W
H
U
F
U
2025

Spots in Oregon

map view • list view

  • 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!

  • 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.

  • Sutton Campground
  • Suislaw National Forest, Florence OR
  • Nice clean bathroom, no shower, near 101 but quiet, 20 yards out of the campground you're in the sand dunes

  • 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!

  • 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 :)

  • Devil's Lake Campground
  • Oregon State Park, Lincoln City OR
  • in the heart of Lincoln City, tucked away on the northeast corner of the bridge over the teeny-weeny "D" River. Site assigned by front office guy. Sites are close together with little shielding, but everyone is mellow and into their thing, so it's cool.

  • 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.

  • Eel Creek Campground
  • Siuslaw National Forest, Lakeside OR
  • quiet, except for the crows. Arrived at 3-ish on Thursday, plenty of sites. Right next to the dunes, the cool thing to do here is head due west into the dunes. The idea of walking to the beach is very appealing, but a steep hill and two miles of dunes is a lot of sand to slog through.

  • Amacher Park Campground
  • Douglas County OR, Winchester OR
  • Saddle Mountain Campground
  • Oregon State Parks, Elsie OR
  • Seven long winding uphill miles off busy Route 26. Nice when you get here though. A parking lot, bathrooms, and short walks to eleven spots with a picnic table, a fire ring (barred from use - fire danger) and a tent space. That's the whole thing. What people come here for is the 2 mile, 1,640' hike to the top of Saddle Mountain.

  • Copperfield Campground
  • Idaho Power, Oxbow OR
  • Right on the Snake River below the Oxbow Dam. On the Oregon side of the river, but run by Idaho Power. Grassy and pleasant and remote.

  • Junipers Reservoir RV Resort
  • private business Lakeview OR
  • Far from everything, in the high desert of southeast Oregon, a few miles east of Lakeview.

  • Whittaker Creek
  • Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Florence OR
  • pleasant, quiet campground. off the road across a little bridge, on the creek.

  • Mecca Flats
  • Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Warm Springs OR
  • Adventurous spirit and 2 bumpy miles of gravel pays off! All to myself on this warm Friday night. Beautiful spacious canyon and a fast flowing river. Reminds me very much of the river and canyon outside Yakima WA. Similar climate and similar geology (400' thick basalt lava flows as far as the eye can see). We are on the Deschutes River - a Wild and Scenic River at this point, right across the river from the Warm Springs Indian Reservation.

  • Cape Perpetua Campground
  • Siuslaw National Forest, Florence OR
  • lovely spot in the valley beneath the cape. Lots of little hikes, and the rocky coast.

  • 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.

  • Miller Bar
  • Suislaw National Forest, Brookings OR
  • 13 miles up the Chetco River from Brookings, then 1/2 miles straight down a steep bluff to the long, wide stony gravel bed which is Miller Bar. The Chetco in front of my site is about 10 inches deep at it's deepest, but about 40' wide. The rocks are covered in bright green algae, but it's not too cold so I had a pleasant horizontal soak. Just drive along the gravel, park wherever you want, and you're home free,

  • 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!

  • Barview Jetty County Park
  • Barview Park, Barview OR
  • really nice little park/campground on the beach

  • Herman Creek Campground
  • Mt Hood National Forest, Columbia Gorge OR
  • on the steep hill overlooking the Columbia River. Kind of a gloomy spot, but handy in the heart of the gorge area

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