Searching for a dispersed camping spot near Cave Junction? Here you'll find a diverse selection of places to camp, including remote dispersed camping to boondocking, and everything in-between. You're sure to find the perfect dispersed campsite for your Oregon camping adventure.
This dispersed campsite for tents or small trailers, is located on the Recreation portion of the Wild and Scenic Chetco River. Enjoy summer fun in the crystal clear waters of this outstanding river. There are a few shaded spots that can be found along the tree line. Picnicking, sunbathing, swimming, floating and other forms of non-motorized water sports are possible. Facilities Camp where you want No drinking water Vault toilet Garbage disposal from May 15 through September 15
Remember to LNT in any dispersed area and respect any "no camping" signs you find.
Ennis Riffle is located along the Rogue River and provides camping and day use recreation. Ennis is a gravel/ sand bar that provides river access and is a popular location for fishing. The lower section of Ennis is owned and maintained by BLM. Non-designated camping sites (Upper area) RV's and tent camping allowed Campfires are allowed seasonally with a fire pan / restrictions exist during fire season No water or power available Overnight camping (fee)
$15 / night
In general, dispersed camping is allowed outside of developed sites within the Six Rivers National Forest unless otherwise posted. Since potable water, toilets and other amenities are not available, be sure to bring adequate water or be prepared to purify natural water sources before drinking. Camp at least 200 feet from springs, water, meadows, trails, and at least 50 feet from roads. Camp at least a quarter-mile from designated campgrounds, picnic areas, trailheads, private property and state highways. Please remember: if you brought it in with you, then take it out when you leave (Pack It In/Pack It Out), this includes dismantling user-created site-modifications, such as fire rings.
Traveler
Great area with lots of room to separate you from others ! The road in is paved till you drop into the actual camp site which is rocky but easy for a suv to do. The views are amazing and the privacy is even better!
Guide
The road getting up to it wasn't too bad. Some bigger potholes that we're easy enough to avoid. The pond at the top was beautiful with tons of bats flying around at night. Super cool!
GuideGreat spot by a river. Refreshing water not too cold, deep enough to float.
Starlink internet is spotty here but you should be good if you park further away from the river.
Be careful with maps! This listing has the wrong pin on the map. If you use coordinates and google maps it will get you to the right side. If you come across a road with a dead end sign, you’re on the wrong side of the river.
Guide
This spot is a gravel pull off that is about 25ftx15ft. You can fit a small pull behind, truck, and/or van. The 6.5 mile road (FS-25) is paved so the accessibility of the site is a plus. The only downside is the logging operation that you can hear during the week further up the mountain.
GuideWe needed a place to set up for a quick sleep on our way down to Yosemite from Washington. I navigated using Google Maps due to other reviews saying Apple made it confusing. This led us right to the pond/camp sites. The road is a little rough with potholes but it’s not terrible if you just drive slow over the holes. There is a few split offs/2-way roads along this dirt road, the last one being a tree with a smiley face and an arrow leading you where to go. Didn’t get lost at all and it was already dark when we got there. No one was there, it was peaceful, clean and quiet. There is a pit toilet/bathroom with toilet paper. No trash cans so you’ll have to pack out your trash. I recommend this spot for anyone willing to drive 10-15 minutes off the freeway for some dispersed camping.
Ranger
There was a few pullouts on the road and I wouldn’t exactly call it dispersed camping. I parked in what I think was a road for fishing access. Only positive was the river was right there
Traveler10 miles up a fire road with some spots along road. All are tiny pullout spots just enough for a van to park, would not recommend for an rv or trailer. Very gorgeous though! And paved road the whole way!
Guide
It looked like a decent place to camp with river access. I was disappointed the camp was closed due to fire. I saw a couple campers but I didn't stay.
ScoutThis is a lovely spot. Just a few campsites around a pond. Just overnighted here. Saw some folks camping and fishing. A bit of a challenge to find. Take speaker road to the end of pavement and then follow the dyrt map carefully. The correct location is pinned.
GuideI liked the area, but it seemed to be heavily trafficked. Lots of cars and vans drove by. I was also woken up in the middle of the night to someone practicing with their shotgun in the distance for a good half hour
Scout
Had a awesome time at sand camp very nice and quiet. Would go back again and again with friends and family. Clean and nice.
GuideWe tried to get to these coordinates with Apple Maps on an iPhone, and it took us somewhere completely different in the middle of nowhere with no cell signal or people for miles. The road it had us go down was very steep, couldn’t get back up and had to make camp there and hike for help the next morning. I gave a second star because on our hike we had to cross this river a few times and it is absolutely beautiful. Crystal clear, cool, perfect for swimming.
