Fort Stevens State Park Campground

Had an excellent time at this state park campground. Staff were super friendly and the park itself was really clean. We scored an awesome deluxe cabin after a cancellation, which had 3 rooms and was perfect for our extended family of 7. The campground also has a plethora of very nice walking/​hiking/​biking trails that are through the woods and separate from the road. Access to the beach was a short distance by bike, right to the spot on the beach where the Peter Iredale shipwreck is located. The campground also has a very nice playground, which our toddler loved. And for history buffs, the fort itself is just up the road which has excellent tours. We will definitely be back here, and may need to reserve the cabins a solid 9+ months in advance to get them.

Amazing camping spot great facilities and beutifull envoroment.

Spent a fall weekend here. Not too bad. Facilities were clean. Some spots were more secluded than others. As it was Fall, the place was not at capacity — but definitely more folks camping than we anticipated.
A couple of surprises — two camp hosts per loop. The folks we met doing firewood sale rounds were very friendly.
A grouping of three campsites — older adults — burned the fire pit high and were relatively noisy late into the night… We were surprised that the noise was tolerated by the hosts — who were not so far away — and the nearby non-​participating camp sites.
At the end of the weekend, a heavy duty truck with three dudes toured the camp loops collecting leftover firewood… Did not appear to be part of the official operations, but who knows… Resourceful I suppose.
Price is the same whether you book online or pay at the site, so might as well choose your site online.
All in all, a good location with trailer hook ups and clean facilities.

Review is just for the campground and not the State Park itself — which is immense, immensely beautiful, and historic.
The deluxe cabin itself is four stars, it’s not even glamping — it’s being in a nice, nice cabin near people who are camping. The cabin has space heaters, a bigger fridge, microwave, a kitchen sink, a bathroom with a hot shower with great water pressure, a living room with a futon sofa, a bunk bed in the bedroom. Yes, it’s a one bedroom.
And the water in the shower and sinks get hot faster than at home. Decent water pressure too. Which was so welcome on the weekend we were there, where it rained a lot and heavily just about the entire time we were there. There’s even a DVD player for those antsy kids trapped on rainy days (when we were there!)
One star off the cabin because they do NOT clean well in there, when water spilled everywhere, we mopped it up with towels and it turned the towels BLACK. There’s a mop in that locked bathroom closet, surely! That mop must be pristine.
The futons are industrial, very indestructible, and very hard. But hey, better than camping, right?
Bonus: Gas grill, too?! A couple of the deluxe cabins are pet friendly, too. It was not so busy and crowded here on the weekend we went, compared to the rest of the campgrounds.
NOT a fan of the playground. It’s fine, for younger kids, a bit dated. Unattended kids ran rampant when we visited and not all of them are well-​behaved, and that’s a euphemism. I didn’t want any of our crew ending up mentioned in an unfortunate google/​huffington post news article. But the crowd must vary depending on when you go, right?
The campsites are packed densely on top of each other. Not a whole lot of privacy. Convivial is nice, but some space is too.
We do prefer Cape Disappointment. (Ironic? But true.)

Stayed one night, nice big pull through spot with hook ups. It did happen to be on the path to the bathroom, which I couldn’t tell when reserving, so there were a lot of people walking basically through our camp spot. Tons of bike paths and interesting things to see. Would like to come back and explore some more when I have more time.

I go camping with my daughter every year. She is 10. I also camped every summer growing up. We are tent campers so bear that in mind.
Fort Stevens is a HUGE campground and is completely full just about every day from June through September. Do not expect to be in solitude at this place during these months. Then again it is one of the largest campgrounds in the state so if you went here for solitude then you didn’t do your homework.
Sites
We stayed in N12. The camp spaces are pretty tight so you will likely get to know your neighbors good or bad. Luckily ours were great. You get the driveway and a 10 – 15 foot swath of grass next to it with a fire pit and picnic table. There is no vegetation or other separation from the next campsite. Overall the sites are clean and well kept if not overly spacious. I imagine they are built for people in campers and RVs, not for tent folks like us so the campground is designed more along the lines of a huge parking lot with some trees and bushes around.
Atmosphere
Don’t kid yourself, camping is a family activity most of the time so there are a lot of kids. For those who complain about it, that is like going to Disneyland and wishing there weren’t so many darn kids having fun! Yes, there are tons of kids on scooters and bikes riding around. Yes at time they can be noisy — its called having fun! There are a lot of dogs as well but we did not hear a single one at night.
Facilities
Facilities were clean and were never busy — but then I did not use the showers so I can’t speak for those. I did find it odd that they chose 8am in the morning to close the restrooms for 30 minutes for cleaning. Seems like the evening would be a less busy time.
Other
Firewood was available on site — it was $ 5.50 for a bundle — seemed similar to what was being sold along the road outside the park. They will even deliver it to your site if you sign up — or they will drive through in the evening with a bunch of bundles and you can flag them down.
I registered online and completed the pre-​registration and printed out my info and car pass so when I got there I only had to slip my pre-​registration into a box in the parking lot. This is a big plus as the line to register in the office can take a long time during typical check in times.
The location is ideal. There are lots of beaches to visit there in the park (and the shipwreck) as well as the old fort. It is also just a jump down the coast to the great beaches and tourist stops like Seaside and Cannon Beach. Or you can get into Astoria quickly if you want to eat something not cooked over a camp stove.

