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 :)
Right on the Umpqua, at the very edge of the little hamlet of Oakland OR. It's small so it could fill up fast, but darn it's a sweet little spot tucked away in an unlikely part of Oregon. I came here on an August Friday and it was FULL. It's a perfect place to go tubing on the river, so I'm (sad but) not surprised.
A run down, slightly spooky place, but quite convenient and cheap.
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!
I am in Thumper Loop! A lovely, very well maintained large campground. The area is thick grass, but a wide area is mowed around each campsite. Very pleasant place to be out of the madness of Black Hills traffic.
On Lake Mendocino, off SR 20 a few miles east of 101. Annoying access road with 6 or ten speed bumps, but a very pleasant place once you've been assigned your spot by the check-in. Nice, free showers! The bathroom lights are quite bright, so a spot that looks nice in the afternoon might be kind of annoying at night.
Boysen State Park takes up much of the land around Boysen Reservoir and the river creating it. There are many campgrounds spaced far apart. This is the second or third on the river instead of the lake, and the last one heading towards Thermopolis, right on the edge of the Indian Reservation, where the fishing rules change. Nice shady cottonwoods to hang out under. US 20 is too close and tonight there are way too many bugs.
Pleasant but boring BLM campground a couple of miles west of the tiny town of Junction City. Lots of road noise. A particularly boring stretch of the Feather River is right across the highway.
Very hot right now, but what a cool place. Tucked away in the scrub oak forest along the shores of this little CCC-made reservoir. Few campers because it is so insanely HOT. The shade is a real attraction in this area. Also the shower!
Nice clean bathroom, no shower, near 101 but quiet, 20 yards out of the campground you're in the sand dunes
Developed yet rustic and primitive, if that makes any sense. It's laid out nicely, but seems terribly underused and under-maintained. There are non-working no water spigots and a "No Water" sign. The fact that the Forest Service charges only $5 tells you what you need to know about the condition of the place. I however am liking it just fine and am happy to be here! Yellow Pine Campground is 1/2 away, much bigger and more open, but also underused and under-maintained. Six campers in a 40 site place on Fourth of July
Small, quiet, well-run, densely packed little campground on the south side of Alturas, very close to the wildlife refuge. I like that he charges $30 straight up, no "plus tax".
A modest city park in downtown Malta. In a grassy area between the fairgrounds and the Milk River you can camp for $5 a night. Pretty sweet.
Aquatic recreation paradise. swimming, kayaking, snorkeling, scubaing. You can swim or snorkel in the mouth of the spring Checkout is 3 pm.
After a surprisingly exhausting drive up Colo 139, this place is really nice ... until dark, when the security lights made site 25 uninhabitable. Nice shower!
Very nice campground, the local Boy Scouts added amenities. It is the most deluxe BLM campground I've ever seen. Showers even! There is apparently a waterfall a mile or so up the hill across the road.
Still quiet and cheap and convenient, EXCEPT for the generators which always seem to be running here during the permissible hours. But really, a $10 (or $5 for seniors) nice campground 16 miles from the edge of Las Vegas ... gotta take the bad with the good. Checks not accepted, so make sure to have that $5 bill!
A quiet little loop of campsites right off US 158. The rest of the park - Visitors Center, access to the Millpond, trails - are a couple of miles to the west then south. Very pleasant place.
A very pleasant campground in the Army Corps style, which is to say well-engineered down to the small details. There is a little network of paved trails over to the Dam Glorification/Dinosaur Museum and through the marshes.
A sleepy little campground in a sleepy little park. Pleasant and quiet. The Suwanee River is pretty, it would be fun to kayak it. The bathroom/laundry had a little book exchange!
Just a parking area with trees and picnic tables. I enjoyed it here. The water spigot is 40' from the lot in a field and looks like it might be dicey, but the water was delicious!