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Bluebill Campground

written by Amanda May 29, 2021

May 16-22

During our last visit to the Oregon coast, we spent one afternoon hiking around giant piles of wind-sculpted sand. The “trail” through the sand eventually ended on a pristine beach with the ocean lapping at the shore. It remains one of our favorite memories from that time. Of course, we had to go back!

Oregon Sand Dunes – October 2012!

The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area covers an area of about 40 miles from Coos Bay to Florence. It’s one of the largest expanses of temperate coastal sand dunes in the world. As someone who has made it their mission to visit as many sand dunes as possible, I can say with confidence that the collision of forest, desert, and ocean at the Oregon Dunes is nothing short of magical.

We climbed to the top of the dunes for a view of the McCullough Memorial Bridge

There are a number of forest service campgrounds offering opportunities to camp near the dunes. I scouted all the options before deciding on Bluebill Campground. It had the perfect combination of cell service (which was on the slow side, but still usable) and sites with open skies for solar power. It is also located near the southern end of the dunes, just outside the towns of North Bend and Coos Bay, which meant we could stay out near the dunes while having easy access to the conveniences of town.

Pretty little Bluebill Lake next to the campground

When I made the reservation for this campground back in February, I could have chosen any of the 19 sites. After scouring the internet for campsite photos and studying the satellite view, I choose site 11 based solely on the fact that it looked like it was the best for solar power. While we do own a generator, the goal is to never have to use it. Not only do we hate the noise and hassle of getting it out and setting it up, but when we’re in a campground such as this with tenters and car campers, it seems especially obnoxious to disturb the peace.

Bluebill Campground – site 11

Speaking of disturbing the peace, while we love to hike around the dunes and enjoy the quiet solitude of such an amazing feat of nature, others love to zoom around them on noisy, fume spewing machines. In fact, I would say that a LOT more people enjoy the dunes on noisy machines than they do on foot. I honestly don’t get it. I can’t imagine looking out at these sandy mountains and thinking, “You know what would make this better? A whole bunch of noise! Yeah, let’s make as much noise as possible in this serene place!” Nope, don’t get it and never will.

Windy in the dunes

Fortunately, there are many areas in the dunes where those noise spewing machines are not allowed. The Horsfall Area (not a typo – there really is no “e”) where our campground was located had a clear delineation of ATVs on the north side of the road and hikers and horses on the south side. Same thing on the nearby beach. ATVs can go north but not south. This meant we could hear their noise from the campground during busy times, but were able to hike around without having to see them.

Nothing but sand & sky
Horsefall Beach

The campground was mostly empty during the week and only partially full on the weekend which made for a very pleasant stay. There’s a small lake here with a popular 1-mile trail around it. A portion of the trail went past our site and we got to watch lots of dog friends on their daily walks, which is always fun. We hiked the trail ourselves a few times in the evening enjoying the lake views and coastal forest.

Bluebill Lake Trail

Outside of the campground, we spent some time in town shopping in stores we hadn’t seen since leaving Palm Springs (we never pass up a Natural Grocers), visiting the farmer’s market, drinking beer on the patio at 7 Devil’s Brewing, and eating dinner at Front Street Provisions.

Mac n’ Cheese / Beer on the patio / Salad made with farmers market goodies

One afternoon we paddled around the nearby Tenmile Lakes. The ocean is a bit too rough and exposed for kayaking around here, but we’ve been pleased to discover plenty of lakes and rivers for kayaking. The only thing holding us back has been the near-constant wind, so when a rare calm day popped up in the middle of the week, we jumped at the chance to put our boats in the water.

Happy to be out on the water!

North and south Tenmile lakes are part of a chain of lakes that drain into the Pacific ocean through Tenmile creek. They are popular lakes for fishing and other forms of recreation, although on a cool day in late May we didn’t see many other boaters. Our journey started at the public boat ramp on the South Lake. We paddled past the sandy beach and into the narrow canal that connects the two lakes.

Paddling the canal

We came out on the other side of the canal in North Tenmile Lake. Both lakes have many spidery fingers that reach out into the forest, making for some interesting scenery to paddle around. Much of the shore is lined with houses tucked back into the trees.

Paddling past a few lake houses
Many of the docks had mailboxes on them leading us to believe that the mail is delivered here by boat!
Train bridge

Our last adventure in the area was a long oceanside hike that started at Sunset Bay SP and ended at Cape Arago SP. This extremely scenic area of the coast (I mean, it’s all scenic, but this area is really special) features a series of three state parks connected by the Cape Arago Highway. You can drive the route, stopping at the viewpoints along the way and hike short sections. Or, you can park at Sunset Bay and hike the whole way to Cape Arago, which is about 8 miles out and back. Bet you can’t guess which option we chose!