Do you camp old-​school style in tents? If so, private tent sites are a rarity. This place is much better equipped for flatlander camping, what with hook-​ups at every site; but that is on the plus side for tent camping — Hey! I don’t have to walk for water? And I can dump it right here too? Sweet!
To sum up the campground:
— Bathrooms were clean and convenient. All the RV’s meant not having to wait for a stall. I can’t review the showers — I’m old school and can deal with being dirty for a couple days.
— The parks rangers were very nice, and they kept the peace, though we did have a bike stolen in the night — a camping first in my 40+ years of life. The rangers indicated this wasn’t completely uncommon, so bike locks people! (Luckily our bike was found, but lesson learned.)
— If you like long walks — I mean really, REALLY long walks — there is beach access. The beaches are fantastic, but I suggest y’all hop in the car — there is plenty of parking at the four beach areas North of the campground.
— The bike trails are nicely paved and go all over the place. If you don’t like wearing your bike helmet, keep in mind that Oregon State Law requires them on people under 16.
— Most of the sites are shady, but bits of sun peek in. And in case you don’t know this already, it’s windy by the ocean; and it’s the PNW — the clouds might not burn off until noon or later. Bring a jacket… and pants.

Don’t walk the Parking Lot A trail for the next couple months, and don’t expect to find the myrtle, salal, and evergreen huckleberry that used to grow on the sides of the trail for a very long time. The whole area has been clearcut, essentially, 15 feet on either side of the walking/​bike trail, all the way into the forest. This was done presumably to reduce the scotchbroom, which was becoming less profuse over the past few years, since the trees have been growing in, and the land undisturbed, blocking the sun, and removing the conditions under which scotchbroom thrives (disturbed land and sun exposure).
Anyway, the geniuses who did this chop job left the one thing this area does not need — a holly tree of at least five feet!
Too bad about Parking Lot A. it was my favorite part of Ft Stevens.
Sue S

We loved this place because we were in the woods even though we have a big rig. Very friendly staff and great location to hundreds of things to do in the area. Note: We were there in late September when there are fewer travelers. I have no doubt that it is crazy during the summer months. We will definitely stay again but only during off season and never during the summer.

My Husband and our two small kiddos went up to this campground in hopes to find a last minute cancellation for a tent spot — which in the summer season is quite the risk. We were disappointed, but the wonderful park rangers offered for us to stay int he overflow section. What a treat — we weren’t on top of anyone, it was quiet, and the people there were awesome. We got to know our neighbors and even helped them get a fire started. The area was very quiet with easy access to the bathrooms and the garbage receptacles. All in all — it was a pleasant end to our road trip!

My family of four has been coming here for the past 6 years. This is our favorite place to camp. We usually camp for a week. We have always been very pleased with our stay until this trip. It looks like the park is not being maintained like it has been in the past. I don’t know if they have made cut backs in those that normally do the maintenance or what. My husband said he is going to bring is weed eater and lawn mower next time we come. It looks like the grass has not been mowed in two months. With the exception of the grass around the ranger/​check in area. We did see some poor soul mowing with an old push mower. So maybe their riding mowers are broke down. We always camp in «J» loop because of the grass. We like to play games in the grass with our kids. Grass was annoyingly too long. We camp a lot in State Parks. We always look forward to this park because of their great showers and bathrooms. I would have to say they have gone downhill. They are clean, just worn and needing replaced or repaired. Soooo sadly disappointed in the campground.
On the plus side, the programs at night are fantastic! They have a great Junior Ranger program and nice playground. Tons of bike trails, fishing at the lake, and lots of history.
Our loop was quiet after 10 during our stay. So we slept great. That does not always happen during camping trips.
We will still camp in this area, but we might splurge next year and try out the KOA across the street. We will see! Its a family tradition to come here.

