Manzanita and Nehalem Bay State Park

After our week on the Washington coast, we headed south into Oregon.  We left cloudy weather, and drove into sunny weather.  But then we hit the clouds and fog again.  But, wait – then we hit the sun again!  Seriously, the weather must have changed 10 times during this 90 minute drive.  It was really quite fascinating.

Our destination was the Nehalem Bay State park which is just south of Manzanita.  Deas and I visited Manzanita for an hour or two a few years ago, and we knew we really liked it.  It’s an adorable little coastal town with a few restaurants, cute beach cottages, and a gorgeous beach.  We stopped just outside of town to have lunch in the RV at a pullout overlooking the town.

The beach of Manzanita and Nehalem Bay State Park

The park was really crowded – I didn’t see a single open campsite.  Once we got settled we took a walk out to the beach and then through town.

The beach was not as crowded!

Beach path back into the state park

We had a great dinner that night at the Great American Garlic Company – BBQ oysters, crab cakes, and fondue!

BBQ oysters – yum!

The next day we drove a few miles into the neighboring town of Wheeler, and had lunch at the Tsunami Grill, which has a great view overlooking Nehalem Bay.

Lunchtime view

After lunch we explored the nearby Oswald West State Park, which several great trails leading down to a popular beach.

Even though we had bluer skies in Oregon than in Washington, it was much colder in Oregon.  It was so cold the 2nd day that when we tried to walk on the beach, we turned around and headed back – we even had to turn on the heat in the RV both nights!

Since our reservations were made only a week ago or so, we only had two nights at the park.  We might have extended a trip a day or two if we could, but the park was booked to capacity so we had to leave.   But the good news was that our next destination was only a 20 minute drive away!  More to come….