Nehalem Bay State Park, Manzanita, Oregon

One of our favorite Oregon coastal campgrounds is Nehalem Bay State Park near Manzanita (a very quaint town in and of itself). The activities at Nehalem Bay State Park are numerous ~ walking the incredible Oregon beaches (for miles), walking the trails, biking the trails, evening programs (in the summer) boating – either in the ocean or the more serene Nehalem Bay………….and more. If want to explore the surrounding area, the nearby towns of Manzanita, Nehalem and Wheeler have small shops, and you can travel further north to Cannon Beach or Seaside of go south to Tillamook. Basically, there’s a lot to do with Nehalem Bay State Park as a central location.

This visit we tried two new restaurants this time ~ Left Coast Siesta (Mexican) and Big Wave Café (American). Left Coast Siesta was very good, and we actually went to Big Wave Café twice – once or breakfast and one for dinner – breakfast was better and the service was very slow both times.

We’ve camped here many times in the past years, and it’s always a favorite of ours. In the summer, be sure you make reservations, but in the winter, it’s not necessary, although you can if you’d like. If you want to make reservations, know that only Loop A is reservable, with Loops B & C as first come-first served. If (and we’ve experienced this before), Loops B & C fill, then the campground host will open Loops D, E, and F. A unique part of the camping experience here are the horse camps – you can bring your horses here and ride them on the beach!

Oh, and one thing we love about Oregon State Parks – they make great efforts to recycle, so there’s no need to toss your cans, bottles, newspapers, cardboard, etc… into the trash!