William M. Tugman State Park — Attraction in Reedsport

Small sites that are very well maintained, even if worn down (ie grass is more dirt/sand than grass, forest floor is walked so many times it isn't just a simple trail anymore). Quite a few hosts, so rotational shifts are used. They enforce quiet time. However even when we were quiet the rangers would walk site to site and remind people to be quiet. They are a bit over the top on that, not allowing late nights or casual conversations past 10pm.

My biggest complaint is the EXTREMELY limited hours to get firewood. There is a self pay station for it even, but you pay then hand the ticket to the ranger (why not use a self service kiosk with doors that open, after all you already put the machine in place...at least put the rest in to automate the process. You could be 24/7 without additional effort. However they don't have this, only the self pay station that takes cash or card, and you are required to use it. This machine is exact amount only, no change. Perfect! Except you can only get wood between 2pm and 8pm, so no spending the day out on the water if you want a fire when you get back. You cannot buy before you leave since they open at 2, so you MUST cut your day short or have a stockpile. You are required to give up half a day of your vacation for simple firewood. You can however buy locally elsewhere, which is generally cheaper anyway. But they entirely removed the convenience of buying on site, and removed the human interface that makes camping fun...you know, talking to people to make a trade and learn about the local area from the ranger.

Considering how many hosts are here this is insane! Especially when the park is ON THE LAKE and 10 minutes from the ocean. You know, the entire reason most people book it here. A simple shift rotation would work, and they DO run shifts, but nobody is allowed to hand out firewood outside of that 6-hour block?

To add insult to injury the wood is $7 per bundle. Same at every other Oregon park this year. But a bundle here is 3 to 4 good sized pieces, 1/3rd of what I paid $7 for at Emmigrant Springs state park. And it is wrapped in plastic, likely store bought and resold. SO I budgeted for wood, but had to triple the budget just to have the same amount, AND I now have plastic waste on top of it.

All of this makes this a park that we choose for location only now, and likely this year will be our last. The overall feeling of being controlled, from when you are allowed to buy firewood to being told to stop a simple quiet conversation bc it is past 10pm because they told you too and not bc it is actually loud, makes this more of a place to setup base camp that you will ONLY sleep at.

TLDR I love the privacy afforded, considering how small the sites are. I love the location being so close to an ocean beach and lake all while being in a forest. Sand dunes are nearby too. But this isn't the classic American campsite, you won't be allowed late night horror stories, or have a fire if you had day plans. This is some politicians "see, we provided this service for those who love camping" without understanding what camping actually is for the...

Tugman State Park is always a welcome sight when I'm traveling up the Oregon Coast on Highway 101. There are no dedicated rest areas along Highway 101, so the state makes some parks accessible to the public 24/7, and Tugman is one of those parks. Located directly off of Highway 101 in Lakeside, Oregon, it is very easy to find by the brown signs posted along the road and also by its proximity to Highway 101. There is plenty of parking in both parking areas and dedicated RV spaces in the back parking area. The restrooms are always very clean. The only draw back to this place is that the restroom facilities sit quite a ways back from the parking lot and it is not accessed by a lit walkway, although the exterior lights are on at the building so I'd recommend that you bring a flashlight with you or better yet, your phone for its flashlight. There is a camping area also inside Tugman State Park that offers camping spots at a reasonable price. Eel Lake is accessible in the park and very popular with local fishermen. There is a dedicated dog park near the second parking lot. The boat launch is also accessible in the second parking lot. There is also a bit of adult cruising that happens in this park but it is not overt and probably not even noticeable if you are not looking for it. I have noticed the cruising before but never in any way that is aggressive or offensive. The staff here does a great job at keeping the whole place very clean from the entrance to the furthest back corner of the park. So if you need to take a break from the road, get the dog out for a break, let the kids run around in the grassy areas or need to use the restroom while on your next journey up highway 101 stop by Tugman State Park, it will accomodate you and your needs at any time of the...

Another great camping experience at Tugman! Only a few downfalls though, that I’ll explain;

The Stage Trooper who patrols the campsite at night is incredibly rude! (On 7/28/18) We watched as he lectured a child and his parents about him not having a helmet on while riding his bike. I get why he was told to do so, but the manner in which it happened was ridiculous. First he was too lazy to get out of his patrol car, instead he scared the child by yelling at him over his intercom. Then sat in the way of other campers in their cars to continue lecturing this child. This poor kid was so upset! He could have gone about it a completely different way, instead this child will probably be scared of cops now!

I had to pay an additional parking fee for my car, even though there wasn’t an additional car there. My husband was a day late bringing the camper, so I paid an additional $7. Not a huge deal, just annoying.

We intentionally went to the lake very early when no one was there so we could let the dogs run off leash to burn off some energy. The ranger told us we couldn’t be there, yet pointed to where we could be off leash, which was by the HIGHWAY. Which only had one of those metal barriers that our dogs could easily get underneath! Uh no! Then proceeded to lecture us about cleaning up after our dogs. Which we do, because we aren’t disgusting.

Other than those experiences, we had a great time! We’ve camped here a few times and always loved it, but felt this time they were ‘cracking’ down, and becoming more strict. We will definitely camp here again regardless. It’s very clean, showers are clean, bathrooms are always being cleaned, it’s a great place...