we’ve seriously done so much camping at this place. also have some good peeps who’ve been a number of times. didn’t even know they had facilities for horse camping until someone told me they ride their horses in all the time. what what? I didn’t even know that was a thing, but apparently these guys got it covered.
the campgrounds (not camp *sites*) are huge with tons of sites. the downside to that is that this place services a lot of people. sometimes all at once. this is a state park and by no means out of the way. this means that the place gets hella crowded. for those of you who are used to these wide-​open public camping facilities know this means dealing with other peoples kids, and sometimes the bros next door have keggers and do their old highschool football teams holler in the middle of the night. yeah, they have the usual quiet time after 10pm or whatever, but you really expect everyone to be civil at all times only because you want them to be? yeah, right. you want privacy and silence at night? take up back packing. or maybe get a little more creative than to pick one of the largest state park camping facilities in the state. seriously, they are out there. if you get there and you don’t like the crowd, that’s your bad, in my opinion.
how to avoid the bustling crowd? don’t go camping on key holidays, such as; 4^th of july, memorial day, labor day or any particularly hot or moderate summer day, etc. if you do go camping on these days, try a pack-​in place with short hikes. theirs places in the state with a 45 minute hike to get to your site. you are going to find more serious out-​doors-​people that aren’t privy to amateur hour at the state park who think a fire ring, picnic bench, a private driveway and a moaning neighbor in the middle of the night that doesn’t know what a pillow is, 15 feet away actually constitutes camping. it doesn’t. it isn’t.
it’s an easy way to get out of the city. the prices are comparable to other state parks. it’s much larger and thus has a larger budget to include other novelties. things like showers on premise. the ones i know for sure are by the yurts. oh yeah, they have yurts with heaters.
when it’s 20 degrees outside, the heaters make it a sweltering 30 degrees inside. bring your good sleeping bag. or if your $ 20 deal at Target is your best rig. get a hotel. rookie. KOA is down the road. they have handicapped parking for you. coincidentally, so does Ft. Stevens so your grandma who’s a little sturdier than you can get her Rascal Scooter up the ramp into the yurt. The matress pads a few inches thick, making them at least 300% better than that used situation you picked up for a dollar in Deek and Brian’s basement. They are reasonably comfortable and help to ease grandma’s achy hips. or yours. Susan.
They got cool books in there where people have documented their trials and tribulations which don’t include your endless rant about your frizzy beard because you forgot your beard conditioner at home and your vegan lifestyle leaves you ignorant to the, literally, thousands of uses for bacon grease. Nancy. Grandma’s a badass and she’s got stories about the hike around the lake just down the road, bird watching and the shipwreck on the beach that you can walk up to and, at-​your-​own-​risk, climb. Ft. Stevens is also in a centralized location where the Walgreens is less than a 20 minute drive where you can get your tetanus booster for 60 bucks. The bros can get a 30 pack of Coors. sorry, they don’t have your brand of pomade, Dapper Dan.
how to successfully camp at Ft Stevens while avoiding the amateur hour shenanigans; avoid state parks, generally, in the peak summer season and especially on weekends. by all means, the weekdays are going to be much more sparse, but they also close off loops to get more people into a focused area making it easier to service the facilities like the washrooms, showers, and various garbage drop off sites. you might have a few sites near you that are vacant, which gives you more shoulder room and fewer conversations of society’s finest that you wish you couldn’t hear. on the weekdays you’ll see more casual fare. someone’s grandparents who’s flannel you’re actually wearing right now. by the way, he donated that for a reason. and it’s not because your girlfriend just learned how to stitch an off-​seam rip on pinterest.
Yeah, when you thought it was so original to bring wine camping, they actually remembered to bring a wine key. yeah you can burrow it. they wont even give you a hard time when you forget to bring it back only to lose it before the next camping trip anyways. They are also really polite. they will wave at you every trip to the near-​by restroom making you self conscious wondering if 4 trips to the bathroom is too many. they will also leave you, sitting on the john, pondering social issues like, «Why do they get an RV AND Medicare and all I’m going to get is diabetes?»

