Lagoon Campground Review (Oregon)

We just got back from two nights at Lagoon Campground, located about 8 miles south of the big bridge in Florence, Oregon.

Summary: We enjoyed our stay (and would go again), but there were a few things that could have made it more enjoyable.

Lagoon Campground Review (Oregon)

Trip Date: July 2022

About Lagoon Campground

Lagoon Campground is a medium-sized campground that is a bit off the beaten path, and is not as well known as Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park.

Its location a bit further from Florence, the lack of hookups for RVs, and its lower profile makes it easier to get a spot.

The campground has about 40 sites.

The quality of the site really depends.

Some of the sites are extremely large, while others are the size of a postage stamp.

Many of the campers who stay at Lagoon are there to ride ATVs are the nearby Dunes, while other others are camping for the night on their way down the coast.

There are limited amenities at Lagoon–no showers, no playground, nothing to rent, etc.

It can be windy at the campground when it is windy at the beach.

Great Things About Lagoon

It wasn’t hard to get a spot.

I made the decision to camp at Lagoon about 2 days before our arrival date.

Normally I wouldn’t have made trip plans so late, but the incoming heat wave convince me.

We arrived on a Sunday afternoon, and stayed through Tuesday.

Most of the campground was about a third to half full on the days we were there.

However, even when the campground is full, the experience isn’t much different.

We like Lagoon with kids, because there aren’t too many hazards: no rushing water near the sites, nothing huge for them to climb on and fall off, no dangerous wildlife, minimal mosquitoes and biting flies, no roads with traffic near the sites, etc.

In general, it is easy for visitors to get into their sites, even those who are traveling with large RVs.

There are not many tight corners or narrow spots.

There are flush toilets, electricity at the bathrooms, firewood to purchase, and potable water.

Dogs are allowed, on leash.

There is a well-maintained trail that is easily walkable even for folks who struggle with trip hazards (small children and the elderly). In fact, a wheelchair could probably get all the way around.

The trail is picturesque, and we say ospreys, chipmunks, squirrels, and wildflowers.

There is an interesting and attractive trail down to the beach, between .75 and 1 miles in length.

On the road, it is a .5 mile walk, but there’s no shoulder or sidewalk.

The beach at the end of the road is attractive, clean, and not that busy.

During certain times of year, part of the beach is off-limits to people and dogs due to nesting of an endangered bird.

But even during this time, the beach is large enough for everyone.

The Siltcoos River parallels the road, and folks can paddle kayaks, paddleboards, and other floatation devices.

The river has little current, and rises/falls with the tide. It is fairly shallow, and there are places you can stand in the middle of the river.

We have not seen anyone catch fish in the river, and it would not be appropriate for a drift boat or fishing boat.

Some folks fish from the beach for perch.

The Honeyman dune is not far away, and neither is Florence if you want to go out to eat to grab some snacks.

Could Be Better Things

Camping is never perfect.

One of the things that really bugged me this trip was the noise.

Not necessarily in the campground, but coming from the Dunes, half a mile to a mile away.

The roaring of the ATVs and motorcycles was really obvious this trip, which I’ve never noticed before.

I also found myself annoyed by other campers who were working on their ATVs in the campground using loud pneumatic tools.

While they were not violating quiet hours rules (10pm), it was hard to put the kids to bed at 9pm with the sound of loud tools only a few sites over.

On our last night, we also had a group arrive at about 11pm a few sites over, and they enjoyed themselves greatly as they set up camp.

Most of the campsites appeared to have been recently trimmed up, which was great (no poison oak observed).

The downside was that whoever did the work crushed up the leavings and left them spread around the site to keep down growth and weeds.

We did use these scraps to start our campfires, but the scraps also tripped us up a lot, and it made it harder for the kids to run around with bare feet.

(I let my kids run around in bare feet while camping as much as they can stand. They managed pretty well this trip, with the exception of the wood scraps and some prickly plants hidden in patches of grass).

Many of the sites are very private, but some of them open up right onto the public trail that circles the campground.

This means that random people can walk by really close to your site/tent/gear when you aren’t expecting it.

Sometimes people will even walk through your campsite to get to the trail which drives me bonkers.

Recommended Specifics

To have the best chance of enjoying your trip to Lagoon, in addition to your usual camping gear, we recommend that you bring the following:

An extra tarp or two and some rope to hang up to close off the hiking trail and gain some privacy
Hammock to hang up in the trees
Sand toys (some sandy spots in the sites are great for kids)
Something to float on for the river

In Conclusion

We have been to Lagoon before, and we’ll go again.

the campground is less crowded than other places on the Oregon Coast in the summer, it is easy to camp there, and its close to the beach.

But maybe we’ll adventure elsewhere for a while before we go back.

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