Tillicum Beach Campground

Beach camping is always my #1 favorite getaway and was a little nervous having booked a site at a beach I'd never been to but was pleasantly surprised and blown away at this campground. We've never ventured this far south, but was lucky enough to score a site at this campground for the 4th of July holiday weekend. The campground is about 5 minutes south of Waldport (great for crabbing) and 30 minutes south of Newport (husband had some luck fishing on the South Jetty). The entire campground only has about 50ish sites and most are RV sites with both electric and water hookups. Our site, #11, was perfect in that it had both hook ups and an ocean view. From our site to the beach was maybe 150yds down a little path, which did cut between 2 sites, so not ideal but there was another more roundabout way from the day use area to the same stairs to the beach. The beach was perfect for families or lounging; uncrowded, flat, and not rocky. We usually scout other campsites for future visits and I will say that aside from a handful that backed up to 101 or bathrooms they were all fantastic spots to camp!

Pros:
-Ocean views from most sites, sounds of waves crashing from all sites
-Uncrowded, flat family friendly beach
-Lots of kids around, but not noisy (unheard of!)
-Good sized, mostly private sites
-Pleasant, upbeat hosts
-Clean bathrooms (which finally have soap thanks to COVID-silver lining?)
-Close to town for forgotten essentials
-Water & electric hookups

I'm reaching here BUT here are the cons:
-no hookups for oceanfront sites
-No sewer hookups, but able to dump at South Beach State Park (just prepare to wait in line on busy weekends/holidays)

Had a reservation here for one night on our way down to California. Sites were tight but easy to back in with our 24 ft Class C. Grounds were clean and hosts were very friendly. I loved the beach. It's beautiful and perfect for walks, beachcombing, kite flying, sand castles, etc. A couple we met said they saw whales breaching off shore. Overall, this campground was perfect for us and our 6 year old. Loved it so much, we are going to book it for longer next year. Verizon was very spotty, almost non-existent.

This is a great place to stay if you are lucky enough to secure a site overlooking the ocean.
Otherwise the sites are small, close together, and shaded by tees.
We chose this campground over two others nearby, which were even more crowded, more shady, and with even less privacy. So this was the lesser of three evils :-)
Beautiful sounds of waves rolling in all night long made for nice sleeps.
Otherwise, the campground is okay, with sites fairly close together, and feels a bit cramped.
The bathrooms have flush toilets and a sink with no hot water and no showers.
There are water spigots & garbage cans but no dump, and sadly no cell or Internet service.
The camp hosts were super nice and friendly and they do a nice job of keeping the grounds and bathrooms neat and tidy.
There are access points to get down to the beach from the campground.
The closest town is Yachats, and is a must visit town along the Oregon coast with it’s shops, restaurants, brewery, trails and tide pools.

Tillicum Beach Campground is a small USFS campground on the Central Oregon Coast. $26/night for oceanside dry camping. $33/night for interior sites with electric. Spotty VZ signal. Nice sandy beach. Quick drive to Yachats, Waldport, and Cape Perpetua.

Probably feels pretty crowded in the peak season, but in mid December I had pretty much my pick of sites without needing a reservation, and there were only a few other hardy campers around to share the beach and facilities with. Good rain gear is a must, but exploring the coast in the off season seems like a good way to do it.

Looking to hear the pounding Pacific surf inside your RV? Then make every effort to snag one of the oceanside spots at Tillicum Beach. Our 5 star rating reflects our particular spot, number 23, which was a very long pull in spot with beach access right in front of the spot and a secluded picnic and fire ring area with picture-window views of the ocean. The spot also features relatively open skies and would provide good opportunities for solar generation if the weather cooperates. The only downside of this breathtaking spot is the relative lack of privacy, since the entire side of our trailer was situated alongside the main loop and we experienced a lot of vehicle and foot traffic. Also, be aware that like most national forests this campground does not offer showers, but the flush toilets were a nice upgrade from the usual offerings.

