South Beach State Park Campground

This is the largest campground we've stayed at. Like all Oregon State Parks there are plenty of staff and volunteers to take care of it. D loop is nice for bigger rigs, but there are spaces throughout where most would fit. The interior sites are at the wrong angle, requiring making the full loop and then backing in on your way "out" - not a problem for the site we had. A very busy park with lots of families, dogs, bikes, site turn-over. We had plenty of sunshine at our site. Trees were a little low, dragged our roof at the site.
The best entrance road we've used - wide, smooth, good signage. Good refuse/recycle area and large dump pullout.
Close to Oregon Aquarium, Nye Beach (great little area), Yaquina Head Lighthouse (we went twice), and lots more.
We loved Newport and will spend more time there in the future

We were in Silverton, Oregon for 2 family reunions & decided to extend our Oregon trip to include South Beach State Park. We're so happy we did. This is the largest park we've stayed in but, thanks to many trees & shrubs, it felt small & cozy. We loved our site--D17. It backed on a field & it felt private & quiet there. I would say the only caveat for this site in particular & the park in general is that it's very busy. Lots of bicycles & walkers but no ATV's or motorcycles. So other than the traffic, it was a quiet busyness. We didn't use the bathrooms or showers so can't rate those amenities.

The park is just south of all the hustle & bustle of Newport, which is a bonus. It is near the Oregon Coast Aquarium, The Hatfield OSU Marine Science Center, the south jetty & Yaquina Bayfront & lighthouse. There are many excellent restaurants along the bayfront but it can be difficult to find parking.

The Hatfield Marine Science Center was really a highlight for us. Admission is free & there are many excellent displays for people of all ages that educate one about the marine world of the Oregon coast beyond the animals who live there. In our opinion, it was much more in-depth than the aquarium & we would go again.

The other high point for us was Seal Rock State Park, which is about 8 miles south of South Beach State Park. There are rocks off-shore that make surf-watching lots of fun. We wished we'd brought a picnic so we could spend more time there. By the way, we were confused by many positive reviews online that reference 'Seal Rock Wayside'. There is no such wayside--they are actually referring to Seal Rock State Park.

We also found an excellent used book store in Waldport, about 4 miles south of Seal Rock. They have an excellent selection & the staff are very helpful. Perfect stop for a rainy day.

We are already planning next year's trip to South Beach State Park & plan to travel further down the Oregon Coast from there. We feel as if we've just scratched the surface of the beauty that the coast has to offer.

We didn’t find out about this campground until after we paid and parked at Port Newport Marina and RV Park, and were slightly bummed. We drove over to check it out (beginning of November) and to bring the dogs to the beach to hang out. It was a really nice looking campground. Huge – which makes me think it gets super busy though the summer season. Sites had electric, water, a picnic table and a fire pit. A patch of grass and trees separates each site from one another. The sites vary in sizes and amount of tree shade. There are around 225 RV sites which are divided into several loops and each loop had its own common area in the center, whether it was a large grass field or a playground. There were also bathrooms onsite along with a dump station that is free to use for everyone. There are trails that lead to the beach from the campground. Depending on where you are camped the distance varies from ¼ mile, 1/3 mile, ½ miles or longer. There wasn’t any Wi-Fi at the campground.

This campground is close to downtown Newport, Rogue Brewery, Oregon Coast Aquarium and beaches.

During our adventures in Oregon, we stayed at South Beach over Thanksgiving. The weather was sunny and spectacular, allowing us to take advantage of the beautiful beach. Our dogs absolutely loved being able to stretch their short legs in the sand.

The sites are a bit tight, but wonderfully laid out. Facilities are clean, the water's hot, and they even have a hospitality center where you can borrow a book or DVD. TV reception here is great, so I didn't miss out on the traditional Thanksgiving football games.

Our site was about 1/4 mile away from the beach, straight down a well maintained trail. The beach is a wide expanse of sand. To the north, you have South Jetty. Saw an honest to goodness shipwreck from the day before!

In Newport, there's great shopping, eats, and Rogue Brewery. If you are a craft brew lover, and we are, you'll love visiting their headquarters.

We enjoyed South Beach and the whole area so much, we are considering moving there.

