The Carl G Washburne Memorial State Park is a Bortle 2 scale site with excellent dark skies due to its distance from cities and other light pollution.

Located north of Florence in the Siuslaw National Forest, Carl G Washburne Memorial State Park creekside campground is just north of Heceta Head and about 10 miles south of Cape Perpetua. The campground is located on the east side of Highway 101, with a buffer of native plants and trees between its spacious, shady sites and the highway. 

The park trails comprise a section of the Oregon Coast Trail; backpackers can stop over in the campground’s hiker/biker camp, which is first-come, first-served for those arriving on foot or bicycle.  The campground is now availble for reservations year round.

Location

• How far outside of Portland? ~167 miles depending on the route taken. This make the drive around 3 hours and 08 minute drive depending on traffic and stops.
• Google Maps Location

Overnight Accommodations

Reservations can be made 6 months ahead of time. The main campground features 55 sites with electrical and water hookups, and two yurts. Some sites border China Creek. The park’s secluded tent sites are located uphill from the main campground. These seven sites are a short hike from the tent parking area and share a restroom with flush toilets. This includes 41 full-hookup sites, 14 electrical sites with water, 7 walk-in tent sites with parking nearby, and 2 yurts (1 yurt is pet friendly).

Weather

The current weather can be found here.

Current Seeing Conditions/Forecast Charts

The following cleardarksky chart is near Netarts, Oregon, which is roughly 13 miles from the park.

The following clearoutside.com chart will provide a great resource for the skies for those who want to visit.

Make sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and make sure to view our other unique astronomy sites such as this one for more places to view astronomy in the Pacific Northwest.