Loud, noisy and obnoxious — I am talking about the parents (here I use the term loosely) who apparently think taking the kiddies to Ft. Stevens is about the same as Walmart on a Saturday afternoon or a McDonalds with a kiddie playground. We camped in M5. Unbeknownst to us we were next to the bath/​shower walkway (you’re not shown these on the website maps and on a wide corner which normally, I guess, has the gate open to L loop, this trip is was closed. So what do the beer-​guzzling/​chip crunching chair-​potato parents do? They turn their kids loose on razor-​scooters (motorized), bikes (wearing no helmets as required of anyone under 16) and send them off away from their campsite with no supervision and expect all the other campers to tolerate the noise and bad behavior. This was our worst camping experience in 6 years of camping. I guess if you are in a hard-​sided trailer you won’t hear the noise, don’t know, didn’t ask. It was only after day 3 of this crap we went to the host. We were told the hosts are «not allowed to handle these situations but he contact a Ranger. Note: we saw Ranchers in the early a.m. before most campers were even up yet, and again between 9 – 10 pm when most of the kiddies were finally put to bed. I feel for the Rangers who now have to be like traffic cops, too few for too many breaking the rules. A Ranger did show (the host said they’d given this «family» a warning about the razor scooters before — what???) and the kids disappeared to wherever they belonged in the first place. If you want any resemblance of peace and quiet DO NOT CAMP here in the Summer months.
The up side: we partook of the Kayak trip, bird watching walk, thoroughly investigated the old Fort and had a grand time outside the camp ground.
The Oregon State Park system has very little consistency. The hosts here do not put out on/​off duty signs nor do they get out in the carts to just peruse the areas. If they can’t do anything about violations they see they should at least be able to report them; autos speeding in going the wrong direction, no bike helmets, campers taking over not only their site but those next to them and across the street. Yep, unfortunately this trip we saw it all and way too much of it.
We are older, respectful and friendly. Our buttons got pushed big time this trip.
Parents: if you can’t/won’t parent keep the kids at home in your backyard. I feel for the people who have to live next to you.

I prefer to camp in cooler weather, so fall, winter, and spring. I have a small motor home, and camp with two large dogs.
During Discovery Season, this is my favorite campground. The prices are reasonable ($ 23), and the grounds are not very crowded. Except during holiday weekends, there is almost always space available — most loops are removed from the reservation system, so convert to first come first served. They start with only a few loops open, then open more as needed.
I like some privacy in my campsites, and some space for my dogs to play — many of the sites in this campground fit the bill.
The rangers and park hosts, all that I’ve interacted with, are very friendly and welcoming. Very important to me, this is a VERY dog-​friendly park. Lots of trails and roads to walk the dogs, and lots of dog bag stations.

We usually go camping in the winter. I know call us crazy but we hate the crowds and camping is no exception to that rule. I’m not much of a camper the Holiday Inn is my idea of camping (see other reviews) but when married to the YS one must make a compromise or two. Read-​He owes me. Just kidding.
Let me start by saying we have camped in Yurts before and have had a fun time. We normally go out to Cape Lookout State Park and enjoy that place a lot. This time we decided to change it up a bit and go to Fort Stevens.
You have to make these reservations in advance and can only go as far as 9 months in advance so timing is everything on these things. I would say plan ahead for these adventures. That’s why when things don’t go exactly as you wish them too I’m a little sad because the next trip will probably be sometime next year.
We got to the Yurt early enough but still dark in these fall to winter months. We quickly made up the bed and turned on the heat. The employees of the state park had left it on low as it was a reserved unit. Which it was a nice touch considering the decided chill in the air. The heat is a cadet heater and it my previous experience will heat up the small space in no time. Well, as the time worn on it didn’t really warm up much and with all our blankets, etc., it was still cold and on this 28 degree night it was not working out. So, off we go at 2AM to the Holiday Inn in town (see other review).
The rest of the time spent there was fun and it was clear and dry. Our Yurt (#3) for those keeping score, was close to the restroom which is a godsend in the middle of the night.
We spent one night in the yurt and after purchasing an electric blanket it was tolerable but the following night they were calling for 60 MPH winds and with the yurt not being airtight we decided to call it at about 6PM on Sunday night.
All in all not a bad stay but I think if this would have been my first experience in a yurt I would have never considered going back. As it is I will go back but they have to do something about that heater as in my experience this one is not typical of most in a yurt.
Nice fire pits and picnic tables at the sites. Garbage and recycling near the entrance of the park. Also, note the KOA store across the street from the entrance for forgotten essentials. Or items stolen by overzealous raccoons. Even if it’s in the ice chest with it closed tight your four legged night crawlers can eat your eggs.

