Fort Stevens State Park

My happy place is the shipwreck beach. There is also a lake with picnic areas and restrooms.
River beach, bird blind, Battery Russel, the jetty, razor clam digging, camping, yurts...wetlands, deer and elk...it's huge and there are paved bike trails connecting everything, for miles!

Shipwrecks, secluded beaches, amazing views, hiking trails, a historical fort - so much to see in this small Oregon state park! It's one of the largest public campgrounds in the country and this is where you'll find the awesome Peter Iredale shipwreck! You can also tour historic Fort Stevens that was in operation, guarding the mouth of the Columbia River from the Civil War all the way to WWII!

I've been here several times over the years - mostly to visit the shipwreck. But on my last visit, I felt adventurous and drove all the way as far to the tip as I could and what a treat!! I found the end of the "jetty" area with a lovely hiking trail that meandered through some a mossy forest and led me to a beautiful, entirely secluded beach!! There was even a bird blind and I saw hundreds of terns! I walked pretty far down the beach and was rewarded with expansive views of the whole of Astoria - including the bridge and even the column!

I had the place all to myself - even in the height of summer. There's plenty of parking on this end of the park. But around the more popular shipwreck, parking fills up and sometimes you have to wait for spots to open up.

It's free to enter but there are a few spots where you have to pay for a day pass to park ($5 as of summer 2023) - near the historic fort, and around the popular lake. Not sure what the camping prices are - but they have RV spots, tent sites, and even yurts!

The park is easy to find - gps takes you right to it (and even to the shipwreck). But once you get window, cell service and internet gets very unreliable so I recommend to plan ahead.

Absolutely love this state park. Second time
Coming all the way from Idaho to stay here and found my self exploring more and new things. The yurts are Deff the way to go. Bathrooms are clean and well maintained, staff is nothing but nice. There's a Walmart and other stores in town if you forgot anything or the KOA has a small variety of things. I've stayed at a few parks in Oregon and Ft Stevens is by far my fav place!

Ft Stevens is a pretty cool park. As many others noted, you got your shipwrecks, extensive bike trails, fishing, mushroom tours, WWII history (Ft Stevens was shelled by Japanese Sub I-25 during the war), and lots of rangers.
On the flip side, this is the LARGEST reservable campground west of the Mississippi in the US! And its absolutely mobbed during the summer and the late spring, early fall months. The Camping spaces are largely geared towards RV/Trailer. The spots are crammed closely together so expect no privacy or noise abatement.
There is a 3-lane dump site for RVs.
The featured stocked fishing lake, Coffenbury Lake, is absolutely choked with weeds. Do not expect to be able to troll in your kayak unless you're good with weedless rigs.

Fort Stevens is the campground for people adverse to "roughing it". There are seemingly more RV sites than "traditional" tent camping ones, complete with electrical and plumbing hookups. Not to mention rentable yurts and cabins, (hot!) showers, (relatively) clean restroom facilities, and even a firewood delivery service, right to your campsite!

Fort Stevens is also massive: miles of hikeable/bikeable trails, sandy beaches, a lake with a boat ramp, a shipwreck, a disc golf course, a military history museum (and gift shop), and several abandoned military installations and batteries to hike and explore. There's more to see and do here than can be experienced in a single camping trip, and after more than a half dozen visits to the park, I'm still discovering new secrets! Also, keep an eye on the various post boards around the park, in which special events, such as storybook readings, put on by the Friends of Fort Stevens, occur on many a summer night.

As I mentioned earlier, this is camping only in the loosest sense of the word, in that you're sleeping outside (well, if you're not in an RV, yurt or cabin). The campsites are relatively small, and close together, but that is also part of the charm, particularly for children: they're all but guaranteed to make some new friends during your stay here, as there will be rugrats running around, skating, riding bikes, exploring, and likely yelling and screaming all around you, for as long as the daylight persists. Intimacy and privacy does not exist here.

There are better places to camp in the Pacific Northwest, particularly for those who desire privacy, serenity, an escape from noise and the presence of others, and a place to commune with and be surrounded by nature (and nature only). Those places exist, but Fort Stevens is not one of them. Despite all that, I have a sentimental attachment to this place, thanks to childhood memories of camping here in my youth. Now, I'm hoping to impart similar memories on my children. Fort Stevens may not be *for* everyone, but it *has something* for everyone. If you can't see that, go get lost in the woods elsewhere.

this state park is wonderful! it's got beach, it's got shade, campsites, yurt options and a ton to explore. plus, i'm driving all over, it seemed all the amenities: i saw wood for sale, ice, and visited three different bathrooms which were all exceptionally clean. there were tons of campers and bikers when i was there today and what's not to love at the height of fall colors and a wonderfully warm friday in the pnw?!

the peter iredale shipwreck is a must see but also driving all the way to the northern tip and walking out to the point where the wind off the columbia will blow through your hair and cover you with sand but you won't regret it!

i'd highly recommend stopping here, whether you choose to spend one or more nights or just do a quick trip en route elsewhere. i'd come back the next time i'm in the area.

We stayed at Fort Stevens campground recently. We'd been to the park before, but our first time at the campground. Easy reserve, easy check-in.

The campground really isn't for me. While very clean, the spots are very close together...almost no privacy, and our particular spot required us to be parked parallel to and right up against the road. It was fine for one night, we are just campers who prefer more space. For anyone who is sensitive to smoke, it might not be for you. Everyone seemed to have campfires going, and being a large campground the smoke was quite thick and settled all around the campground.

The park is great though overall. So huge with lots of hiking, and it looked like heaven for those with bicycles...endless paved trails. We've covered most of the park now over a few visits. Lots of fun to be had for birdwatchers. We enjoyed the narrow lake loop hike and exploring the military site.

Fun for the family for sure.

This Oregon State Park is a gem. So scenic. Lush green moss grows everywhere on the ground in the trees and liken is hanging on the boughs of tree branches - lures you into the majesty of 4000 acres of pristine coastal wilderness on the mouth of Columbia River. Over 15 miles of multi use trails to bike and hike. Comb the beaches. Visit the site of a 1906 ship wreck. Play disc golf.

Over 400 camp sites if you tent or have an RV and want to hang loose around a campfire bundled up on a dark coastal night with a hot toddy, brew or spirt in hand. Sleep in a Yurt or cabin. Only 10 miles from the historic downtown Astoria - the bridge of the Columbia River mouth stretches high above the sea from Oregon to Washington - the drive over this bridge is mind blowing worth it.

So much history to explore. Fort Stevens marks the site of a military installation once used to guard the mouth of the Columbia River from foreign attacks. The fort saw service for 84 years, from the Civil War to World War II. Probably the largest military installation on the Pacific Coast in its time.

Ruins of military structures you can walk through or take guided tours of artillery gun cannon stations, military barracks, underground ammunitions, engineering and plotting divisions. There is an amazing and comprehensive museum of history.

So what's your bag? History? Nature? Recreation? Camping? Yurts or cabins? Ocean? Discover Fort Stevens! Bag it all!

We stopped at Ft Stevens simply to use RV Dump. With that said, the park seems great and is in a very cool location on the peninsula between Seaside and Astoria. I would love to come back and explore the coast up here at the entrance to the Columbia River.

As for the RV Dump, it was very easy to access at the entrance to the park. It was also free with a suggested donation. There are three spot and fresh water as well as a Black/Grey water dump.

Stop here for a day a week or just to refresh!

Really cool bunkers to explore! Military trucks and cannons! Must explore! If your camping in the area entrance is free.