William M. Tugman State Park

Today I went to participate in the polar plunge for the special Olympics. There was an Easter egg hunt here an hour prior. Lots of smiles everywhere. Before jumping into the lake the coast guard brought their helicopter over to do a training exercise. That was super cool. The wind created by the propellers was pretty powerful. When the coast guard took off our team jumped into the lake. The water took my breath away. But it was sunny out so by the time we got out it was warm again. I had fun and will do this again next year.

Nice campground. Trees and other vegetation make it seem spacious and more private. Starlink works with a couple of tries for antenna placement. Clean and well maintained campground.

Small sites that are very well maintained, even if worn down (ie grass is more dirt than grass, forest floor is walked so many times it isn't just a trail anymore). Quite a few hosts, so rotational shifts are used. They enforce quiet time, which we ran into with two crazy loud boys being noisy after 6 hours cooped up in a truck (only a warning, we handled things after that. Sorry to those it may have effected). My only complaint is the EXTREMELY limited hours to get firewood. There is a self pay station for it even, and it isn't much more expensive to add in cabinets that unlock making it a stocking issue only and available 24/7. However they don't have this, only the self pay station that takes cash or card. Perfect! Except you can only get wood between 2pm and 8pm, so no spending the day out on the water if you want a fire when you get back. You cannot buy before you leave, so you MUST cut your day short or have a stockpile. Considering how many hosts are here this is insane! Especially when the park is ON THE LAKE and 30 minutes from the ocean. You know, the entire reason most people book it here. To add insult to injury the wood is $7 per bundle. Same at every other Oregon park. But a bundle here is 3 to 4 good sized pieces, 1/3rd of what I paid $7 for at Emmigrant Springs state park. And it is wrapped in plastic, likely store bought and resold. SO I budgeted for wood, but had to triple the budget just to have the same amount, AND I now have plastic waste on top of it.

Tugman is a great get-away campground... typical of a State Park has great amenities... bathrooms are nice...but strict rules on quiet time and allowed stuff in your site!! Some of the sites at Tugman can be a little tough to back into, and make sure you check through booking your rig will fit in your chosen spot as some are quite short. Fishing on Eel Lake is great...trout and large mouth bass being most populated in the lake. Fishing from the shore is a bit hit and miss although there is a great fishing dock and ample access to the waters edge.

Clean and quiet campground. Showers are hot, you will need to press a button every few minutes to keep water running. Lots of dog poop stations around which is great, big playground as well Bad phone reception with T-Mobile