Tent Camping in Brookings, Oregon

Brookings is located on the southern Oregon coast.

If you think of Oregon as too cool and damp for tent camping, think again. Brookings, located just across the California border in Oregon's "Banana Belt," has temperatures in the 70s in the summer. It is a town of about 14,000 people on the Chetco River, and includes within its borders 15 miles of Oregon coast. The Brookings area provides a variety of possibilities for tent camping.

Harris Beach State Park

With more RVs on the highways, tent campers can feel squeezed out. In Brookings, however, Harris Beach State Park has 63 tent camp sites as well as a hiker-biker camp. Although the park provides a peek at nearby Bird Island Wildlife Sanctuary, do not expect isolation. Many of the camp sites have TV and WiFi hookups.

Alfred A. Loeb State Park

Wilder and more remote, the Alfred A Loeb State Park offers several tent campsites as well as three rental cabins. It is set in a myrtlewood forest on the Chetco River, which makes swimming, fishing and even rafting possible. The park is about 10 miles northeast of Brookings.

Siskiyou National Forest

The Chetco River provides swimming, boating and rafting opportunities.

The Forest Service operates several low-fee and no-fee campgrounds near Brookings that are significantly less developed than the more expensive state parks. You can try Little Redwood Campground, with 12 shaded tent sites on a summer bank of the Chetco River. There are no toilets, but it has fire rings. The Winchuck (five sites) and Ludlam (seven sites) campgrounds are both close to Brookings and near the Winchuck River. Both have vault toilets and picnic tables.

Reservations for State Parks

Half of Oregon state park campgrounds take reservations; the remainder are on first-come basis. Harris Beach is one of the former---you can reserve a spot online or by calling 1-800-452-5687---while Alfred A. Loeb is one of the latter. Tent sites for either one are $16 in winter and $20 in summer as of 2010, but hike-in or bike-in camping is only $5.

Reservations for U.S. Forest Service Area

Southern Oregon offers mountains, rivers, forests and coast.

The U.S. Forest Service does not take reservations for any of the campgrounds, but all are let on a first-come, first-served basis. Indeed, it is possible to tent-camp anywhere in the forest outside designated campgrounds if you wish to do so. Contact a Forest Service Office to find out about fire danger in the area in which you wish to camp. These campgrounds are open only in the summer.

References

• Oregon Parks and Recreation Department: State Parks
• Brookings Harbor: Oregon Coast Visitors Association
• U.S. Forest Service: Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest
• Brookings Harbor Chamber of Commerce: Visitor Information

Resources

• Oregon: Oregon Parks and Recreation Department: State Parks FAQ