Carl G Washburne Memorial State Park

Stayed here for one night in April, 2015, as part of a camping trip that continued further south on US-​101.
First, let me talk location: The campground portion of the park is to the east of US Route 101, and consists of a couple of loops of sites. (There is also a walk-​in tent section, but it was closed when we arrived.) There are some yurts that can be reserved in advance, otherwise it is first-​come, first-​served. Each site is geared for an RV, with electrical and water hook-​ups. We were doing tent camping, so we only paid the tent rate.
The sites aren’t terribly private; there are trees, but you can easily see into the next campsite. Each site has a fire ring and a picnic table, as well as a driveway for your vehicle. Restrooms and showers are centrally located. There are sink waste dumps spaced along the roads; you should dump your waste water from clean-​up there, instead of down the toilets. Garbage and recycling are in an area located adjacent to the road, and are locked down at dark because of black bears and cougars in the area.
Second, let’s talk location, again: This place is beautiful! Virtually everything is covered in moss, so it has an old-​growth feel. You are in a valley between the Route 101 and hills further east, so it was largely isolated from the wind. It was raining when we arrived, so we put up a tarp to let us set up our tent in relatively dry conditions. There’s a path to the beach that passes along China creek, and goes under Route 101 and through a dense thicket of plants before you get to where you can see the ocean. It was a fairly smelly section of beach, though, with lots of shellfish remains.
Because of the terrain and the weather, nothing really dried out, but it was also fairly comfortable and sheltered. If you don’t mind the lack of privacy, you can really enjoy the forest.
We had a couple of noteworthy avian visitors: a couple of Steller’s Jays seemed fairly territorial, one being pretty quiet and hanging our in the trees and ground around our site until another one came into view, when lots of calling and noise resulted; and possibly a Gray Jay, which landed on one of the lines for our tarp, then swooped to perch on the upraised lid of our camp stove. It was the right size, and didn’t seem very timid at all.
The map indicated that there’s some playground area, but we didn’t go look.
Check-​in is self-​service for those who haven’t done that before. The best thing to do is to arrive at 4 PM and drive around until you find an empty site you like. (Note that wheelchair sites with patios are considered reserved until around 7 PM.) Then walk back to the office and fill out the form indicating your site — we were in site 35, which was a short walk to the restrooms, a sink dump, and the beach path. You can pay by check, credit card, or cash, but cash is exact-​change only. You also pay in advance for your whole stay. Contact the hosts if you want to buy firewood (never bring your own firewood anymore, because of hitch-​hiking life forms), but this is a separate transaction from your reservation fee.
Check-​out time is 1 PM. My one piece of advice: Please police your campsite. Ours had a chunk of broken glass, small round pieces of blue tarp, rubber bands, and some bottle caps from prior campers. The fire pit isn’t a trash burning location, and you should clean up after yourself.
The Heceta Head lighthouse is near by, and Sea Lion Cave. It was a nice place to stop, very pretty, but a little less private than I’d like.

This review is for the trails and yurts.
The park is right off Hwy 101 on the east side of the highway along the coast. We stayed in a yurt (D-​2) and it was really cozy. I highly recommend them for $ 39/​nt. Can’t beat it. They are sparsely equipped but clean and easier than tent-​camping. The yurt has a bunk bed (single on top, double on bottom) and a fold-​out futon sofa. There is electricity, which means you have one wall light, a porch light, a heater, and an elec outlet with two plugs. There is also a small table. The yurts have windows (which don’t open to let in air I think) and a sunroof which opens though I didn’t try it due to the weather.
Even though there were no windows open, I could hear the people in the other yurt like they were right outside our door… which they kind of were. They are pretty close together, but there are bushes in between the yurts which provide nice privacy if you’re outside hanging out at the fire or at the table. But once you go further back on the campsite, the bushes end and I think that’s why we heard e-​v-​e-​r-​y-​t-​h-​i-​n-​g that the neighbors were saying and doing. By the way, opening and closing minivan doors is LOUD. Just fyi. I don’t know why there are no bushes back there, but I say, let them grow!
The reason I gave this campground four stars is the noise (see above) and the fact that you have to cross Highway 101 to get to the beach.
The beach is a wide open space. It’s nice and relaxing. There are many logs that were washed up on shore and rocks along the beach. It’s a neat place to explore with a youngster. Lots of birds and things living under the sand. :) We found the remnants of a HUGE crab, which was fun to put back together like a puzzle.
The bathrooms are a little walk away. For an adult, not a big deal. For a preschooler, it’s a walk through half the campground, up stairs and into the bathrooms. The bathrooms are clean and well-​maintained. There is a separate room for showering, which is free. I think there were four stalls. The showers themselves were clean, but the water from the showers was so hot that my son was uncomfortable… and there’s no way to adjust the temperature.
Heceta Head Lighthouse is a 3 mile hike away along a well-​maintained and beautiful trail. I heard another group of hikers complaining of mosquitoes, but we didn’t have that problem (which is weird because I’m the one who always gets bitten). The first 1.5 miles heads up to the highway, and then crosses the highway over to the west side. Note that the trail starts up again a little north of where it spits you out onto the highway/​parking area. Then it’s another mile to 1.5 miles to the lighthouse. When it rains, that part of the trail gets muddy. There are many steps to navigate as well, the closer you get to the lighthouse.
The Heceta Head Lighthouse is being renovated right now, so if you’re thinking of going out there just for the lighthouse, wait another year or two.

Stayed in one of the two yurts in this park. Had a great day on the Oregon Coast, and a wonderful stay at the yurt. This park is pretty well separated from your neighbors, has clean yurts, and some of the cleanest, most well kept bathrooms and showers I’ve seen in a camping atmosphere. (FYI, showers are free as well). Had a great time, and hope we can get lucky with the weather and booking another yurt on our next trip of the OR coast.

We pulled into this campsite pretty late after a whole day of driving down the Oregon coast. We checked two campsites up the road but they didn’t have showers so we kept driving and finally found this one just past Cape Perpetua with a few empty spots left.
The campsites are set pretty far apart from each other so you ‘ll have privacy. They have mainly RV spots for $ 26 and they have a spot up the road with primitive campsites. They were full so we took an RV spot. This place has full bathroom and showers and they are SPOTLESS. I really liked that. The hosts take good care of the campground and are really nice as well. I would stay here for sure next time I’m drivin down the coast.
It was freakin COLD there though, but it’s expected on the Oregon coast! It seemed to be mainly families there when we went. No wild parties or rowdy people at night so we got a good night’s sleep, minus the waking up from being too cold!

One of our favorite pastimes for the past 10 years has been to visit the Oregon Coast staying at the various State Parks that feature yurts. Washburne is just such one of those parks. Sadly there are only two yurts here and they are difficult to book due to their popularity. The reason behind their popularity must be the local trails including the China Creek, the Valley trail, the Hobbit trail that leads to the beach and a trail leading to the Heceta Head Lighthouse. Walking through the emerald green enchanted forest is a dream like environment that has called us back again and again for a stroll looking for the elusive elk we are yet to see.
The yurts cost between $ 29 and $ 39 depending on time of year you are staying. The Umpqua Lighthouse State Park features deluxe yurts while other parks offer yurts so close to the ocean you fall asleep listening to the crashing waves just over the way.