Umpqua Sand Camping
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 30 of the next 30 nights read 15:17 UTC
- A night
- $10From, per site
- Sites
- 27All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 15 notices
In the agency’s own words
Umpqua is home to the tallest sand dunes in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. Off-road vehicle riding is a popular activity here, and visitors are rewarded with incredible views of the Pacific Ocean from the tops of the dunes. These sites are only accessible to 4X4 vehicles on soft sand. Please plan accordingly. Keep reading
Recreation
The main attraction is off-road vehicle riding. The Umpqua area features a large open riding zone with expansive sand dunes and stunning vistas of the ocean and the surrounding topography. Each year, the Reedsport/Winchester Bay Chamber of Commerce hosts the summertime Dunefest event for riders of all ages. Dunefest provides opportunities for motocross racing, treasure hunting in the sand, freestyle riding shows, and more.
Facilities
Sand campsites can only be accessed by 4X4 vehicles. No water is available so campers should bring an ample amount. Campsites are primitive and all campers must bring portable toilets and fire pans. Seasonal rainfall may temporarily affect certain campsites; contact the Oregon Dunes Visitor Center for seasonal information. Standard sites fit 5 vehicles and up to 20 people. The group campsites fit 10 vehicles and 40 people. Campsites are available year-round (by reservation only) and reservations may fill up quickly in peak summer season. Within each campsite, all vehicles and tents must be positioned within 150 feet of the campsite marker post.
Natural Features
Campsites are dispersed amongst the dunes along the Pacific Coast. The Umpqua River is a short drive north and Eel Lake is a short drive south. The sand camping area is part of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, which is known for its wind-sculpted sand dunes towering up to 500 feet above sea level.
Nearby Attractions
Visit Umpqua Lighthouse State Park, to the north of the Umpqua sand camping area. The Umpqua River Lighthouse stands on the site of the first lighthouse built on the Oregon Coast in 1857. The current lighthouse dates back to 1890. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (541) 271-6000.
Charges & Cancellations
Campsites that are not occupied after 24 hours of arrival time will be considered as a "no show" and sites will be released for others to reserve. If campers will be arriving after 24 hours of their arrival time, they are encouraged to call the ranger station at 541-271-6000 to let staff know.
What the agency tells you
Notice to all Dune Riders! The Oregon dunes have the highest off-highway vehicle incident rates in the state. Before riding, please be aware of dune riding hazards and what you and others can do to stay safe. Here are some dune riding safety tips along with some general riding tips that can help redu ce incidents. Oregon ATV Program information can be found at www.OregonOHV.org.
Guidelines for a safe visit to the Siuslaw National Forest The Siuslaw’s campgrounds, day use areas, and trails continue to be open for public enjoyment. While you are visiting the Forest, please adhere to the following guidelines. These guidelines will help ensure a safe and healthy visit for you and your family, our employees and volunteers, and other visitors: Please keep in mind that restrooms are generally cleaned and disinfected at least once daily at the more popular campgrounds and day use sites, and once to three times a week at other sites. Be prepared to provide your own soap, sanitizer, or disinfectant. If no trash receptacle is provided, please protect your public lands by packing out your waste and trash. For more information on COVID-19 in Oregon, please visit: https://govstatus.egov.com/OR-OHA-COVID-19
Forest Service-operated campsites on the Siuslaw National Forest are currently available by online reservation only. Visitors can make reservations online through this website (preferred), or via phone by calling the recreation.gov phone line at 877-444-6777. If you call this number, please be prepared for longer-than-usual wait times. Please note that the Siuslaw National Forest does not have any control over the recreation.gov phone line, so we ask you to please prepare by making reservations well in advance.
Everything else this campground posts · 12
Access is by 4X4 on soft sand only
Camp only within designated sites and within 150 feet of the site marker.
No drinking water or facilities available; please bring all necessary equipment including water, portable toilets, and fire pans
Please bring garbage bags; this is a 'pack in-pack out' facility
Possession of alcohol is prohibited
State of Oregon OHV permit required for off-road vehicle riding
All motorized vehicles on sand must adhere to Oregon OHV regulations. Click here for OHV requirements
Sites must occupied within first 24 hours of arrival time. Otherwise unoccupied sites will be considered a "no-show" and will be released.
For more information on the Siuslaw National Forest, click here
Don't Move Firewood: Please protect Pacific Northwest forests by preventing the spread of invasive species. Firewood can carry insects and diseases that can threaten the health of our western forests. You can make a difference by obtaining and burning your firewood near your camping destination. Visit Dontmovefirewood.org for further information.
Due to Snowy Plover critical nesting season certain activities are limited from March 15th through September 15th. Visit Siuslaw Alerts and Notices for more details.
There is a 14-day in 30 rolling days camping limit on the Siuslaw National Forest. The 14 days does not have to be consecutive. The 14-day limit covers the entire Siuslaw National Forest and not just this campground as shown in the Rules Section. This means you cannot go to other campgrounds on the Siuslaw National Forest after reaching the 14-day limit.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 27 · 4 tent-only, 2 group
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 100 ft
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
Facilities
- Toilets
- Portable Toilets
- “…are primitive and all campers must bring portable toilets and fire pans. Seasonal rainfall may temporarily…”
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “…can only be accessed by 4X4 vehicles. No water is available so campers should bring an ample…”
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, River, Coast
- Beachcombing
- Fishing
- Off Road Vehicle Trails
- Swimming
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 565th darkest of 770 in OR
- Bortle 3
27 of 27 sites open on Sat, Oct 17read 15:17 UTC
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
OpenBooked
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 14
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $10 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
“Campsites that are not occupied after 24 hours of arrival time will be considered as a "no show" and sites will be released for others to reserve. If campers will be arriving after 24 hours of their arrival time, they are encouraged to call the ranger station at 541-271-6000 to let staff know.” · this campground’s own no-show terms
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 6
recreation.gov availability, read 15:17 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
27 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 27 mapped sitesAll 27 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 1 of the 27 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 27 of the 27 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
Measured shade is NLCD Tree Canopy Cover 2024 (USDA Forest Service / MRLC) read at the site’s own coordinate, 27% canopy or more, and only for the sites the agency gave no Shade value. It never changes the agency’s own shaded count beside it.
