Mickey Conway of Beaverton sets up a tent at Fort Stevens in this 2006 file photo. Conway and his family come to Fort Stevens most summers. Daily Astorian file photo by Lori Assa.

The economy is in the tank, unemployment is soaring, governments are slashing budgets and now the swine flu is upon us – the North Coast could do with some positive news.

To the rescue could be state campgrounds on the Oregon and Washington coasts, which are seeing dramatically increased day use and camping as vacationers find these destinations. Lower gas prices, the many economical and natural benefits of camping, trips closer to home and quarantines in foreign countries are all contributing to make these natural resource gems destination spots.

Reservations for the Astoria-Warrenton Crab, Seafood & Wine Festival in late April filled both Fort Stevens (Oregon) and Cape Disappointment (Washington) campgrounds with record numbers and reservations for the summer are coming in at a brisk pace, indicating record camping tourism numbers for the coast.

“Fort Stevens was booked earlier with greater numbers for this year’s festival,” said Mike Stein, North Coast district manager for the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. “By March 30th, we had only nine sites left. We have never had it booked so far in advance.” The indicator is not how busy the summer will be, because summer takes care of itself with most parks booked from July through September. Stein, however, saw a 25 percent increase in reservations for his Discovery season, or the period from January through April.

Battery Jules Ord at Fort Columbia State Park. Photo by Sue Olson.Kevin Davis, park ranger for Cape Disappointment on the Long Beach, Wash., Peninsula, echoed Stein’s observations. Coupled with a tremendous clam tide, the weekend left just a few of the park’s 234 camping sites open for walk-ins.

Projections for the Oregon coastline indicate a banner year for camping at state parks, pumping a considerable amount of dollars back into the communities. “We expect visitor counts at our top day parks Oswald West and Ecola to go from 400,000 to nearly 700,000 visitors,” Stein said. This is good news indeed to traffic volumes that will filter along U.S. Highway 101. The Oregon Tourism Commission issued a study indicating just how important a part tourism plays in Clatsop and Tillamook counties’ economies. The study suggests that rural counties rely more on tourist-based dollars for total revenues than the rest of the state.

Long Beach residents who frequent Cape Disappointment pose with Park Ranger Kevin Davis. From left: Alycia Ferguson, Jeremy Chapman, Coty Dykes, Matt Sparks and Tanitia Handy. Photo by Jerry Olson.Already, Oregon State Parks has seen its reservations jump nearly 3,000 from this time last year. Half of all visitor spending (a total of $6.7 billion) for accommodations is on hotels and motels; visitors spend more than 23 percent of their tourist dollars on day travel and more than eight percent, or $552 million, on camping. The Fort Stevens campground alone projects a $15 million infusion into local economies just from camping. This is up nearly $2 million from last year, when the brutal storms of December 2007 had a drastic impact on spring and summer camping because of coastal damage.

While Fort Stevens experienced a nearly four percent drop in campground reservations last year, it was totally attributable to the storm damage. Late summer and winter camping increases indicated campers were returning in droves and staying more days than in the past.

Oregon State Parks

Oregon State Parks District Manager Mike Stein, right, meets with park hosts, from left, Gayle Buckholz, Jan Markle and Don Markle. Buckholz lives in Paradise, Calif., and has been coming to Oregon state parks for five years as a host. The Markles were her neighbors in California and now live in Nehalem. They have been park hosts for 11 years. Photo by Jerry Olson.? Fort Stevens State Park

The largest state campground in Oregon has 532 sites and had more than 68,000 sites sold last year. This translates into a lodging tax of $99,000 that visitors paid and payment by the park to Warrenton’s water and sewer system of $75,000. Combined with the 13 permanent staff, 25 seasonal and 54 volunteer hosts, this gives an indication of the ripple effect the park has on the area. The park spent a significant portion of 2008 spending its resources on cleanup from the 2007 storm. This meant some projects had to be deferred, but there are still some exciting projects planned, especially in partnership with the National Park Services’ Lewis and Clark National Historical Park.

