Sand Lake Recreation Area 4th of July Tickets

Sand Lake is located along the northern Oregon coast, 15 miles from Tillamook and 10 miles from Pacific City. It contains 1,076 acres of sand dunes surrounded by forests and adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, and is very popular with OHV visitors while also offering a wide variety of non-motorized recreation. From July 3 through July 5, a timed ticket is required for all highway-legal vehicles accessing Sand Lake, except those with a reservation at the Sand Beach, East Dunes, or West Winds campgrounds. Tickets are by reservation only, beginning May 5, 2026, and a separate ticket is needed for each vehicle and each day of the holiday weekend. Towed or trailered ATVs, UTVs, quads, and dirt bikes do not need a timed ticket; towed OHV trailers and camping trailers do not need one unless detached and parked separately from their towing vehicle. This timed ticket system helps the Forest Service provide safe and positive visitor experiences during the busiest weekend of the year. Several types of tickets are available. West Winds Day Use offers paved parking to stage OHVs, day use only (6 AM - 10 PM), adjacent to the sand dunes. Fisherman Day Use offers paved parking for non-motorized recreation at the beach and estuary, day use only (6 AM - 10 PM), with no OHV staging allowed in that lot. Derrick Road Camping Area offers overnight camping at the edge of the sand dunes, with no designated campsites, a vault toilet and fire rings provided, and access from 10 AM on the printed date to 9:59 AM the following day. Sand Access permits motorized travel on the sand dunes, allowing day use and overnight camping in all sand areas open to motorized travel; there are no designated sand campsites, and vehicles with sand access tickets may not park in any paved parking area. Each campsite can accommodate one towed or self-propelled RV and two additional passenger vehicles. Visitors with camping reservations do not need a timed ticket as long as they stay within this vehicle limit.