By:
Submission
From Town, SE 13 mi on Hwy 19 (R).
This campsite was easy to spot from the road, although navigation such as Google maps does not have the gravel road leading off into it. The campsite situated below the road in the valley surrounded by towering hills on either side. There are ample trees and the possibility of hammock camping if you can find the ones close enough. Each campsite has fire rings and wood or metal picnic tables. Water spigots with potable water are scattered every few sites. There are lovely vault toilets as well with air fresheners and toilet paper.
The campsite I stayed at was near the small creek offering a serene sound of water trickling while I slept. There was a bridge the crossed the creek further west of my site which is recommended as the creek is muddy and not easy to cross by foot unless you want to get your shoe stuck in the mud (I was blessed to do this while looking for firewood on the other side).
There is plenty of deadfall scattered around that can be used for the campfire rings set up in the sites. Across the creek, there were lots of bigger hunks of firewood but the fierce mud crossing claimed my shoes. Thankfully, I was able to wash them off and use the heat of the fire to slowly dry them out.
Overall, this is a nice campsite for overnighting as you continue exploring the surrounding area. If coming from Portland, it is about a 3-hour journey. I first trucked around to the John Day Fossil Beds and looped around on the 26 to the Painted Hills before heading back north on the 207. There are lots of fun activities in the vicinity that you can explore and hike in 2 days before carrying on to another area.
Nice, spacious, quiet place. Few RV amenities but that’s the way I like it - real camping. Water & outhouses is all you get.
Camped 1Apr17. Had the park to ourselves. Really nice setup for primitive camping. The road above isn't highly traveled (at least at night) so it was very quiet. Bathrooms were well-kept.
Not a bad place to park a truck so you don't slide down an hideously icy road.
Nice, big and clean campground. Stayed during the time where no campfires were allowed so we improvised. We were the only ones there.
Found a young cat that was obviously dumped there. Skinny and had an abscess on his face. Probably was out there for a few weeks. We took him home and he's working out great. Named him Shelton.
