Nehalem Bay State Park GO Bond
Nehalem Bay State Park is located on a 4-mile sand spit. The campground sits among shore pines and is just a sand dune away from the beach. Two day-use areas offer access to the bay or the ocean and have restrooms and picnic areas with fire rings. Bayside day-use includes a boat ramp.
Project
- Upgrade existing utilities within the camp loops
- Add a new restrooms/shower building to serve C and D Loops.
- Renovate and add additional accessible campsites
- Repave and add traffic calming to the park entry road from the Garey Street entrance to the airport intersection.
Visitor impacts
The park is closed to camping and day use during construction to ensure public safety. The park closure for the utility and road improvements is anticipated to be from November 1, 2024 through summer 2025.
The Nehalem Bay State Airport (Airport) will have temporary limitations while the Nehalem Bay State Park (Park) undergoes construction in the fall of 2024 through the summer of 2025.
- The campground, the Horizon Lane park entrance, and day-use areas west of the main park entry road will be closed November 1 through June 30.
- The day-use area including the main Garey Street entrance, will be closed December 1 through June 30. The day use area closure will be delayed one month to allow use of the boat ramp and the trails on the east side of the main entry road. Water and electricity may be intermittent in the day use areas in November as construction gets underway.
- The beach will remain open for walk in use from outside of the park during construction.
During the Park closure:
- The Airport will remain open, but prior permission will be required for full-stop landings
- There will be no drinking water, restrooms, or solid waste facilities available
- Trails and roads, including beach access will be closed to all traffic
- Camping will be allowed "under the wing"
- All refuse must be flown out. If you bring it in, please take it with you on your way out
- All portions of the Park outside of the Airport will be off limits
- Touch and go traffic will not require prior permission
- Airport users may encounter contractors on the west edge of the airstrip during weekdays
Milestones
- Final wetland delineation report complete and approved.
- Cultural resources report complete and approved
- Cultural resources survey
- Final design for utility and road improvement project is complete
- Conditional use land use approval for other future projects (boat ramp area improvements, dump station relocation, additional camping loops). (in progress)
- County Building Permit for Restroom Building (in progress)
- Bidding
Next steps
- Construction for the utility and road improvements.
The current general bond obligation is $10-12 million.
Last updated Dec. 2024. Additional updates as information becomes available