This State Park located on the John Day River has been on our bucket list for some time. This former working ranch is the second largest & newest park in the Oregon Park system. (note: newest park that offers camping).
Top Pic: Blooming Lilacs throughout the campground.
Bonus stop. One more night on the road before returning to Bend. We swung a tad out of our way so we could check out the area & lakes along Hwy 31 on the way home.
We had a very windy 145-mile drive today and, in the process, traded Jeffery Pines for sagebrush with great views.
"A quick drive up the coast brought us to this campground we last visited during fall of 2013. It looks like this will a good base for exploring the area before heading home."
"Only an 88-mile drive, but it seemed much longer because of the narrow winding roads. But the reward at the end made it well worth it. Now it's time to explore the area."
We had a short drive up the coast to Beverly Beach. This massive State Park campground is tucked in a dense forest. There's easy beach access via a path under the Hwy 101 bridge.
In keeping with our "river" theme on this mini road trip, we drove 160 crazy Memorial Day miles to get where the Deschutes River empties into the Columbia River. Once again, the RV gods were good to us as we scored a site backing up to the Deschutes.
"We went looking for a small campground to ride out the Memorial Day weekend, and Red Bridge was just that campground."
"A short drive from our last campground is this state park that's located south of Reedsport that we wanted to checkout. It tucked in the woods on Eel Lake and Eel Creek."
It's like "déjà vu all over again"... Same campground, same site, just about a year later. Mooch checking the campground after a short drive day.
A glimpse of the historic Coquille Lighthouse behind piles of driftwood on the beach.
Sixty-nine miles. Now that's my kind of driving day. We found a well cared for state park not too far from John Day, OR. There are a few things we want to check out in John Day.
We're definitely no longer in the mountains with its tall pine & fir trees. We found a state park on the Snake River that will do for a short visit.
Today’s drive ended at Black Mesa SP, a quiet park in the western part of the Oklahoma panhandle. Why? Because we were very near the highest point in Oklahoma.
We've wanted to check out this SP. Lots of good hiking. And nearby is the site of the Battle of Picacho Pass, one of several Civil War engagements in the Arizona Territory.
This park is the most northern in a string of redwood parks that stretch up Northern California's coast. It contains seven percent of all the old-growth redwoods left in the world.
Well, this turned out to be our lucky day. We pulled into Harris Beach SP scored the last site available overlooking the ocean. We're already enjoying the amazing view!
Cape Blanco is the most southern Oregon lighthouses and is the most western point in OR. It was the 1st lighthouse in the state outfitted with a first-order Fresnel lens in 1870.
Found a nicely wooded campground that offers spectacular views of Bastendorff Beach below. This beach extends from Yoakum Head to the south jetty, which is the entrance of the bay.
A popular State Park conveniently located 2 miles south of Newport, with easy access to miles of broad & sandy beaches and a lot more.
