Harbor Vista Campground (OR)

After our day exploring Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area and errands in Florence (OR), we needed a campground. Stat! I don't recall how we decided on trying Harbor Vista Campground; but it all worked out great, and we ended up staying for two nights. We arrived on 11 Sep 2019 at about 7:00 p.m. and after driving around the campground we both liked campsite #28. The fee at the time was $25/night. There are 45 RV sites with electricity and water hook-ups, as well as tent camping sites. There is also an RV dump station on site. The campground has bathrooms with flush toilets and showers. There is a playground area, picnic tables, and public access to the Siuslaw River and North Jetty Beach on the Pacific Ocean. 

We had a one-bar LTE signal with T-Mobile, which was enough to have access to the outside world. Score!

The first night's sunset was captured brilliantly by Margaret with her iPhone!

Harbor Vista Campground information sign.
Photo by Virginia.

Informational sign about the Siuslaw River.
Photo by Virginia.

We saw lots of harbor seals in the Siuslaw River!
Photo by Virginia.

After walking around the campground the following day and taking in the views of the Siuslaw River and the Pacific Ocean, we settled in for popcorn and a movie—Red. 

The Siuslaw River meets the Pacific Ocean.
Photo by Virginia.

There's something calming and invigorating about being near such grand bodies of water.

The Roadtrek in campsite #28. Photo by Virginia.

Very early in the morning of the 12th, I looked out the back window and saw a black bear walking through the hedge directly behind the Roadtrek. Wow! That was unexpected, as we were in a well-populated campground!

[Comment from Margaret: It concerns me that a wild bear would be hanging around a crowded campground because it probably means that the bear has lost its fear of humans. If so, it is potentially dangerous for humans and their possessions. It likely means that the bear has found food at that campground or others, or worse, has been purposely fed by humans. Dangerous confrontations mean the bear either has to be relocated, if possible, and sometimes euthanized. This situation is totally preventable by using bear boxes, when available, to store any food or other methods of securing food; and for goodness sake, never feed them! Bears have frequently even broken into vehicles and homes to get at the food in there, causing much damage. So we keep all our opened food in the Roadtrek either in the small refrigerator or in a couple of large, sealed plastic bins with lids and gaskets. This method works well to keep the smaller critters out of our food, too. We learned that the hard way the first time it happened with some prowling wild mice. Since then, we've never had that problem again. Basically, don't feed any wild animals. It can negatively affect their digestive systems, behavior, and their ecological systems.]

Campsite #22 directly across from our site.
Photo by Virginia.

The viewing platform area was situated perfectly.
Photo by Virginia.

The swing set in the playground area.
Photo by Virginia.

The sunset on our second night was equally stupendous!
Photo by Virginia.

We said good-bye to Harbor Vista Campground the morning of the 13th and headed to the public library in Florence where we were able to utilize their public Wi-Fi to update iOS apps, do our iCloud back-ups, and download some movies and library books. Then we were southbound to the next campground on our southern route down the beautiful Oregon Coast. 

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NOTE: Clicking on the photos in the post will open them in a larger view (recommended!). If you want to see more photos of the beautiful places we've shared, we have them in this Flickr Collection: Over the Hill Sisters Photo Collection.