The Curecanti National Recreation Area is a huge place comprising most of the boundary of three reservoirs and then a few miles of the downstream river. There are many campgrounds, most are large, RV-friendly affairs out in the open next to the reservoir. This one is small and on the other side of the road up a little canyon ... er ... gulch. In the cottonwoods, very quiet and pleasant.
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 :)
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!
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!
What a great place! Walk over to the golf course clubhouse to check in, she gives you the wifi password, then you pretty much park on the grass anywhere you want. The wifi was great, it happened that I parked 30' from the bathrooms What with food at the clubhouse, good wifi, and a short walk to the shower, I literally could live here a while.
The real name of this place is Samuel Buckland Campground, but it's easier to just call it the campground at Fort Churchill. The terrain is barren high desert hills for miles, except for this lovely belt of ancient cottonwoods along the Walker River.
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!
Aquatic recreation paradise. swimming, kayaking, snorkeling, scubaing. You can swim or snorkel in the mouth of the spring Checkout is 3 pm.
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.
Placid little place in tall firs. Swimming beach on the Priest River, boat ramp, kayak friendly. Road noise is not too bothersome.
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!
Kind of a shabby little place. But very handy on the Pagosa Springs-Durango run. I'm hatin' because I think $18 is too much, but that's Colorado.
Elevation: 8,200' A nice place to stop early on Saturday afternoon. Most of the sites are in the pines and have good shade. The ones on the edges are in the aspens, so not as shady.
A convenient, quiet place in the forest on the road from Willets to Fort Bragg. It was free when I stayed three years ago, costs something now.
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!
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
A run down, slightly spooky place, but quite convenient and cheap.
perfect spot to camp for the beach. On a small bluff, so you're camping off the sand in the pines, but the beach is only about 30 steps down the hill. I will come back here.
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 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.
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".