Camping, San Francisco to Portland?

The State of Oregon Parks are generally all very good, and a great bargain. Those along the coast are mostly right on the coast, back in the trees with a short hike to the beach. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Oregon_state_parks and http://www.oregonstateparks.org/ for amenities, reservations, and locations. This time of year, reservations aren't needed except for the most popular campgrounds on weekends. If you camp weekdays, you should be fine.

Your first night, depending on how much you are willing to drive, would land you right up in the Redwoods. It's a little unclear what your definition of camping is. so I don't know what you are looking for. Are you wanting tent sites, trailer hook ups, koa cabins? In the Redwoods outside of Crescent City there is a campground that has tent/trailer/rv spots. Tent spots are 18 -26, trailer (no hookups) are from 20-28. Cabin prices vary. It's called the Redwood RV Resort. The area in general is beautiful, but I've never been to this particular campground. Once you leave the redwoods you have the choice of cutting over to Grants Pass and following I-5 up, or following the coast line. If you cut over at Grants Pass, from there to Portland it's about a 4 hr drive. If you follow the coast, it will definitely be at least one more night's stay somewhere. You mentioned about following the coast though, so I'll say this: Your next stop will probably be in Florence. From Brookings (at edge of Oregon) to Florence, it's only 155 miles, but it's going to take you quite awhile to travel that distance, and you may want to do some sight seeing along the way. Florence has about 9 campgrounds, many of which offers showers and other amenities. Florence itself has sand dunes, and you can rent dune buggys to ride. After Florence the next stop would be Lincoln City or Newport. Again, many campgrounds, and in between is Depoe Bay, the whale watching capital. Devil's Lake is popular in Lincoln City, and give the option of Yurts. Lincoln City also has the casino if you are into gambling. From there you can travel up to Seaside, or you can cut over to Salem and take I-5 the rest of the way up. I'd recommend Seaside if you aren't in a hurry. They are a party town though.