It was easy to overlook those minor issues when we walked out of our trailer every morning and within minutes were down on a gorgeous wide beach. The campground does offer a few sites with electric, but they tend to be interior spots. The worst spots, in our opinion, were spots on the eastern side of the loop without electricity, which are densely forested so there are no views and no chance to generate solar power. But the entire campground offer excellent beach access in a lovely section of the coast.

There's good walking on the beach in both directions, though our way north was cut off by a small creek that we didn't feel like fording. There are small towns within about 4 miles in either direction -- Waldport to the north has gas and Yachats to the south has several restaurants and a brewery. The notable features around Cape Perpetua (Thor's Well, Spouting Horn, Devil's Churn) are about 5-6 miles to the south so within easy reach.

On AT&T, we consistently had 1-2 bars service on our devices inside our trailer, and better service when we moved over to our picnic area or down onto the beach.

After a few days of winging it and sleeping in random places we wanted a campground and some electric hookups. We pulled in around 10 am and the host directed us to a spot that had a cancellation. $26 with partial hookups is a good deal for the coast in general and this campground is right next to the beach with beach access, some of the sites even have great beach views.

It was a great place to relax and catch up for day for us but would also serve as a good base to explore the area for a few days.

Made reservations for this campground months before our arrival and chose a site that was available (very few) that would fit our 32' TT. As we were coming from the south, had to make a left into the campground but no left turn lane so we held up traffic a bit and dodged traffic across the highway. Check in was easy but as this campground was designed years before RVs became so big, snaking our way through the loop to our site in the back was a challenge but just took it slow and all good. Unfortunately, our site was right next to hwy 101 and heavily treed so combined with the foggy/cloudy weather it was very dark and noisy, although traffic died down at night.

After 2 nights hubby had enough so I asked the camp host if there were any available sites away from the highway that would fit us and he said, yes site 13 just opened up (first come, first serve). So we paid another $26 (and forfeited our site we had already paid for, essentially paying twice for the one night) and moved up front. MUCH BETTER! All we could hear were the waves and no trees blocking the light (fog/clouds). I also had access to my Verizon (email and text/voice) and we picked up 12 TV stations with our antenna. We had nothing in site 53. We would stay here again ONLY if we were up front.

If you like privacy, site 53 is fine but know you will be listening to hwy 101 traffic. The beach hear is beautiful, clean, and easily accessible. Great central location to towns in the north and scenery to the south. Bathrooms were clean, no showers, but did have electrical.

Golden Age and Access Passes are accepted here for a discount on the nightly rates.

This is a wonderful place to camp. Located right on the Oregon coast. If your one of the lucky ones you can hear the waves pounding on the shore. Just a short walk from your camp you can play on the beach or go for walks in the surf.

Sites are paved with some privacy, depending on the site. Book early as the good site go fast. Rest Rooms are very clean and recently renewed. Services here include Water and Trash. No Dump station at the facility. If you are going North there is a Dump Station in Walport that is city operated. Not the most fancy, but it works.

There are lots of destinations here, including the Hectca Lighthouse and Newport Fishing Village. Also in Newport, there is an Aquarium which I did not visit.

(Late April 2016) No shower and no hookups at the beach view sites, but I'd still give Tillicum 5*. This is the one place I reserved during our 2.5week trip. I wanted to see and hear the beach from our site and site 46 was perfect. We were able to turn our small trailer sideways to maximize the view. Rhododendron were lovely. Not all sites have beach view. Close to town, just off Hwy 1. Well maintained park, easy access to the beach and free sunsets!

We lucked out and got a walk-in site here over spring break in 2016. Someone must have just pulled out because site 18 is one of the best in the campground. Some sites have water and electricity, some don't. Some are reservable, some aren't. Some have amazing views of the water, and some are completely hidden in the trees. We didn't use the showers but the bathrooms were clean and the staff were friendly and helpful.

We've tried before to get a walk-in site here and weren't successful, so reservations are certainly recommended.