Jones Creek Campground
Site Unknown
8.4.17 - 8.6.17
No cell service, no internet

This was our very first camping trip in Oregon, about three weeks after we moved up to the PNW! Working off memory here as this was before our log book…

We had just bought #vandiesel and wanted to take her out for a spin. It was completely gutted and just a shell of the van we now know and love. We didn’t know much about camping up here but a friend told us he camped out in Tillamook once so we thought we’d give it a shot. Turns out, the State Forest campgrounds are usually not reservable and its nearly impossible to stumble upon a campsite in the middle of summer 45 minutes outside of Portland. We went to a few different campgrounds desperately looking for a spot and right before we gave up completely and turned home we drove all the way up a hill to the Diamond Mill OHV Staging Area where yes, you could technically camp, but its really not for camping. Its just a large dirt parking lot where people sleep in RVs after a long day of ATV riding….not really ideal.

We left first thing in the morning and made one more pass around the campgrounds and landed at Jones Creek. We circled some of the loops and by sheer luck we found a spot that had clearly been very recently vacated as the firepit was still smoldering. We grabbed the site and high-fived our good fortune. We were nervous about a first-come first-served spot so we set up a decoy tent so we could drive away if necessary and still reserve our spot. The campground itself was really large, probably close to 100 spots. Our site was smaller but really private, it was really nice, exactly what we were looking for.

We drove through Tillamook to the coast and stopped at the Cape Meares Lighthouse and stopped by the Octopus Tree as well. We ate sandwiches, we stared at the ocean, it was a good afternoon.

I don’t have specific pros and cons to add but I will say that we will likely not return to a non-reservable campground, its far too stressful. The camphost told us we’d have to arrive by Wednesday to gaurantee a spot. But we did tote Winnie around in a wheel barrow so that was fun.