“We have a great working relationship with Dave (Syzmanski, superintendent at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park) and our interpretive rangers all are cross trained in what this area has to offer working with the Columbia River Maritime Museum and other entities,” Stein said. “We just offered interpretive classes on the Columbia River Estuary in which 350 students learned about water quality and the watershed in canoe trips. This also exposes these youngsters to the outdoors, natural resource management, protecting the environment and the joys of camping.”

Sunset Beach and Del Rey Beach state recreation sites and Delaura Beach all fall under the purview of the Fort Stevens unit and are maintained by their crews.

? Oswald West State Park

The devastating 2007 storm resulted in the closure of the very popular site where old growth spruce trees left the risk too high to continue camping. While 15,000 campers were displaced, when the parks department queried the public on what should be done – should the resource be rebuilt with the trees taken down for safety, or should the resource return to nature? the response via a Web poll was overwhelming for letting the site return to nature. It has become a moot point with the lack of capital funds to improve the campsites.

? Ecola State Park

The crown jewel in the Fort Stevens unit is projected to rise from 600,00 visitors last year to between 700,000 to 900,000. This is based on lower gas prices and the economy entertainment some of Oregon’s day-use parks have to offer. Volunteer work crews are working on refurbishing the Crescent Beach Trail to provide access to the ocean. The amount of hikers enjoying the Tillamook Head Trail from Seaside to Indian Beach is also projected to drastically increase.

? Nehalem Bay State Park

Nehalem Bay State Park, with its 371 sites, is also host to a new-found camping experience for many. The park has eight full-time employees, 15 seasonal and 12 volunteers, and is working on upgrading roads, parking lots and boat launches for the season.

? Saddle Mountain State Park

Road maintenance and work crews are working on shoring up the summit trail, which should provide an enhanced experience with a panoramic view as its ultimate reward.

Washington State Parks

? Fort Columbia State Park

The best news out of Washington State Parks is the salvaging of Fort Columbia, which had been targeted to be mothballed when a $28 million shortfall in the state’s budget threatened to drastically affect the entire park system. “In the past, Davis said, “on Washington State vehicle registration, Washington residents could choose to ‘opt-in’ to donating $5 towards the operation of Washington State Parks. Just this April, the legislature adopted an ‘opt out’ package where Washington residents would need to check a box to ‘opt out’ of donating $5 towards the operation of Washington State Parks.” The public appears to overwhelmingly support this little nuance, which has been adopted by other states. Davis said the legislature expects this to bring in $23 million for parks, saving Fort Columbia. The park has three duplexes and two vacation rentals, plus museums, which draw people as they cross the bridge across the Columbia.

? Cape Disappointment State Park

With 234 sites including 14 yurts, Office Assistant Tracy Zuern expects travelers close to home visiting this site rich in Coast Guard heritage, lighthouses, beautiful beaches and clam tides to continue to increase. “We had 100,000 camping days last year at Cape D,” she said, “with 1 million visitors.” Most reservable spots are full on the weekends, with only 45 spots on the lake on a first-come first-served basis. All other reservations can be made via the Web or the reservation phone number.

The Long Beach Area parks that include Cape Disappointment, Fort Columbia, Loomis Lake, Pacific Pines and Leadbetter State Park have seven permanent rangers, five interpretive staff, four other operational permanent staff and many temporary seasonal and volunteer staff. Like his counterpart in Oregon, Davis works with local schools to provide canoe trips and resource management experiences for future campers.

The Washington Trails Association is working on the North Head trail and other projects such as boat launches and maintenance of Fort Columbia, Loomis Lake, Pacific Pines, Leadbetter State Park and the Seashore Conservation Area. In addition to the lodgings at Fort Columbia, the park service has three cabins at Cape Disappointment and three vacation rentals at North Head.