The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area is one of the largest expanses of temperate coastal sand dunes in the world.
South Jetty:
Umpqua Beach:
Month: August 2023
Thousand Trails South Jetty RV & Camping Resort
We stayed at Thousand Trails South Jetty RV & Camping Resort in Florence, Oregon. (Campground Reviews listing.)
We were concerned about this RV park, but it turned out to be quite nice. No sewer, but that’s fine for four nights.
Dates:
- Check in: 2023-05-17
- Check out: 2023-05-21
- 4 nights
Weather:
- Mostly cloudy
- High temps ranging between 60-61°F, lows around 52-54°F
- A little wind, but sheltered by trees
Noise:
- No road noise
- No train noise
- Negligible neighbor noise weekdays, more noise on the weekend
- Frequent noise from a nearby go-kart racetrack
Site:
- #E124, back in, gravel
- Needed to disconnect toad; parked in front of coach
- Surprisingly level (many sites here are not)
- Medium site: about 50 feet long by about 30 feet wide
- Picnic table, fire pit on gravel
- Tall trees
Utilities:
- 50 amp power, conveniently located
- 60 PSI water, conveniently located
- No sewer
Internet (in usage priority order):
- T-Mobile: 10-36 Mbps down, 1-3 Mbps up, 50 ms ping
- AT&T: 26-38 Mbps down, 6 Mbps up, 64 ms ping
- Verizon: 1 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up,138-249 ms ping
- Starlink: not used
- Campground Wi-Fi: none
Amenities:
- Garbage dumpsters
- Pool
Our review on Campground Reviews:
In the thick of the trees
As is typical for Thousand Trails, this campground was first come, first served. They have limited FHU sites, so good luck getting a sewer connection, as they seem to mostly be taken by seasonal/annual users, but we were still able to get a 50 amp site that was long enough for us. We really enjoyed the ambience of being surrounded by trees, however, the Go Kart track up the road was quite noisy and went late into the evening. Despite that and the lack of sewer connection, we wish we’d been able to stay longer. We camped at Thousand Trails South Jetty in a Motorhome.
Tip for Other Campers: Check out the nearby Oregon Dunes Rec Area, Umpqua River lighthouse, and Heceta Head lighthouse. Chowder at Mo’s is always a “must do” at the Oregon Coast.
Interactive map:
Campground map:
Our site, tucked away in the trees:
Utilities; convenient power and water, no sewer:
Other empty sites, some rather short and unlevel:
More sites, with ours visible at the end of the road:
Dumpster:
One of several restrooms:
Grey water disposal:
A pleasant pathway through the woods to the pool:
Playground:
Pool; yes, people were actually swimming in it, despite the cold:
Activity center:
Video: Crescent City, California to Florence, Oregon motorhome travel timelapse
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 174 miles from Crescent City, California to Florence, Oregon.
Travel from Crescent City, California to Florence, Oregon
We drove our coach 174 miles, about three hours of driving, from Crescent City, California to Florence, Oregon.
Here’s the map route, heading north:
An interactive map, with possible stops marked:
Leaving the KOA campground; the road was a little tight:
We passed Last Chance Liquors just before the border to Oregon (on the other side of the sign, it is called First Chance Liquors!):
A strange place to park a boat:
California entry inspection station:
Chetco River:
A rest area stop:
Jenn driving:
Misty coast:
Rocky coast:
Bridge:
Another stop, at a large gravel area:
Rocky coast:
Sunken grade:
Welcome to Bandon:
Another bridge:
Somewhat low overpass:
A parking area:
We parked our coach there, and walked to a nearby restaurant for lunch:
Menu:
We both had clam chowder as an appetizer — notable as the first time I’ve had clam chowder (other than a taste), and the start of my seafood experiments; a separate post about that in due course:
I had my usual burger and fries (about the last time I had non-seafood for a main while traveling up the coast):
Jenn had fish and shrimp:
North Bend:
Another fancy bridge:
A glimpse of Oregon Dunes:
Lighthouse mural:
Another mural:
Yet another bridge:
Our destination, Thousand Trails South Jetty:
As we often do at Thousand Trails campgrounds, we parked our coach and untoaded, so we could drive our truck around to look for a site:
Unfortunately the few full-hookup sites were all taken, so we chose this site, which lacked a sewer hookup; we marked it with our tag:
Driving our coach to our site:
Our site before backing in; rather tucked into the trees:
Tomorrow, our review of this campground.
Open Roads Freedom Pass toll transponders
As we travel around the country, we occasionally encounter toll roads. But different parts of the country have different systems:
Our diesel fuel discount program also has a solution to that problem, called Freedom Pass. It is a set of transponders that support toll systems around much of the country:
The transponders come as a package with self-adhesive that can be mounted to the windshield:
We have it mounted in the top-center of the windshield, behind the TV (shown here with our Magne-Shade on):
It works well. The toll charges go on the same account as our fuel purchases. Very convenient.
