I will be making a trip down to Buoy 10 for the first time this summer for some father son time with good old Dad. The only thing I am worried about is what my options are for accommodations. I can only imagine that camp sites are all but booked by now. Is it so busy that one cant find a place to stay if they make a last minute trip down there? What are our best bets for launches? Are slips mostly booked? What kind of time are we looking to wait at the launch with the crowds? I have heard there is some theft that goes on. Should I avoid leaving my boat in a hotel parking lot? I know this is a lot of questions. I suppose I could just go down, figure it out, and try to make the best of it, but you have not met my old man. His blood pressure would go through the roof. Any advice one could give would save me a whole lot of trouble.

KOA in Hammond or Illwaco are usually good bets. If you're lucky you can get one of their Kamping Kabins. The Hammond one is just down the road from the launch. If on the Illwaco side I've had good luck finding guest moorage.

launch lines can be 5 minutes to an hour or more depending on what time you get there.

Our last visit to the KOA at Hammond had us enjoying a fairly significant price break for being military. At least worth it to ask.

So I got a camp site at Fort Stevens State Park. The damn thing is mostly booked up. I got lucky. I will likely launch out of Warrenton Hammond Marina. I picked my reservation dates based off of big, negative, swing tides taking place around 8:00 in the morning. Now I just have to figure out if there is some place I can just pull over and sleep in the boat the night before. Check in is not until after 4:00 so I plan on spending the day fishing.

I was in Chinook Thursday. Port of Chinook 360 777 8797, Port of Ilwaco, 360 642 3143. Call now because they fill fast. Chinook may already be booked.

The KOA usually has openings but you should by all means call and make reservations. There are a lot of campgrounds and RV parks all over the Longbeach area. The best thing to do is go there with a list of campgrounds and maps and check them out. Talk with the managers and see what is available. I would not try to do it over the phone as you really need to see where you will be camping. All campgrounds are not created equal.

I belong to K M campgrounds and so we stay in Chinook. The membership is not cheap but the yearly dues are. For as often as we are there it is a bargain for us.
Even in a private campground, it was just packed. We had Rv's camping in the parking lot during August.

I would work hard right now at getting your camping and moorage reservations made before the season. The lines are long and parking in Chinook is tough.

After Laborday, it all changes. Plenty of openings as people go back to school/work etc. Its still great weather and good fishing without the crowds.

The worst possible week is the Kite Festival in Longbeach. Everything is booked and packed the third week of August which is also about the time the king fishing gets real good in the river.

Good luck.