One of several cabins for rent at the Oregon coast's Cape Lookout State Park, ranked among campgrounds with the best views in the United States.Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
Camping with a view is easy here in the Pacific Northwest. Sure, there are a few duds, but campgrounds here by and large come with some kind of spectacular scenery.
But according to a new trending list by Matador, a travel website that claims to be “your guide to adventure,” there are two campgrounds in Oregon that stand out from the crowd.
Matador’s new list, “60 Campgrounds With the Best Views Across the United States,” rounds up what it says are “10 of the prettiest places to camp” in each region of the country, spots that offer “stunning views from the moment you peek outside your tent flap.”
The 10 spots from the West Coast region (a very broad region!), include two from Oregon: Cape Lookout State Park and the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness.
A sunny fall day on the Salmon River Trail in the Mt. Hood National Forest. The 14-mile hiking trail follows the Salmon River as it pours off the slopes of Mount Hood. Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
A beachgoer digs for clams at Cape Lookout State Park.Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
Cape Lookout is a great spot, to be sure. Found on the north Oregon coast, the state park features more than 200 tent and RV sites, 13 yurts and six deluxe cabins, all a short walk from the beach, with hiking trails that lead up to and along Cape Lookout itself. While the campground is in the midst of a big construction project, it remains one of the most popular places to camp on the coast.
It might be the most scenic campground on the Oregon coast, but a case could be made for Beverly Beach, Harris Beach or Humbug Mountain. There’s also Tillicum Beach, where campsites are perched on bluffs above the ocean, and William M. Tugman, which offers lakes, dunes and forests.
Kudos to the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness for earning a mention but it’s only one of SO many beautiful wilderness areas in Oregon. The Salmon-Huckleberry is the closest wilderness area to Portland, found in the Mt. Hood National Forest. There are a few drive-in campsites on its edges, but Matador has specifically called out its backpacking sites, particularly those along the popular Salmon River Trail.
It would be easy to argue for the inclusion of a dozen other wilderness areas in Oregon, all of which offer incredible backpacking spots. There’s the stunning Eagle Cap Wilderness in the Wallowa Mountains, the Three Sisters Wilderness in the central Cascade Mountains or the wilderness surrounding the Wild and Scenic Rogue River, to name a few.
The upshot here is that you really can’t go wrong with Oregon campgrounds. The best place to go camping here is wherever you find yourself camping. Odds are, the view will be pretty amazing.
—Jamie Hale covers travel and the outdoors and co-hosts the Peak Northwest podcast. Reach him at 503-294-4077, jhale@oregonian.com or @HaleJamesB.
Our journalism needs your support. Subscribe today to OregonLive.com.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025).
© 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us).
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.
Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.
YouTube's privacy policy is available here and YouTube's terms of service is available here.
Ad Choices
