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2025

Spots in the West

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  • Trails Motel
  • private business Lone Pine CA
  • Right next to the movie museum at the south end of Lone Pine. Can walk to the pizza place.

  • 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.

  • Perry Riffle
  • Sacramento Bend Recreation Area, Bend CA
  • It pays to call the ranger! I called about spring flowers on these riverside trails (not yet he said), and as long as I was there asked about staying overnight. He said the all the other parking areas were day use only, but the one at the end of the road - Perry Riffle (cool name!) - allows it. So here I am, feeling very pleased about life.

  • Thomas Creek Campground
  • Toyiabe National Forest, Elko NV
  • beautiful location in Lamoille Canyon

  • Cave Campground
  • Lassen National Forest, Old Station CA
  • Smack on the way from Reno to Eureka, where CA 44 meets CA 89. A geologically interesting valley. A giant, recent lava flow that feels like the recovering disaster area it is. The Lava Cave is a short walk across the highway. The Forest Service keeps one campground open all winter, and it is this one. A deep blanket of pine needles makes it quiet except for the occasional truck on 89.

  • Modoc NWR
  • US Fish and Wildlife, Alturas CA
  • A must stop for me if I am in the area. There is a nice auto tour around a little lake. My impression is that the Sand Cranes are the star attraction here.

  • Richardson Grove
  • California State Parks, Benbow CA
  • In the redwoods where 101 narrows and winds through the big trees. Next to where Reggae On The River used to happen. The campgrounds are west of the road, the Eel River is to the east. Once you're past the kiosk and in the park, there is an underpass to connect the two. The coolest part of the campground used to be over a little bridge on the Eel River on the east side. It seems to be closed permanently, which is too bad.

  • Sportsman's Beach Walker Lake
  • Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Hawthorne NV
  • Pretty, spectacular view down the length of Walker Lake. You can hear the neverending semis on US 95, but they are pretty far up the hill. You come to the main campground first. I find out later this is the only unlocked bathroom. It's nice enough, but the sites are not level. After you wind down a few more hundred feet, past the boat ramp, there are more camp sites, a couple of which are nice and level. If only the bathroom door was unlocked...

  • 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!

  • Russian Gulch
  • California State Parks, Caspar CA
  • Very cool state park a little south of Fort Bragg. There's a waterfall two miles up the canyon, something called Devils Punchbowl on the rocky shore, and lots of other hikes in between.

  • Water Canyon Campground
  • Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Winnemucca NV
  • Lovely, quiet campground in an amazing location, tucked in a little valley six miles south of Winnemucca. You can hike up,up,up the creek, or hike up the side if the hill for an epic view north to the Jackson Mountains.

  • Panamint Springs Resort
  • private business Panamint Springs
  • Only thing going between Lone Pine and Death Valley. It looked a lot more alluring when driving past than it does now that I'm staying here. Maybe when I get a beer and hang out on the veranda I'll like it better. It does have showers! Register at the gas station, not the restaurant as you might expect.

  • Oak Grove Campground
  • Cleveland National Forest, Palomar Mountains
  • handy on the way to San Diego, kinda pretty between the road and a cow pasture, not much going on...

  • Thermopolis Hot Springs
  • Hot Springs State Park, Thermopolis WY
  • Funny little place. It is mandated to be free by some old treaty or contract. There is an inside pool and an outside pool, and you can go to one or the other, and supposedly you have a 20 minute limit, but nobody was checking. I chose the outside pool,and it was really pleasant. Nice shade structure. It's very close to Tepee, so I didn't dry or change, I just soaked for a while, thanked to nice lady and flip-flopped 60 yards back to Tepee.

  • Bonneville Campground
  • Boise National Forest, Lowman ID
  • Not very remarkable campground, except for the really excellent hot springs pouring out of the side of the creek 1/4 mile away. Campground hosts were annoying busybodies.

  • Coyote Creek Campground
  • New Mexico State Parks, Guadalupita NM
  • Saturdays are such a trial to the hardened traveller. Every site is taken, and it has been raining for days, so the overflow lot is a soggy mess. The nice lady said I could park on the reasonably level pad next to the bathroom. The things I do for a shower.

  • Motel 6
  • chain, Fort Bragg CA
  • One of the cheaper motels in town, and for good reason! The room itself is nice. Motel 6 is (IMO), kind of the Target of motel chains in that it offers quite a bit more style than it's competitors. There's a bar/restaurant on the lot that's very handy. Just pack up in the morning and walk to breakfast.

  • Doheny State Beach
  • California State Parks, Dana Point CA
  • in town, next to the harbor, but kind of isolated because the little river separates it from the day use area. Small, not very private sites, but right next to the beach

  • Katherine's Landing Campground, Lake Mohave
  • Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Bullhead City AZ
  • huge, rv-friendly campground. No elec hookups, so generators are running everywhere. On the hill a few hundred feet above the lake.

  • White Canyon dispersed
  • Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Hanksville UT
  • Somewhere between Natural Bridges NP and Lake {Powell (Hite UT) there is a sign to turn off for a Historical Marker. On that turnoff there is at least one really quite nice place to camp. There was already a fire ring, so I know it's OK! A couple of miles south of the Jacobs Chair sign.

  • Wilson Canyon Roadside Rest
  • Nevada DOT, Smith Valley NV
  • Beautiful, idyllic spot on NV 208 right on the West Walker River. In the shade of a row of stately old cottonwoods, it's quite spacious and has at least four really nice RV spots right in the river.