Redwood State and National Parks
The Redwood National and State Parks is interesting, in that it is jointly managed by the National Park Service and the state of California. Their headquarters are in Crescent City, with a small book store (not a gift store, thank you):
We visited several of the component parks, starting with the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, which includes a fun scenic drive through the redwoods:
As part of this park, we did a hike to the Grove of Titans:
A fun tunnel of fallen trees:
It’s a big tree:
Video of ambient sounds:
Continuing the drive through Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park:
Tunnel:
We headed into Oregon for a side-trip:
To the Illinois Valley Visitor Center of Oregon Caves National Monument:
Then back into California:
Though the agricultural inspection station:
Since we’d been to the Redwoods National Park, it was time to add its sticker to our coach:
Another day, heading down the coast:
To Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park:
A strange historical artifact:
360 video hyperlapse of a drive from that visitor center:
Elk on the side of the road:
Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center:
Lady Bird Johnson Grove hike:
Video hyperlapse of the Lady Bird Johnson Grove hike:
Coastal drive:
A bear on the side of the road:
Battery Point Lighthouse
While at the coast, we visited several lighthouses. The first (southernmost) was Battery Point Lighthouse in Crescent City.
It is interesting in that you can only get to it (without a boat) at low tide. At high tide it is an island, but at low tide you can walk across to it.
Crescent City / Redwoods KOA Holiday
We stayed at Crescent City / Redwoods KOA Holiday in Crescent City, California. (Campground Reviews listing.)
A KOA amongst the redwoods.
Dates:
- Check in: 2023-05-10
- Check out: 2023-05-17
- 7 nights
Weather:
- A mix of sunny and cloudy days
- High temps ranging between 60-82°F, lows around 48-57°F
- Negligible wind
Noise:
- A little highway noise
- No train noise
- Negligible neighbor noise weekdays, more noise on the weekend
- Chainsaws cutting trees during the day
Site:
- #B5, pull-through, gravel
- Didn’t need to disconnect toad; parked behind coach
- Fairly level
- Large site: about 77 feet long by about 55 feet wide
- Swing seat, table & chairs, fire pit on concrete patio
- Tall trees; big hedge between sites
Utilities:
- 50 amp power, conveniently located
- 45 PSI water, conveniently located
- Good sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)
Internet (in usage priority order):
- AT&T: 8-12 Mbps down, 4-10 Mbps up, 85 ms ping
- Campground Wi-Fi: 75 Mbps down, 1-3 Mbps up, 75 ms ping, a little unreliable
- T-Mobile: 2-5 Mbps down, 3-7 Mbps up, 70 ms ping, unreliable
- Verizon: 13 Mbps down, 7 Mbps up, 45 ms ping
- Starlink: not used
Amenities:
- Garbage dumpsters
- Goats and chicken coop
- Package delivery
Our review on Campground Reviews:
The forest is alive with the sound of…chainsaws
We had a pull-through patio site and enjoyed the semi-private space provided by the large hedges between sites. Our site was long enough for our 40′ motorhome and tow vehicle, which we disconnected and parked behind. The patio had a nice table and chairs, a fire pit, and a swing seat. This was a good campground for heading to various units of Redwood National & State Parks. The main downside was the extensive clearing of some additional land, presumably to expand the campground, so there were chainsaws and construction equipment going all day. There’s not a lot of signage to guide you to the park, and it would be pretty easy to miss it if you weren’t paying attention. We camped at Crescent City / Redwoods KOA Holiday in a Motorhome.
Tip for Other Campers: Stop by the Redwoods NP info center in Crescent City for info on the best hikes and drives in the area. Check out Grove of Titans, if nothing else. Battery Point Lighthouse was also cool.
Interactive map:
Campground map:
Our site, a large deluxe site:
Amused by Banana Slug Lane:
Patio:
Other sites:
Cabins:
They have lots of tent sites:
Office:
Rec hall, bathrooms, etc:
Dump station:
Kinda sad playground:
Dog park:
Goat:
They have a chicken run, but only one chicken; apparently they used to have more, but something got them. Rather sad — chickens are social animals. They said they’ll get more soon:
They are expanding the campground, cutting lots of trees:
A nice campground; we’d stay here again.
Video: Meyers Flat to Crescent City, California motorhome travel timelapse
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 140 miles from Meyers Flat, California to Crescent City, California.
Travel from Meyers Flat to Crescent City, California
We drove our coach 140 miles, about three hours of driving, from Meyers Flat, California to Crescent City, California.
Here’s the map route, heading north:
An interactive map, with potential and actual stops:
Ready to depart:
Not the most successful departure, though; it was a rather tight corner getting out of the site, between a couple of signs, so we had to disconnect the truck so we could back up and try again:
Another sharp corner at the exit:
Outside the RV park was a rather sketchy road:
7% downgrade:
Eel River:
Bridge:
For the first time ever, we stopped at a casino for lunch. We parked behind another coach in the parking lot of Bear River Casino in Loleta, California:
Back on the road:
Interesting murals in Eureka:
A rest area stop:
Inside the coach with slides in:
Low clouds:
Entering Redwood National and State Parks:
Damaged building:
Klamath River bridge:
Roadworks with a temporary bridge:
Trees of Mystery:
Ocean:
More one-way roadworks:
Redwoods:
We tried a Pacific Pride fuel station, to see if it’d work, but it didn’t (which was fine, we didn’t need it, just wanted to try it, since our Open Roads fuel card is the same network, but Pacific Pride is more picky):
Arriving at our destination:
