Winchester Bay RV Resort, OR - Oct 2006

What a pretty gem of a park we discovered at Winchester Bay RV Resort. It is located near Reedsport, Oregon and it, along with the nearby marina, is owned and operated by Douglas County. The RV park sits on a very long penninsula that juts out into Winchester Bay. This bay is formed from the Umpqua River as it flows into the Pacific Ocean. The RV park occupies the entire penninsula. More than half of the sites ring the very edge of the penninsula and have stunningly beautiful waterfront views. The remainder of the sites sit back a row or two, but still have views of the water. For three days we were able to snag two prime sites on the river/ocean side of the park. They faced west and had views of the Umpqua River in the foreground and the ocean in the distance. The sunsets were awesome and we could hear the waves crashing against the breakwater in the distance.

We enjoyed this park so much that we decided to stay longer. We had to move to the east side of the park as the ocean front sites were booked, but this side featured views out to the marina, boat docks, fishing piers and local restaurants. There was always something going on to give us entertainment on this side, so it was hard to say which side of the park that we liked better. The county had several other camping options in Winchester Bay -- you could dry camp in a separate parking area (with pretty nice views.) At the marina, there was drinking water and a dump station nearby as well as public toilets. There was also a county campground with water/electric, but without the views. It was a little less expensive, but nearly as nice. While the park is in the "RV resort" category (something we usually try to avoid), it turned out to be an enjoyable stay in a very nice setting.

For ten days, we perched on the marina side and watched the activity at the docks. There were lots and lots of people out crabbing and we saw baskets filled with huge crabs getting pulled up every day. Boats would go out every morning and set their crab baskets out and then retrieve them in the evening. Our neighbors went out every day and usually caught a half dozen or more huge crabs. They sat around all evening and cleaned them, packaged up the crab meat and froze it for later use. There were also several groups in the park that gathered at night and had huge crab pots boiling away and filling the air with wonderful aromas.

From the ocean side we had beautiful sunsets. There was a strip of land just on the other side of the bay that was undeveloped land and just beyond that was the ocean. One evening, as the fog rolled in, the sun was going down behind the trees on that strip of land and gave us a pretty colorful sunset.

From the marina side, we had some pretty nice sunrises although many mornings we awoke to fog and/or clouds. The weather was pretty darn nice during our two-week stay here and other than a few cloudy days and brisk winds, it was good weather for sitting out and enjoying the views.

The dogs loved both of our sites because they had really nice grass to lay on and there was a lot of entertainment for them. You see, there was a paved walkway all around the outside edge of the penninsula (about a mile long and fronting the RV sites) and there were always lots and lots of dog walkers going by who would often stop and let the doggies "get acquainted." Here are Rudy & Scotty sunbathing and grass sitting.

In addition to the four-legged animal entertainment, we also enjoyed frolicking flippered friends. Several sea lions lived in the harbor and provided us with lots of entertainment as they swam around. They were very good at catching fish and we even saw them raiding some of the crab baskets. When they caught a fish, they would surface with the fish, munch on it for awhile and then dive down underwater for several minutes and then come back up and eat some more. The seagulls would hover nearby and every now and then they would dart in and attempt to steal a morsel of fish. They never got too close, so I'm guessing that sea lions like to eat seagulls as well as fish. In this photo, the sea lion has a very large fish in it's mouth while an interested seagull awaits an opportunity to strike. The fin sticking up to the right of the sea lion's head is actually the tail of the fish.

Another pretty sunset viewed while playing cards in Mom & George's RV.