Best Dispersed Camping near Bandon, OR

The road is steep gravel with many switchbacks that were easy to do in our 24ft van coming from the Humbug State Park entrance. About 12 minute slow drive to a very scenic turnout on the hilltop where the area looks to be immediately cleared of trees and large enough to turn around. Likely park 4-5 vehicles if you didn't mind squeezing together. A slight uneven slope but manageable if you don't have leveling blocks.

You can see the ocean behind the adjacent hill tops. And all the other areas are forested that you look out to other than the drive in.

Coming here was a bit nerve racking with the end of the trail having the trees cleared out for a few miles and just a steep drop-off to your left. Wouldn't come up if it rained as I would feel unsafe for some of the road edges look to be a potential risk for washing out.

The Elliott State Forest has more than 550 miles of roads and trails, but only a primary network has been maintained over the past 10 years since the 90,000 acre area was shut down with environmental lawsuits. Many of these roads lead to excellent camping sites, including old lookouts, fishing holes, secluded springs, and an undeveloped campground favored by local mudrunners. Met organization has worked with the local Community College the past seven years regarding recreational research on the Elliott, with our most recent (and likely final) focus being on historic trails and primitive campsites. The pandemic caused much of this work to be documented on student-level videos, indexed on YouTube: http://www.orww.org/Elliott\_Forest/Recreation/index.html and https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1JyKCHg2GmHjLtQzXXDks4Rb-LE9HoJ-

Dispersed camping is allowed in all state forests within Oregon. https://www.oregon.gov/ODF/Recreation/pages/Camp.aspx

We found an awesome spot along Marlow Creek Road, about 4 miles into the forest (coming in from Allegeny). There are plenty of pull outs all along the way, with room for 2-3 cars, as well as full tents and chairs set up. The road follows a babbling creek which was amazing to sleep next to. There are no amenities, follow any postings about campfire restrictions. (When we went- no fires were allowed). This is a logging forest, so we had huge logging trucks roll by in the morning - because of this, it may not be the best spot for kids or off leashed dogs. The trucks went by very quickly, stirring up a lot of dust- keep your car windows shut and use a pot while cooking breakfast! We had very few mosquitos or bugs, and loved being encompassed by the mossy trees!

Ranger Review of the Matador Freerain 24 L Backpack

https://matadorup.com/products/matador-freerain24-backpack?variant=47744934037

As a Ranger, I occasionally get the chance to test out gear in the field. I was really excited about trying out this pack, as I do a lot of canyoneering, and dealing with waterproof bags inside of soggy backpacks is always a hassle. Or you have to figure out a way to secure a typical waterproof bag to you. The bag is made of a lightweight rainjacket-like material, and has a roll top to it’s main compartment. I took the bag on a 3 mile hike to some waterfalls, where I could test out it’s waterproofness. At home, I went to a nearby lake to try submerging it.

Pros

This bag was extremely light, small and pack-able! You have no reason NOT to bring it with you if you may be heading somewhere wet. It folds into a small drawstring about the size of a baseball.

This bag has separate storage compartments whereas most drybags are a long tube where everything falls to the bottom. Within this bag, you have 2 water bottle holders (where I tossed things like keys), a easy access zip pocket on the front, as well as the small drawstring that the bag itself can be stored in (I put my packs of gummies in here for safe keeping).

Cons

The bag does not have a chest strap, so there was the potential for the backpack to slip off if you were doing strenuous activity, it also didn’t sit perfectly comfortable because of this. It does however, have adjustable shoulder straps (which I didn’t see as necessary).

I was nervous about putting my 1 L Nalgene bottles into the water bottle pockets because of the material of the bag…with just 1, it made the bag extremely lopsided, or with 2, it seemed to put a lot of stress on the bag itself. I tossed my water inside the bag instead, which made it pretty lumpy since the packable bag doesn’t have structure.

The front pocket is as advertised, water resistant, but definitely did not pass the waterproof test when I submerged the bag. It’s OK for waterfall mist or a light rain, but I wouldn’t keep my phone in there if we were getting dunked!

Conclusion!

If this bag had the chest strap, I’d be in 100% for using it for canyoneering adventures, however- since it doesn’t seem made for more rugged situations, I’m not sure why you would need such a waterproof bag. Most daypacks nowadays come with a raincover, or are made of a water resistant material to keep your goodies from getting soaked - unless you are planning a very casual dayhike where you are literally walking under waterfalls, I would most likely invest in a different daypack solution..

I stumbled on this site accidentally back in early August when en-route to some of the official campgrounds on the Elk River that were just a bit further down the road. Wasn't too impressed with those, so on the way back toward Port Orford I decided to pull off at this spot to see what might be found as you can find dispersed camping spots up and down the river. So glad I did.

The area is a large stony beach, hence the name I made up when I created this listing. It's good for cars and smaller campers / RVs. I'm not sure big RVs would be good for this setting. The dirt path from the main road down to the beach is very short but a bit steep and with some big dips when I was there so very low-clearance vehicles might have an issue getting in and out. For tents, the beach would likely be uncomfortable given its rockiness, but that's OK because there are a few places just off the beach that have dirt and tree-cover and are perfect for tent camping. I found a great spot with good shade, a well-made stone firepit, and an easy place to hang my hammock. Loved it so much I decided to hunker down for four days and just settle in.

The river is crystal clear and was refreshing in August. It gets deep on the left side of the beach area so you can properly swim if you want to (see my silly "let's test out my new GoPro" video to see what I mean). That area is popular with locals for day-use so you'll often see more people during the day then at night. Only had a few other campers staying the nights, and we had enough space between us. Privacy wasn't an issue. No toilets though, so you'll need to get creative with that.

For camp fires, make sure to check the local regulations. When I was there they had a burn ban and the forestry guys came through somewhat regularly to check. They will ticket you if you break the rules. $250 fine I believe.

The drive to Port Orford, the closest town, is about 30 minutes each way. Not too bad, but if you want to settle in and not move for a while, you'll want to stock up. No cell phone reception either, at least for me on Verizon, but I got to the point where I really appreciated that. This is a damn fine spot to really unplug. That said, there are some great hikes around Port Orford (check out Humbug Mountain if you want a proper workout) so there are more reasons than just supply runs to go out and return.

All in all a phenomenal free dispersed camp site that I would 100% recommend and return to.