| AREA UMPQUA ODNRA | 031 | standard nonelectric | 100 ft | 422 ft | 3,267 ftLake Marie | 2,990 ft | $10 |
| AREA UMPQUA ODNRA | 032 | standard nonelectric | 100 ft | 422 ft | 3,523 ft | $10 | |
| AREA UMPQUA ODNRA | 033 | group standard nonelectric | 100 ft | 328 ft | 3,234 ft | $20 | |
| AREA UMPQUA ODNRA | 034 | standard nonelectric | 100 ft | 252 ft | 3,546 ft | $10 | |
| AREA UMPQUA ODNRA | 035 | standard nonelectric | 100 ft | 252 ft | 3,298 ft | $10 | |
| AREA UMPQUA ODNRA | 036 | standard nonelectric | 100 ft | 275 ft | 3,132 ft | $10 | |
| AREA UMPQUA ODNRA | 037 | standard nonelectric | 100 ft | 281 ft | 3,167 ft | $10 | |
| AREA UMPQUA ODNRA | 038 | standard nonelectric | 100 ft | 335 ft | 3,276 ft | $10 | |
| AREA UMPQUA ODNRA | 039 | standard nonelectric | 100 ft | 297 ft | 3,409 ft | $10 | |
| AREA UMPQUA ODNRA | 040 | standard nonelectric | 100 ft | 297 ft | 3,543 ft | $10 | |
| AREA UMPQUA ODNRA | 041 | tent only nonelectric | 100 ft | 187 ft | 4,605 ft | $10 | |
| AREA UMPQUA ODNRA | 042 | tent only nonelectric | 100 ft | 248 ft | 4,841 ft | $10 | |
| AREA UMPQUA ODNRA | 043 | tent only nonelectric | 100 ft | 187 ft | 4,599 ft | $10 | |
| AREA UMPQUA ODNRA | 044 | standard nonelectric | 100 ft | 403 ft | 5,034 ft | $10 | |
| AREA UMPQUA ODNRA | 045 | standard nonelectric | 100 ft | 471 ft | 1.0 mi | $10 | |
| AREA UMPQUA ODNRA | 046 | standard nonelectric | 100 ft | 471 ft | 1.1 mi | $10 | |
| AREA UMPQUA ODNRA | 047 | standard nonelectric | 100 ft | 517 ft | 1.1 mi | $10 | |
| AREA UMPQUA ODNRA | 048 | tent only nonelectric | 100 ft | 905 ft | 1.1 miClear Creek | $10 | |
| AREA UMPQUA ODNRA | 049 | standard nonelectric | 100 ft | 995 ft | 1.3 mi | $10 | |
| AREA UMPQUA ODNRA | 050 | standard nonelectric | 100 ft | 859 ft | 1.3 miClear Creek | $10 | |
| AREA UMPQUA ODNRA | 051 | standard nonelectric | 100 ft | 775 ft | 1.3 miClear Creek | $10 | |
| AREA UMPQUA ODNRA | 052 | standard nonelectric | 100 ft | 601 ft | 1.3 miClear Creek | $10 | |
| AREA UMPQUA ODNRA | 053 | standard nonelectric | 100 ft | 601 ft | 1.2 miClear Creek | $10 | |
| AREA UMPQUA ODNRA | 054 | group standard nonelectric | 100 ft | 439 ft | 1.2 miShuttpelz Lake | $20 | |
| AREA UMPQUA ODNRA | 055 | standard nonelectric | 100 ft | 439 ft | 1.2 miClear Creek | $10 | |
| AREA UMPQUA ODNRA | 056 | standard nonelectric | 100 ft | 381 ft | 1.2 miClear Creek | $10 | |
| AREA UMPQUA ODNRA | 057 | standard nonelectric | 100 ft | 381 ft | 1.1 miClear Creek | $10 |
25 of 27 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Eel Creek CampgroundOregon Dunes National Recreation Area · 3.2 mi
Spinreel Sand CampingSiuslaw National Forest · 4.3 mi
SpinreelSiuslaw National Forest · 4.3 mi
Hauser Sand CampingOregon Dunes National Recreation Area · 9.8 mi
Tahkenitch CampgroundOregon Dunes National Recreation Area · 12 mi
Tahkenitch LandingOregon Dunes National Recreation Area · 12 miFrom Reedsport, Oregon, travel about 3 miles south on Highway 101 to Winchester Bay. Turn right onto Salmon Harbor Drive. Proceed for 2.5 miles on Salmon Harbor Drive to the National Forest boundary. Vehicles can access the sand at the boundary, or from the two Umpqua Beach day-use/off-road vehicle staging areas. Umpqua Beach Staging Area #3 is at the end of the road, a total of 4 miles from the intersection with Highway 101.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Winchester Bay, OR
Typical weather
Typical October night 47°F, day 63°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical December night 40°F. Bring the bag rated for it.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Augusts are colder than the August line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Umpqua Sand Camping is in Oregon’s 4th congressional district. Its representative, Val Hoyle (D), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: A. See every public-lands vote →