This is a big campground, multiple loops, with a big set of yurts and a half-dozen camp hosts for various areas. The rangers on check-in are thorough and the map is really helpful. Each loop has toilets and free showers (yay!) and a play area for kids.

There are several trails to the beach, and a paved bike trail to the aquarium and jetty for those who like to hike or ride bikes. The beach itself feels endless to the south (the jetty to the north ends it rather quickly!).

The town of Newport is just to the north, with Walmart, Fred Meyer, Safeway, and several places to get propane refills. The traffic can be a bit heavy, so avoid commute hours.

The noise comes not from the 101 traffic but from helicopters and planes taking off or landing at the airport just a bit south of the campground. Not constant, but that one helicopter managed to make an otherwise enjoyable campfire night a bit noisy.

We definitely enjoyed our stay here. Our site had tons of space. There were a great many families when we were here the week after 4th of july. The playground had decent equipment, and served as a great gathering area for all the park's many children. Our site backed right to the playground so this was perfect. The showers were clean and plentiful--never a wait. This is important in a campground without a sewer hookup, so we are showering in the facilities.

My complaint with South Beach State Park, and the reason I'm giving it only four stars (unlike everyone else!), is that the campgrounds feel too disconnected from the beach. There is a 1/3-mile trail, but the last part requires climbing a dune that makes this more of a project than I'd like with the kids. I prefer a place where we can easily ride bikes to the beach, or load up the car with gear and be right on the beach. This was our 3rd campground in our Oregon Coast trip, and the one with the worst beach connection.

We will certainly return, as there is simply way too much to do in the area for the 2 days we were here.

We had a great, wooded site on the outer rim of the circle and it gave us a lot of privacy in such a large campground. I don't think we would have liked it as much if we had camped in one of the inner circle sites that are more open. We loved riding the bike trail to the south jetty, under the bridge, over to the aquarium, the marina, and the Rogue Brewery & Pub (where we had a great lunch). 'What fun! The walk to the beach was fun as well and we enjoyed watching the sunset over the dunes and the jetty. Camping here was like being in a pretty, friendly, mini-city. The only down-side is that for light-sleepers, the constant fog-horn on the jetty can be a bit a annoying. We had a great dinner at Georgies with a fabulous view looking out over the coastline and delicious clam chowder at the Newport Cafe.
The access is easy except for the heavy traffic on 101 if you are turning north.
The noise level was actually quiet except for the constant fog-horn (which varied in intensity) from the jetty.

This wasn't one of our favorite state parks. It's in a great location and that was the part we did like, but what we didn't like is how crowded and noisy it is and how close the sites are together. We are used to having some sort of privacy at state parks, with trees and space, but this park was not like that. The sites are really close together and there was constant noise and activity all day long. Our site (B13) was right on the main road which may have contributed to the noise level, there were vehicles, bikes, and people constantly going by the campsite. I imagine it may not be like that during the off season, but summer was not the best time to be there for us since we prefer a lot more space and privacy. It's possible we just got a bad site and maybe there are nicer more secluded sites at this park, but B13 is not one of them. The paved trails that lead to the beach are very nice, and the paved South Jetty trail was also great for biking. We rode our bikes down to the Rogue Brewery for a tour and dinner one evening which was really fun. This park really is in a great location if you can overlook the constant noise and activity around the campground. Also, Verizon worked very well there.

This is a huge campground and was intimidating at first. The sites are fairly close together and wide open with dried grass fields and scrubby pine trees. It was quieter at our site than we expected and there was natural foliage at the back of our site. There is a playground structure in the middle of the loop. The shower has dual controls and good water pressure. There is a couple of trails to the beach including one with an accessible boardwalk overlook.

We camped at this campground for 5 days. It is a well kept park. The campground is about 1/3 to 1/2 mile from the beach and has several pave pathways to it. The showers are clean and the water is warm. The sites are level and the driveways are paved. There is a hospitality center near the entrance that has information about the area and wifi. The staff was friendly and helpful. We traveled short distances from the campground to see the Oregon coast Aquarium, Devil's Punchbowl, and 3 lighthouses. We also were able to see migrating gray whales fairly close up.