Want to go camping but have no one to go with? How about a Meetup camping weekend at Fort Stevens State Park on the coast? Fort Stevens has nice amenities, showers, nearby store, bike trails, beach, and more. The sites generally fit 1 large tent (or 2 small), so we could all get individual sites in F loop (mine is F236), then socialize at whomever's campfire in the evening. Plenty of sites in F loop are still available, but I recommend calling reservations at [masked] rather than reserving online. This is not a 'guided' camping trip: you will be 100% responsible for your own site reservations, tent, food, etc. Sites are approx. $30 per night.

The Oregon State Parks website has more information about Fort Stevens, so check it out! Cycling, exploring the Fort, and relaxing on the beach are options for daytime activities, or you can drive to the nearby outlet malls, coastal towns, and seafood restaurants. http://www.oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=parkPage.dsp_parkPage&parkId=129.

Make sure to bring lots of mosquito repellent, bags of marshmallows, and your best ghost stories! Sporting equipment is a good idea too, as there's large fields for some team games.

Side note: alcohol is allowed in the park, but they have low tolerance for loud drunken parties. Please don't attend if that's your camping style. Quiet time of 10pm is enforced by park rangers.

Looking forward to a great end of summer camping trip!

***DYNAMIC UPDATE*** (Last: Thursday 9/26 - 9:00a)

SO I'm just going to be realistic in that the weather is looking pretty rough right now for this weekend. I have talked to the park and they can transfer us from tent sites to cabins/yurts. So don't worry about being miserable- we have shelter and when it's not ideal we can chill indoors but we're still holding hope for some sun! When it was raining in Portland last weekend, it was sunny at the coast, so anything can still happen!

Hey everyone, Roy here- if anyone’s like me, I’m starting to get a headache following the 400 threads in the comments, so for the rest of the week I am just going to be consolidating any further comments in this update to keep it central and organized. Feel free to comment still, and I’ll just move them to this update in their respective categories as they roll in. Just a few more days till go time! Thank you all for joining in on the fun for the weekend and we look forward to a fine weather’d, fun filled two days on the awesome Oregon coast!

~Camping Spots~

This is what we know about so far, we actually drove to the campsite and took notes.

F229 - Mark (1 Tent Space) [FULL]

F230 - Don’t reserve (SMALL)

F231 - Don’t reserve (SMALL)

F232 - Don’t reserve (SMALL)

F233 - Ryan (1 Tent Space) [FULL]

F234 - Paul (Room for others)

F235 - Hayley: Jeff, Cal, (Room for others)

F236 - Hayley: Hayley’s +2, Trina, (Possibly room for others)

F237 - Hayley: Fritz, Micah, (Room for others)

F238 - Roy: Roy, Roy’s +2

F239 - Don’t reserve (SMALL)

F240 - Don’t reserve (SMALL)

F241 - Roy: (Room for others)

Feel free to update us with your reservations in the comments below but we think we have enough space for everyone, so don’t worry about reserving if you don’t have a spot- but if you plan on sharing someone else’s site, please help them out with some money. People that HAVE paid, did so at $62 a site for the two days. Thank you!

~Camping Gear~

Please everyone be prepared for CAMPING. I hope I don’t actually need to say this but here’s a list regardless. EVERY person needs to bring at least this unless you are sharing something with someone else:

TENT W/ RAIN COVER / TARP: (It looks like we may have few people that will be sharing and we can certainly figure that out on Friday night as people arrive, but unless you have confirmation you are sharing, DON’T assume you don’t need one.)

FLASHLIGHT/HEADLAMP: (Be prepared of course with extra batteries.)

SLEEPING BAG/WARM: (It will drop to low 50’s at night!)

FOOD/BEVERAGE: (Besides potluck on Friday night, YOU are responsible for your own food and beverage for 2 days! There is water available by spigot at each campsite.)

COOLER/ICE: (Duh.)

COOKING SUPPLIES: (There is a grill at each campsite but you need whatever it takes to cook your food, spatulas, pots, pans, forks, knives, cups, bowls, plates, etc. There is wood available for $4-$5 per bundle. If you have a camping stove and propane then bring it too- it’s much easier to cook on than the grills.)

RAIN GEAR/WARM CLOTHING: (Temperatures are supposed to be around 60-70 degrees during the day, be prepared.)

CASH: (If you didn’t reserve a campsite and plan on sharing one with someone who did, please be awesome and help them out. It is approximately $10-15 per day per person. Also just bring cash for wood and other stuff on site you might need.)

CAMPING CHAIRS: (There are picnic tables but they don’t sit around camp fires well. If you don’t have one, you can pick one up for $10-$15 at Fred Meyer / Walmart)

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**Shared Gear:

Jeff is bringing a couple of tarps, tents, headlamps, camping chairs, coolers, jetboil, and possibly a gas range stove.

