It had been years since we had camped at Nehalem Bay State Park. Hard to believe how we had forgotten how beautiful, serene, and vast this campground is. Sites are easy to fit into, all on pavement, including fire pits and picnic tables. Water and electric are the only amenities, very clean restrooms including showers for $2.00 a pop.
WHAT TO DO! LET US START WITH THE 2 MILES OF PAVED WALKING BIKE TRAILS. Just a beautiful walk or ride through the forested terrain, which leads you from your campsite to Nehalem Bay and back again. Follow your map for beautiful viewings of eagles, seals, deer and an abundance of seagulls.

BEACHES: Nehalem beach stretching close to 2/12 miles is beautiful and so close to our campground you can  hear the sea, very calming. No matter which way you go on highway 101, there are amazing beaches to explore. One of my favorites was in the tiny town of Ocean Side; the beach looks out upon the three arches rocks, just spectacular.

CRABBING OR FISHING, Next, go crabbing or fishing as we did. Rockfish and sea perch are abundant, use a live sand shrimp or a worm and you have dinner.

 

GEOCACHING, Ok are you still bored, try Geocaching, yes we found every cache inside this park including a night cache, which was one of the top, most enjoyable caches we have ever done.

SHOPPING, Lots of cute shops in the tiny towns of Manzanita or Nehalem.
WALKING AND BIKE TRAILS: are numerous, to beaches or hike to the top of Neahkahnie Mountain and do not forget to look for the famous buried treasure.
FOOD! A mecca of creative cuisine. Let us start in Manzanita, about two miles from our campground. Our kids Ian and Alicia had just visited here and highly advised us to visit Marzano’s Pizza Pie. They make every pizza to order using fresh dough and only the best ingredients, including gluten free options. Hand tossed pizzas and baked on fire-heated stones, by bakers who care about great food. We rate our pizza pie a 10, as did Ian and Alicia.

Next culinary stop was in the cute little town of Nehalem. Again, Ian and Alicia advised us to find Buttercups for the best homemade ice cream they have ever had. We set out, one mile from our camp and in the most adorable little building to sample ice cream. Not only did we sample ice cream, we each ordered chowders. Not just your ordinary chowder, this was Malaysian laska fish chowder, made fresh with organic ingredients including the freshest just from the sea cod and shrimp. The owner’s years of culinary experience proved why her chowders and ice cream were to write home about. Highly recommend, it is another 10, in our book. The owner Julie Barker  even shared the recipe for the chowder we ordered, so nice.

Explore Tillamook and follow the map of the wood quilt trail – these are just a few examples. To get your free map go to the Tillamook Visitor Center.

We have very much enjoyed this leg of our journey, join us again as we next stay in The State of Washington at Cape Disappointment.
PLACES OF INTEREST:
Tillamook Cheese Factory- Tillamook, Oregon
Debbie D’s Jerky & Sausage Factory, all specially made by Debbie herself – Tillamook, Oregon
The Three Arch Inn in Oceanside Oregon- Homemade Daily cinnamon rolls and scones-YUM
Nehalem Bay Winery- Specialize in Fruit wines, my favorite, Blackberry and Peach
Buttercups – Award winning ice cream and chowders, Nehalem, Oregon
Marzano’s Pizza Pie – Manzanita, Oregon
Manzanita Grocery and Deli – Manzanita, Oregon

CHEERS FROM JUST AROUND THE BEND