Camping in OR or WA

A couple of buddies and I are planning an overlanding trip that will take us from New Mexico, northwest up to Oregon and Washington through Nevada and California, over to Montana with a stop in Idaho, and then back down the Continental Divide with a stop or two in Utah and Colorado (and Yellowstone if we can swing it). We plan to stop at an area for a night or two, set up a base camp and then explore the area for a day. We will be in well built Tacos and off-road trailers, and we've gotten into (and more importantly, out of) some nasty shit with trailers, and have a lot of experience in more extreme off-road conditions. So needless to say we're looking to get into some more off the grid places.

And on that note, we are in the process of trying to decide on routes and potential places to stop. There are basically two things that always come up, mountain rain forest areas and camping on the beach of the Pacific ocean so that we can fish and catch dinner. I've done some digging around and there doesn't seem to be a lot of information about driving and camping along the beach, so that's my main question. Are there any good spots to camp along the coast in WA or OR? We're specifically trying to avoid camp grounds, and the more secluded the better. If you know a spot in Northern California that meets that requirement, we'd be cool with that.

We are also pretty happy to camp near streams and lakes in general, so any places like that would be awesome. We'll also make a "civilization" stop at some point up there, where we'll get a night in a hotel, run to a laundromat, stock up on food and water, etc., so any cool towns to stop in at would be good too, this would probably have to be in OR. Basically any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

 

Not very familiar with Oregon or Cali, but there's some amazing country in Washington and Idaho. Particularly, western Washington and Northern Idaho.

Definitely check out the Olympic National Forest. As long as you're in the NF, and not the National Park, you don't have to camp at designated camp sites. TONS of amazing old-growth and rivers galore; from the Olympic Mountains to the coast, you can't go wrong. (You did mean the Pacific, right? Fishing in the Atlantic would be kinda difficult from that location. )

All the places I know of off the top of my head along the coast for camping are at designated sites. Would have to do some more research in that regard; I'd also love to know how to avoid the neighbors!

As you head toward Idaho, I recommend taking some time to check out the Cascades. Not sure which route you're planning to take, but there is some great back-country exploring out there.

NorDaho is spectacular as well, with the area around lake Pend Oreille being pretty amazing (north of Coeur d'Alene, also a beautiful lake and area, but has become quite populated and lost a bit of it's small-town appeal). Heading west towards Montana, there's some beautiful country as well as you get back into the Rockies. Been a long time, but I remember Kalispell and the lake/mountains being quite scenic.

Not sure if any of this really helps, but it sounds like an awesome trip and a solid route. Keep us posted with how it goes!

 

in California i would look into redwoods...... thats a given..... also Yosemite.... another given I dont know to much about Oregon except that the coast is FUCKING GORGEOUS from redwoods you can run the entire coast up to astoria and I have done it before I would recommend it.... there is a hike in oregon north of lincoln city that you walk about a mile through the forest and then you pop out and its a huge bowl shaped mountain side with nothing but ocean and rocks ..... very badass area I would recommend to stop.... If you are into hiking check out angels rest which is about 30 min east of portland... its a 4 mile round trip hike which puts you at the top of the columbia gorge where you dangle your feet off a HUGE drop.... its one of the most beautiful sites you will ever see. washington has plenty of parks where you can easily get lost and be the only one out for miles like the post above talked about.... those are the only things I know