Cape Lookout State Park

Located at the south end of Netarts Bay, Cape Lookout State Park Campground it well located for exploring the area from Pacific City to the south up to Cape Mears to the north and over to Tillamook.

Netarts Bay offers some great clamming; Rosenberg Building Supply in TIllamook has some of the gear needed.

The campground is very close to a huge beach and provides easy road access for even big rigs. The campground is not as pristine as other Oregon State Parks; beach erosion is taking its toll. The sites are small and pretty tight, the bathrooms and showers dated but clean.

NOTE: Cape Mears Loop road has been closed for years and around Feb 2024 a new road was opened just south of Cape Mears that connects to Bay Ocean Road (at the time of this review neither Google nor Apple Maps shows the new road). So it is possible to do the Three Capes Loop.

Camped in a 16foot travel trailer with 2 adults, 2 dogs in mid-October, 2022. The campground was about 50% full. Fellow campers were friendly and quiet, and most had dogs. All seemed respectful of keeping dogs on leash and cleaning up after them. Very friendly staff and saw daily upkeep of campsites. Great dog friendly beach that is only steps away from campsite C4. Bonus that campground maintains dog poop station at beach entrance. Very quiet at night and can hear the ocean lull you to sleep.

Good ATT cell service. Dump station was very nice. Did not use bathrooms or showers.

Tillamook is about 15 minutes away and has all the amenities you need. Lincoln City to the south is a fun place to visit and if you can get to depoe bay, it is well worth taking an hour whale watching boat ride.

This is our second time staying at this campground and specific site. I wanted to see how a busy warm weather holiday weekend compared to Thanksgiving weekend. I've been burned in the past by going during the off season and then again during the summer. I will say though that both times I was very impressed! I will say that for RV's the C-Loop is ideal. Full hook ups (water, sewer, 30amp), super close beach access, and enough tree cover to feel out in nature but enough sun breaking through to enjoy its warmth.

Traveling with young kids I do worry about fast drivers and this campground has none of that. Everyone did seem very aware of kids running around and drove as such. Lots of wooded area for kids to explore and play pretend.

We also brought along our 2 Labs for this trip. I will say that was the only downside, and not because of our dogs. I would say close to half of the other campers also had dogs of various sizes all of whom, except 1, were always on leash and well mannered. Poop was always cleaned up, other campers understood the unwritten rules of walking dogs around other dogs, etc. So I guess this is more of a PSA than anything. Keep your dog leashed at all times! While walking our dogs a not friendly Labradoodle bounded out of its site barking at my older, more skittish dog. Not all dogs are going to be as non-reactive as mine, nor is the other dog going to be as friendly. The last thing any pet owner wants is their pet to be harmed or harm another.

The beach area did get a little busy, but definitely not as busy as the day use area! Venturing north or south from the crowds revealed some prime beach without everyone milling about.

Overall, I plan on continuing to try to get a site here. As any camper who is familiar with this campground knows, it's HARD to get a site here! And now I see the demand is well understood. Close to Portland, close to town for forgotten essentials, and large well equipped spaces. The tent sites were also very generous in size.

I was hunting a place for the night on at 6pm on a rainy Friday night. I can't believe they had sites available. Sites might be a little close but I don't think this camp is designed for privacy. It's designed for ocean access and you definitely have that here. The next morning was sunny and full of bird life. The hiking is endless with the beach and also trails through the forest and picnic area. The kiosk attendant was very friendly and helpful considering I wasn't the only one coming in then and it must have been the end of a long day. I didn't really have the time to do in-depth exploration but from what I saw it has many possibilities.

This was our second stay at this park. Both times were in February and during Covid (2020 and 2021), so I can't fairly review the services and facilities.

Some positives: It is a nice setting. The park is very clean. The park is thick with trees. It is close to the beach and far enough from the closest town and highway to enjoy the sounds of nature most of the time. It is an easy walk to the beach where we we able to go for a long walk and spot a couple of Bald Eagles. (the trails around the park are temporarily closed)

Negatives: Because of the trees, the roads and sites are narrow and are difficult for big rigs. To keep the sites clean, there is frequent noise from leaf blowers and pressure washers from about 8am until 4pm.