Hayley is bringing basic kitchen items that can be shared, such as knives, can opener, bottle opener, matches, 2-burner propane camp stove, pot for boiling water, hatchet, some cooking forks for S'mores, and a hammer. 

Cal is bringing a propane grill, football, and frisbees.

Roy is bringing a jetboil, large sharable tents, 1 man for a single sleeper person, apples to apples, uno, sound system, surge protectors, extension cord, walkie talkies, and a first aid kit.

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There are two power outlets per campsite, if you’re so inclined bring a power strip to make it easier to plug in multiple things.

There are showers available, so if you wish utilized these, bring your desired toiletries.

If you have card games, board games, Ipod based music (I will be bringing a sound system for the group), camping games, cornhole, Frisbees, etc- please bring them to share as I’m sure we will be engaging in group activities at some point.

If you have musical instruments and you want to share some talent with us and or can throw down the classics DO IT. No one ever hated a good sing-a-long around the campfire- ;)

~Carpool~

There are many comments about this but little real confirmations, if you can provide room in your car or already have carpool plans, please create new comments on this and I will update this section, thank you.

So far...

Jeff’s Car: (Leaving around 2pm) Paul, (Possible room)

Roy’s Car: (Leaving 3p) Room for 1-2

Hayley’s Car: (Leaving 3p) Room for 1-2

Ryan’s Car: (Leaving 1p) Elizabeth, (Possible Room)

~Friday Night Potluck~

We will definitely be having a Friday night Potluck where we will all bring something to share. This is not required of course but if you would like to be a part of it, bring something. Easy things to bring might include soda, chips & dip, veggie/fruit tray, fruit salad, bread rolls, potato salad, cold salad, meatballs, cookies. I will update who will be bringing what in this section:

Roy: Antipasto Pasta Dish

Hayley: Marshmallows / Costco Turkey Wraps

Jeff: S’mores ingredients / Gumbo

Trina: (Maybe something?)

Ryan: Foil Wrapped Veggies

Cal: Wine, grill-able food

~Activities~

**Friday night we most likely will just have a communal fire and potluck, maybe a bonfire on the beach, and I know some people that will be bringing some guitars so I’m sure Friday night will be awesome already.

**Saturday it looks like there are going to be several things to choose from:

Hayley & I will most likely put together some field games such as ultimate Frisbee, Capture the flag, etc.

There is an EPIC fort and some shipwreckage on the beach to check out, and as much as Hayley is not keen on doing a night event at the fort, I’m pretty stoked if we can get a group to play some hide-and-seek, capture-the-flag, or something similar with glow sticks (which I will be bringing). It is known to be haunted and even during the day it is spooky as hell, so it will make it pretty dang interesting… ;) Sorry Hayley- lol.

Jeff is putting together a group of people to go watch the Beavers game at a bar in Astoria around noon? Looks like so far Trina might join him as well.

Fritz mentioned the ‘North Coast Craft Beer Trail’ (http://bit.ly/15qpSph) It is an event that’s going on this weekend that basically tours a bunch of breweries in Astoria including Fort George, Astoria Brewing Company, Rogue Public House, and others. If you visit 5 of the 7 on the trail you do get a free commemorative pint glass! There is an app you can download for the trail called “EveryTrail” and then find the North Coast Craft Beer Trail on there. Sounds awesome, and is something I might join Fritz for a little bit on, and Jeff has expressed interest as well- :)

On the Washington side there are some cool state parks like ‘Cape Disappointment’ and ‘Head Lighthouse’ which features some breathtaking views off of small hikes and lighthouses that if there are interests, then I will organize an event including those.

Cal mentioned that there is a zipline course in Warrenton, Oregon about 10 minutes from Fort Stevens that is $99 for adults and includes 8 ziplines complete with seasoned timber, ponds, and a seven-acre lake- more details here: http://highlife-adventures.com/

There is a lake in the park called "Coffenburry Lake" that was stocked according to the fishing reports with "Trophy Sized Trout" on September 23rd. http://bit.ly/1fDo2bO - I am definitely bringing my pole and will be fishing for a little bit probably in the morning after breakfast on Saturday if anyone wants to join me! You do have to have a state anglers license if you want to fish, and it is an annual license that costs $33 online: http://bit.ly/1fDp3AH - I'll help clean, store, and prepare any fish that is caught for dinner or lunch!

We’ll play all this be ear on arrival and based on greater interest. If you have any more suggestions, please comment below and I will update this section throughout the week.

~Conclusion~

Hayley & I are super pumped for this weekend; We’re crossing our fingers that the weather holds good for us throughout the weekend and we are very excited about the amount of RSVP’s! This is gearing up to be awesome event and it wouldn’t be what it is without all of you! Thanks for sharing this weekend with us and we look forward to meeting all of you all on Friday night! See you soon peeps- :)