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WHUFU: Spots in Oregon
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2023

Spots in Oregon

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  • Odessa Campground
  • Fremont Wimena National Forest, Klamath Falls OR
  • a real find! On a stretch of road otherwise bereft of camping, maybe 3 rarely traveled miles off the busy highway. Not a soul has been here in my 18 hours or so of residency. Sites are primitive. There is a place to put a kayak into the slough. The site is right on the edge of USFS property, there are barns and farm buildings 1/2 mile away. Bathroom is unlocked!

  • Doe Point Campground
  • Rogue River/Siskiyou National Forest, Medford OR
  • Right on scenic Fish Lake. Very pleasant. Next time I will try Fish Lake Campground, which is very close and only a few hundred yards from Fish Lake Resort.

  • Summer Lake Hot Springs
  • private business Summer Lake OR
  • no assigned sites, just a big field. hot springs are in an old barn-like structure, very pleasant

  • Memaloose State Park
  • Oregon State Parks, Rowena OR
  • On a gentle downslope between I-84 and the railroad tracks and then the mighty Columbia River, between Hood River and The Dalles. They have a ton of tent sites (80-ish?), so I easily got a nice spot at 4 PM on Fourth of July Friday - woo! Downhill I can see the river between the trees, and hear the train when it comes through, and uphill is the constant sound of the interstate - as regular and monotonous as the Pacific surf I tell myself :)

  • Old Town Inn
  • private business Florence OR
  • quiet and pleasant, easy walk to the very cool old bridge and old Florence

  • Aspen Motel
  • private business Oakridge OR
  • Crummy little place, but nice tv and good wifi. Oakridge has a real Appalachian feel to it, not in a good way.

  • Patrick Creek Road
  • Smith River Recreation Area, Cave Junction OR
  • This is Saturday of Labor Day weekend, and every site in all three campgrounds along Route 199 is taken. Somewhat depressed, I turned on the newly paved road on the other side of the creek from Patrick Creek Campground, and surprise, there was an area where clearly folks had camped before a few miles up the road. It's quite nice, right by the creek, and no one has bothered me - woo!

  • Chickahominy Campground
  • Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Hines OR
  • What a welcome place! There is a lot of nothing between Boise and Bend. I saw some RVs just pulled off at the side of the road, and a couple at the rest stop, but there's no real place to stop for 100 miles except a couple of high-end RV palaces in Burns. So thank goodness for this pleasant stop.

  • Terwilliger Hot Springs
  • Willamette National Forest, Blue River OR
  • An excellent spot up a little canyon off Cougar Reservoir. It's a free-form natural spring, but it's pretty easy to control access, so the Forest Service has set up a little booth to collect $5 from soakers. Good for them!

  • Waxmyrtle Campground
  • Oregon Dunes, Suislaw National Forest, Florence OR
  • very restful and quiet, in the piney woods near the dunes. Actually, now I can hear the off-road vehicles in the distance, still restful though. The walk along the river bluff is very nice.

  • Beachside
  • Oregon State Parks, Waldport OR
  • For me, this functions as a high end Tillicum overflow lot. Tillicum was full at 2:30 on a Tuesday, so for a $9 upgrade I get showers and that state park experience. Site 13 is at a busy corner. The trash and recycling are 30' away. It's nicely shielded, but still... My overall experience here was great!

  • Cutsforth Park Campground
  • Morrow County OR, Custfield
  • Rather primitive county park in the depths of a vast forest with few services.

  • Van Specialties
  • private business Tualatin OR
  • the parking lot of the folks that did my van customization. Actually, the parking lot is chained off this time, tonight's spot is the street outside the parking lot. Sleeping here solves two problems : 1. where to overnight in an urban area? 2. how to get in line early for my repairs.

  • Rocky Bend Campground
  • Suislaw National Forest, Blaine OR
  • I came here at the end of a long day looking forward to staying. But as I drove through and got a really creepy vibe. Many sites appeared to be long term homeless encampments. As I drove the loop, people stopped and stared in a predatory way. I couldn't picture stopping here and waiting the rest of the evening for someone to come over and hassle me. I got the hell out and drove another 40 miles.

  • Chinook Winds Casino
  • private business Lincoln City OR
  • a little blessing for us budget RVers, a casino right on the ocean with a parking lot dedicated to (free) RV parking. The lot is not close to level, which is annoying, but everything else is very user friendly. Can walk to the beach, or any kind of amenity you might want.

  • Valley of the Rogue
  • Oregon State Parks, Gold Hill OR
  • between I-5 and the Rogue River, a very pleasant, user-friendly place. The only loops open happen to all have full hookups, but the nice folks agree that if you don't use 'em you don't pay for 'em, so it's a $15 tent site! Great hike along the river, followed by my first shower since the hot springs, so I am feeling pretty good!

  • Castle Rock Campground
  • Suislaw National Forest, Hebo OR
  • nice simple little tents only campground - that is to say, a parking lot, a grassy field, and a pit toilet. There's a little spur in the parking lot where one can park a van away from the picnickers and have a little privacy.

  • Lookout Campground
  • Willamette National Forest, Blue River OR
  • mostly fisherman, got a great spot at the dead end right by the lake, a few miles from Terwilliger Hot Springs

  • Sunset Cove Campground
  • Deschutes National Forest, Crescent OR
  • Small campground on a little strip of hillside between beautiful Odell Lake and busy Route 58, the through-fare between Eugene and the interior. There's a nice boat launch, fish-cleaning station, some pull-through sites - all the amenities for your grizzled old fisher-dude. Site 15 is a not quite level site facing right on the lake (down a 40' embankment). No sounds but the lapping of the waves and the wind in the trees ... and the semis on Route 58. It faces west. Sunset reflected off the lake and through the trees is spectacular. This would be a perfect place to launch a kayak.

  • Edson Creek Campground
  • Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Port Orford OR
  • 5 miles east of US 101, great find when the beach campgrounds are full on Saturday night.

  • Jackson Wellspring
  • private business Ashland OR
  • right outside Ashland, dusty little hippie place near the fancy Lithia Hot Springs Resort. The pools were excellent and clean, as was the pavilion area with wifi and electrical outlets. But the rest of the place was third world and had a weird vibe.