Earlier this month, Fort Stevens State Park was spotlighted as a fabulous camping option when traveling to the Oregon coastline. Further south, another slice of beautiful nature to enjoy while camping can be found at Cape Lookout. Like other Oregon state parks, Cape Lookout offers fire-pits, electrical hook-ups, picnic tables in every site, and the smell of pine and fir trees! Reservations for summer trips need to be acquired now, so go to the website reserveamerica.com and look for dates that will fit your summer vacation.
This state park has an amphitheater for nature and history talks given by park rangers, evening programs, a Junior Ranger Program for the kids, and a recycling station. Of course, showers, toilets, and potable water are conveniently accessible during your stay. Some cabins are available for visitors who wish to be in the campground but prefer to sleep on bunks in a sheltered facility.
What’s wonderful about this campground is that a mere dike separates the camping sites and the expansive beaches of the Pacific. At night, campers can hear the roar of the waves. Kids can walk from the campground, over the dike, and be at a beachcomber’s delight. Kelp bulbs, shells, and sand dollars litter the beach at low tide. Additionally, sea life like whales, seals, etc. can sometimes be spotted from the beach or from higher ground attained on various hikes in the area.
Hiking is a favored activity at Cape Lookout. One trail that is popular takes adventurers through old-growth forest to the spot of a bomber that crashed in 1943. There is a plaque to read that explains the history of the spot. The distance is out and back and will take your legs five miles with an elevation gain of 930 feet. Many edible berries have thickets along the trail, so it offers parents a chance to educate children on which berries are good and which are poisonous to consume.
Cape Lookout is only 12 miles from the city of Tillamook, Oregon. There are many activities for families to enjoy in this coastal town. The Tillamook Air Museum is a favorite for World War II enthusiasts. It was 1942 when the U.S. Navy constructed 17 huge hangars to store the K-class blimps that were used to patrol the coastline for submarines.
Another famous tourist locale is the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Huge vats of milk that is churned into cheese offers a learning demonstration to visitors. Many varieties of cheese, along with fresh curds, are sold at the end of the tour. If a delicious ice cream cone sounds more to your liking, the Tillamook Creamery offers tours (no reservations needed) of how the cream is created at the Farm Exhibit and ends in the Dining Hall. It’s open every day of the week from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. and is a favorite tourist attraction when taking a drive from the campground at Cape Lookout to Tillamook.
The Oregon coastline offers nature lovers the opportunity to camp at beautiful state parks and visit nearby towns where tourism is nurtured. To get the best of both roughing it and enjoying tourism, Cape Lookout near Tillimook, Oregon is a must this coming summer!