WWe tried to call ahead for a reservation, but were told its first come, first served. Which can be a hassle to get all the way there and find it booked solid.
The park rangers were very helpful and friendly, as were the park hosts. They even make rounds every hour or so with firewood for sale.
As soon as the sun went down, things quieted down considerably, and stayed quiet well past sun up. Best night’s sleep I’ve had in a while.
I wasn’t really expecting to get a phone signal, 3g, 4g, or WiFi, but we did get sporadic 3g which was nice to keep in touch.

It would be a great get away for a couple days away from home if you could get in. This place is almost 100% reservable so about the only way to go is plan many months ahead. In my opinion a large percentage of campgrounds on public land should be non-​reservable. Of course this cuts into the profits of the private companies that run these campgrounds for profit.
Other then that I really do like this place. The trails are outstanding. There are lakes, old military fort, a shipwreck and beaches (bayside and oceanside). If it wasn’t for the ridiculous reservation system that our greedy park administrators have deemed necessary, I would give this park more stars. As far as tight camping spots, I’ve been to private campgrounds with much less space and privacy.

MOSQUITOES!!! More than I’ve every seen in my life. I was covered in Deep woods off for 4 days straight… mmmm the sweet smell of DEET. I was told by a fellow camper that Salem usually funds more insect control but didn’t for this year due to cutbacks, not sure how valid that is but I was attack as soon as I stepped out side and bitten more than a few times through my clothing, it’s crazy. The candles and coils and every replant you could think of had no effect except for the OFF spreay
Anyways, we tagged along with our friends you have a 30ft camp trailer, not really roughing it but it works. It’s like any other park really to me. Nothing really special beside the KURT huts, I’ve never seen those before. I didn’t get to bring my bike and hate myself for it. They had winding trails through the whole park that looked fun.
I guess the historic side of Ft. Stevens will interest you if your into that sort of WWII/​Americana thing. I was like «That’s cool… old army stuff». I’m from the Eastern Ohio though, American history is way deeper there going back to the Civil war, before Oregon was even thought of… so. WWII non combat stuff is .meh.

First off, this park in its entirety is almost everything you could ask for in a state park. Multiple lakes, trails, the Columbia river, expansive scenery & wildlife, and of course an ocean beach. On top of all of this is the military museum, Battery Russell, and the 100+ year old wreckage of the Peter Iredale on the beach. Just read the reviews. That in itself gives the campground 3 stars. There’s no way you’ll run out of things to do here, and you’re camping right in the middle of it all.
Now the campground itself.
The other reviewers are definitely not exaggerating when it comes to privacy. Most of the sites are practically right on top of each other… HOWEVER, if you don’t mind spending some time finding a site, there are some really good ones — particularly in the «primitive» area. Still, yes, the noise can be an issue. Easy fix for me: earplugs. However, if you need complete silence in order to go to sleep, you may be up well past midnight. Really, though, it depends on the site location and people around you. Also, the south loops tend to be louder than the north loops because of the amphitheater & playground on the south end, so the families with children tend to stay in those loops.
The bathroom & shower facilities here are very clean. I’ve camped for as long as I can remember and have been almost everywhere in Oregon, and these are probably the nicest facilities I’ve come across. Also, the camp hosts are very accommodating and for the most-​part aren’t right on top of you complaining about everything you’re doing, as is the case at a lot of state parks. Watch out for the raccoons, though! Make sure your food is put away, etc. These little guys are BALLSY! ;)
Oh and one more thing… Fabulous yurt village! We had a foe & fawn spend the weekend with us (including the days) lounging in the grass around our yurt. Very cool! The yurts are also very well kept, and great for those who aren’t very fond of tent camping.

It’s not my cup of tea but I do think it is a good spot to take folks that don’t normally go camping.
I don’t know how people sleep here. We just came back from a weekend of «camping» with our family and I don’t think we’ll be back. Everytime I have come to Fort Stevens, it is full of people, loud and there is little or no privacy. The nice parts are the beach is close enough to walk to and plenty of things to do if you get board people watching.
This is not a campground; more like a rustic metropolis (as my Husband puts it). It is however a sweet spot to park your RV, there is plenty of pavement, electricity, running water and the park host will even deliver cut wood to your campsite.