry out the rest that we leaned against the metal fire pit. Our neighbors didn’t have as much luck with their fires even with gathering up dry sticks to help the fire. Recommendation: Bring your own wood and/​or fireplace logs.
It was fun being close to the ocean and we might be back, pick one of the more secluded campsites, go when it is not likely to be any rain, bring wood and fireplace logs.