Distant view of the Sunset Bay Lighthouse

The trail fairly closely follows the top of the bluffs as they twist and turn along the coast. Sometimes we left the coastal view and traveled through the forest, up and down hills, and past side trails that led to hidden beaches and wide panoramas.

Trail with a view
Simpson Beach
Lounging seals on the rocks

At one point, we stumbled upon the back entrance to the Shore Acres Botanical Garden. Now a part of Shore Acres State Park, this garden dates back to the early 1900s when timber baron Loius J. Simpson lived here with his family in a grand estate that included an indoor swimming pool, tennis courts, and this large English style garden.

In bloom! (the boxwood hedges got a recent trim on top)

We saw the flowers before we knew the garden was there. Great big bunches of bright pink and orange flowers stood out like colored lights among the forest. There are plenty of wild rhododendrons around here, but as we got closer it became obvious that this was far more than a patch of wild shrubs. Sure enough, we turned the corner and there was a large wooden gate with a welcome sign reading Shore Acres Botanical Gardens. In my opinion, the only thing better than a botanical garden is a surprise botanical garden!

The Japanese Garden

It was right around noon, so not a great time for taking photos of flowers, but we enjoyed a stroll around admiring all the blooming rhododendrons and azaleas.

Wow!

Back on the trail, we continued hiking to the Sea Lion Reef and then past to Cape Arago. There’s a nice beach here on the north side accessed by a short trail down the cliff. It’s known for having interesting tide pools if you visit at the right time of day. Since we still had a long hike back, we skipped the beach knowing that we still had weeks of beaches and tide pools in our future.

You can’t tell from this photo, but there are hundreds of sea lions on that beach!
Sunset Bay beach at low tide

Up the coast we go…





12 comments
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Amanda

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12 comments

Jeff Pierce May 29, 2021 - 8:19 am

WOW! We stayed at Honeyman State Park, at the north end of the dunes. I like your choice better, less crowded, less noise and a private beach! Good Choice! and Beautiful!

Reply
Amanda June 9, 2021 - 8:43 am

Good to know about Honeymoon. We considered staying there but found a spot on the river in Florence instead. Bluebill was a gem of a campground for sure!

Reply
Rick Markey May 29, 2021 - 10:28 am

Always great pictures and great places.

Reply
Amanda June 9, 2021 - 8:40 am

Thanks Rick!

Reply
Metamorphosis Lisa May 29, 2021 - 11:19 am

I’ve hiked that Bluebill trail! We spent a month in Charleston, OR, right on the beach, I loved the area so much. Thanks for taking me back there!

Reply
Amanda June 9, 2021 - 8:39 am

I wonder if it was the same CG I was eyeing in Charleston as we drove by? We would love to stay longer in the area someday. I’ll have to look at your blog for details.

Reply
Bob Martel May 29, 2021 - 3:00 pm

Magical! :-)

Reply
Amanda June 9, 2021 - 8:38 am

Yup! Magical is the word of the season around here for sure!

Reply
Janna May 29, 2021 - 5:16 pm

We are ATVers but I’ve never understood the thrill people get from riding on the dunes. To me it’s boring. And hiking in sand has never been my cup of tea so I guess you can say I’m not a dune person but I do enjoy looking at them.

Reply
Amanda June 9, 2021 - 8:37 am

I think visual appreciation is probably how most people most enjoy sand dunes :) I’ve always thought that ATVs were great for getting you to places you otherwise would not go on foot (like long-distance through the forest or mountains) but doing loops up and down a pile of sand does not seem like fun.

Reply
Jodee Gravel June 7, 2021 - 7:46 pm

I can’t imagine walking in deep sand, let alone climbing a mountain of it :-))) You’re lucky you weren’t at the dunes over Memorial Day, it was crazy noisy in some places. Lucky you to see the gardens, we were in the area but didn’t ‘find’ them until too late in the afternoon. Next time for sure! Gorgeous pics of the area we just left – I’m loving seeing it through eyes.

Reply
Amanda June 9, 2021 - 8:33 am

Fortunately, the dunes around here are packed down from all the moisture in the air, so not like walking in deep sand – in most spots at least. Definitely need to plan another visit to the gardens. What an amazing place and I bet it’s gorgeous in mid-summer when all the roses are blooming!

Reply

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days on the road

About The Watsons

About The Watsons

This is the story of Tim & Amanda. Since 2012, we have traveled the U.S. while living and working from our renovated 25-foot Airstream. Follow us on our crazy journey in search of beautiful scenery, fun adventures, interesting people, tasty foods, and more…

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