By:
Submission
4 campsites with picnic tables, and fire pits
2 walk-in campsites with picnic tables, and fire pits
No drinking water
Vault toilet
No garbage disposal - Please pack it out
From Selma, OR, off of Highway 199 is the turn for the Illinois River Road (Forest Road 4301). Take that road approximately 9 miles to the campground. You will pass the Store Gulch Day Use Area and the Store Gulch Guard Station, the next left will take you into the campground.
By far the best river spot in Southern Oregon! Close to Grants Pass area for the locals and a great spot to go for a day at the River if just here visiting. We love jumping off the rocks as you can see right to bottom floor of the river. There's 3 goods spots in this particular area. One is about 4 feet for the smaller daredevils then there's 2 others.. One about 15ish feet and the big guy at about 22ish feet. It's just a "guesstimate" as I'm comparing it to other places I've jumped off from cliffs and rocks.
People have overwhelmed a lot of areas around here. If you can get away when there aren't a lot of visitors it's amazing. But when the crowds come be aware that not everyone will respect your space. Loose dogs, trash, and rude visitors can ruin your day quickly.
I went out on a weekday, and arrived at Store Gulch early, 9:00/9:30. That made all the difference because the Illinois gets ALOT of people. So much so, that in my opinion, it can be less enjoyable.
But , I’ve been going to Store Gulch for 22 years , and my last trip out was awesome. Only had two adult neighbors and 3 children. All very nice people who were staying at the campground right above the beach.
Store Gulch has got not too high rocks to dive from, a couple of little coves on the opposite side of the beach, campground and toilets. I’m not sure about now, but Store Gulch was where you could find a forest ranger or other person working for the forest, I did not see any this trip.
I know that (especially) on the weekends , no alcohol is allowed. And it is a very narrow road , in and out, that goes up mountains, on the side of cliffs. Most of the road is paved ,, now, still some gravel sections.
The Illinois River is absolutely spectacular! And the water is so wonderful, you can see the bottom, clearly, not all clouded or muddy. Very little “frog water “out there, at least compared to other two rivers in the area….
If you go, please pack out all your garbage, including cigarette butts. Please.
Everyone should go to the”Illy” at least once, it is truly a special place!
Had a wonderful time here. Beautiful couple of days in March. The river is like glass and there are beautiful beaches along the whole river. Went to swinging bridges and hung out for a bit. The campground only has 5 spots. Fortunately, we were the only people there and very few cars drive by on the main road. I'm assuming this is the off season. Nonetheless, we had a great time. We even brought out blue lights and we're amazed at all the scorpions we found.
