Yesterday I went up to Golden Ears park to scope out some campgrounds for the summer. I was actually surprised just how pretty it is up there, and am regretting that I only just discovered the area now. From the front door of where I live to the entrance of Golden Ears is only about a 30 minute drive, so it’s quite conceivable I can be camping in about an hour after I decide to go camping.
Alouette Lake, Near Golden Ears Park
It sounds weird, but I still get surprised when I realize that I can simply get in the car or on a plane and go somewhere new whenever I want. I spent the morning today getting some of my camping gear in order, and briefly debated finding a campground today. There are enough coffee shops around with WiFi that I can simply find one of those and do some work as I go.
I came back from my trip to South America and Europe with the intention of spending a lot of time outdoors this summer in the area. In the short term I have a trip planned to San Francisco, possibly Toronto, a camping trip up by Pemberton, and then a few weeks on Vancouver Island. Outside of that though, I’m probably going to pack my car and head down the coast again to the Portland area for a few weeks. I also wouldn’t mind scoping out a pile of campgrounds in Oregon and sampling some of the local breweries in the area.
Cannon Beach, Oregon
Unfortunately for me, I don’t know many people who have the ability to travel as easily as I do. I’m going to have to put some feelers out and see who else is in a similar scenario, because I wouldn’t mind doing a few road trips this summer and it’s always better to have a friend or two along for the ride. Campgrounds south of the border are generally cheap, and most can be had for around $10 or $15 a night.
But definitely I’m going to spend a lot of time outside this summer. I have a bike now, and a bike rack, so I can take my bike with me wherever I go. As soon as I get a knee brace as well I’d like to start doing a hike every weekend or so if I can. And now that the sunshine is starting to come out, I’m starting to feel like this is going to be a really great summer.
I’ve camped a bunch of times at Golden Ears. There are 3 campsites; Golden ears, Alouette and Gold Creek. Depending on time of season, Gold Creek isn’t open. Alouette has access to a private section of Alouette Lake (need to be part of the campsite). Alouette is more family orentated.
The nice thing about camping at Golden Ears is that you can spend time swimming, hiking or just hanging around the campfire (weather and fireban permitting).
The Gold Creek trail is nice for a little day hike. The creek/river is clear, crisp and clean. Also the Gold Creek lower falls is pretty as are the views of the Ears.
You can also make it to the Alder Flats in a 6-hour round trip. Alder Flats is a large boulder field tucked behind the Ears. The peak of Golden Ears can be done in a day, but it’s better to camp up near the shelter that’s near the peak. The trail is not stroller friendly 🙂
As for Oregon, when i was little, as a family we used to camp up and down the Oregon coast a lot. Robyn and I for a little honeymoon escape headed down the coast to Linclon City for a few days. Stopping off at the various places along the coast. Cannon Beach, Rockaway, Depot bay, Newport just to name a few. There is also a cool cheese factory in Tilamook. They make AWESOME ice cream too! When drove down the I5 through Washington State, turned off at Longview and popped over to the Columbia River on the Oregon side to Astoria (think Goonies, Short Circuit etc). Then we headed down the coast highway to our destination.
I really need to do my blog posts about our trips lol I’m a bit behind.