Lakeside
We have stayed in this park a few times. The beginning of this article is from the first trip, and after that is our 2022 through 2024 updates. The last couple of years we have been lucky enough to score a lakeside site!
Lakeside is a little town north of Coos Bay, on Tenmile Lake. We stayed in Osprey Point RV park, right on the lake in the town of Lakeside. Tenmile Lake is a beautiful lake, and we enjoy the small Yellow Perch the guys catch by the dozens.
Really enjoyed the fish fry – we always use the beer batter recipe with the Pride of the West Batter. Tenmile Lake is known for steelhead, rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, largemouth bass, catfish, bluegill, and brown bullhead – a fisherman’s paradise.
This area is unique. There are many homes on the lakeshore, accessible only by boat. In fact, according to my dad, it is one of two areas in the United States with mail boat
delivery.
When looking at homes for sale in the area, you will see many with boat-only access. Definitely a different lifestyle in Lakeside.
Tenmile Lake Boat Ramp and Campground
Right next to Osprey Point RV Park in Lakeside is the Tenmile Lake Boat Ramp and Campground, another camping option, although they don’t have full hookups and the sites are smaller.
There is also another RV park up the road, and it looks nice, but no lake view. A lot of the sites are separated by trees and bushes for privacy. But I could see that our Dish would not be able to get a connection.
We like Osprey Point as it is big rig friendly and has full hookups and free wifi which works during the slower internet hours – once everyone gets on it, not so good! Also, they have a very clean laundry facility and rec room. We stayed for a week and take advantage of the 7th day being free. (2022 update -this is no longer offered – but they do have weekly and monthly rates that are discounted). We started staying for a month when the company I worked for closed down, so now I’m self-employed again. Took the table out of the 5th wheel and made it my desk, and I can work from anywhere.
The boat ramp is in the park, and you can pay to dock your boat, and they have a ramp in the county park next door. The guys rented a boat to go fishing as we didn’t bring ours along. There is also a pub & pizzeria at the resort. Cold beer, chicken wings are great, and specials during the week.
During our stays the end of summer, the blackberries are usually ripe to pick – a treat to enjoy!
A very relaxing week with a lot of sightseeing in the area. It is a fairly short run back into Coos Bay or up to Winchester Bay, or Florence for a day trip. All great outings. Highly recommend this area for a visit!
2022 Lakeside update
We returned on this Lakeside visit for a month’s stay in September/October. They offer monthly rates. The park is still nice but shows signs of neglect in some of the sites – not mowed or cleaned up after messy guests leave, and some of the hookups need repairs. But we still enjoy the park and will return next year.
We really enjoyed the pub at the park – they have great appetizers and taco Thursday was also a hit. They have karaoke nights on Friday and Saturday also, which is fun to attend with a group (especially when you talk your cousins into singing!).
Oregon Dunes
This is the second time we have been up here and gone to the Oregon dunes and rented ATVs for an hour. There are several places within a few miles to rent these. It is a fun outing!
In Reedsport, a few miles north of the park, we enjoyed fabulous fish and chips and chowder at Harbor Light. We highly recommend it.
We also enjoy the Chinese restaurant in Reedsport, Ocean Garden.
And the park is a short drive from Winchester Bay, where we launched our boat to go crabbing a few times … until the motor quit working 🙁 Now the kids join us with their boat and ATV.
2023 Update
We did stay at a couple of new places on the central Oregon coast this year, Newport Marina and Neskowin Creek RV Resort.
We stayed the month of August this year at Osprey Point, through Labor Day weekend. The park is about the same, but wifi not as good as before, which is a bummer as I work online. If I get up early and work before most of the people in the park start using it, it works better. Management is a little grumpy, but we have a great person in the office that we have worked with, so that works for us.
To add to our restaurant recommendations – Yeong’s Place in North Bend has the best burgers still. We also tried the restaurant at Lakeshore Lodge and have mixed reviews, but I had the prime rib, a Friday night special and it was great. We went for breakfast also on my birthday, and it was good – they have huge omelets.
The pub at the park still has great wings (Wing-Dings), just don’t be in a hurry. And we enjoyed DJ Trivia one evening, and came in 2nd place!
The kids brought their Talon and drove it out to the dunes many times – it is now legal to drive on the roads in town to get there directly from the park. We didn’t get to go crabbing as the boat motor didn’t run. That was a bummer. The kids did get a couple taking out their kayaks.
There was a car show in Winchester Bay one weekend, which had a lot of nice old cars, which of course John loves to look at. And there was the DuneFest in Winchester Bay another weekend, which was crazy busy – we made the mistake of driving to Reedsport and hit the traffic from the event.
We have reservations for a site on the lake next year, which will be nice. Looking forward to returning.
Here is another Oregon favorite for us – Bandon.
We have also stayed in Winchester Bay RV Park.