ScoutThis was an ok site. We visited middle of January and we were the only campers here. It was nice being by the river but this area recently had a fire go through it and there was a lot of down trees/erosion.
Also, the amount of trash here was rather disappointing and we were concerned our dog would step on something sharp. We tried to pick up as much as possible but there were a lot of small bits and it appeared to be from a long term camp for whoever was piling up a lot of trash over a long period of time.
ScoutSubaru Impreza got up the road just fine! Location is about 20 minutes off i5. Hard to find with Apple Maps but we switched over to google maps and it was a lot easier!
Legend
I'll add another review since we did go back there this summer and stay there for a night. But I'd check on the effects of the Rum Fire if you're planning to go to this area. Not sure what the river area looks like now. :(
We couldn't really find a flat place to park, and so ended up parking just along the bathroom, which was rhe flattest spot here. It was a nice and peaceful stay, quiet, watching boaters and rafting companies coming and going all day. Nobody else was there at night.
The area is beautiful but there's not much to do unless you have a boat or a car. No nearby hikes within walking distance.
Still zero cell service. 14 day stay limit. Garbage bins and recycling and bathrooms on site. Free!
TravelerGoogle maps will take you right to this one. The drive in is pretty short, making this a convenient place to stop if you’re driving through.
Three spots, two of which are very close together. We were there in August. It was hot and the pond was scummy, but not buggy.
Pretty woods and good stars up here. We didn’t explore.
TravelerFound this spot on our way down to California. Not a bad spot to camp, it’s very quite and we were the only ones there.
Getting there is pretty easy, we made it a lot more difficult by going down a bunch of roads. Stick to the main road, the road to the campsite is on the right and has a tree that’s spray painted with a stick figure. It’s very steep like the other review said but isn’t too bad for a truck.
There aren’t a lot of spots here. We parked right by the lake, there was another spot in the middle of the loop, and a few others.
It looks like there’s a trail that goes around the lake. We found some ticks on the dogs immediately so we didn’t end up exploring it. Overall a nice spot, it’s right off the highway so you don’t have to worry about driving deep in the mountains.
Guide
Sand Camp had no parking lot camp, and it was getting late so we stayed in a pull out on the highway. There are a few to pick from, but make sure you're not on one with a sharp turn because that can be dangerous being in the blind spot of on coming cars. I was definitely uneasy at first and felt pretty exposed, but we didnt have any trouble. As I said, works in a pinch.
GuideThe coordinates on here were off, and the campground is actually located further down the road, and it's an official site you can find on Google. The sites are walk to (very short), and there are signs saying no camping in the parking lot, violators will be fined. We didnt want to chance sleeping in our van because it seemed like a place that would be patrolled. Would be excellent for tents.
ScoutSaw lots of trash and toilet paper. Decent spot otherwise.
TravelerThese coordinates lead us to private property, a driveway to a couple of houses. Maybe there was something a little further, but it was all blocked off. We had to turn around and camp elsewhere.
TravelerWe live in Brookings and go up the Chetco to this river bar or to Nook or Miller Bar all summer long. No, there’s no spaces and no hookups and no cell service for miles. It’s just a gravel bar on the river where you pull your camper wherever feels good and unhitch and camp. You might have some USDA Forest Service employee drop off a pay envelope at your site but , there’s no place to leave it and they may or may not come back to get it. It sometimes gets crowded during holidays and weekends and the good places, not next to rapids and close enough to good swimming holes, become rare. So you might have to settle for something less than ideal. And, the porta potties might get full. There’s no one enforcing quiet hours or leash laws and no form of law enforcement anywhere nearby. There is a Forest Service LEO assigned to the area but in 18 years, I’ve never seen him on the bar. Despite all this, incidents involving injuries or violence or crime are exceptionally rare. It’s a great kayaking and swimming place and there’s nearby rocks for jumping off. Remember! It’s a river not a lake so kids ought to have life jackets. Please note….as the summer progresses, the water level drops, the temperature rises and the algae grows. As such, we prefer June camping.
LegendWe checked this spot out and ended up moving on to keep looking, but would come back here if ever in the area.
This is a recreation site / boat ramp, and it's wide open for camping as well. When you pull in, you first see a large area that looks like a parking lot. It wasn't until we left the spot and looked back on it from the higher road that we saw that the camp area extended a bit past the bathrooms into more camp friendly spots, with some shade and greenery.
No cell service in this whole area.
There is a pit toilet, and trash and recycling bins. No fires at this time!
LegendThis BLM area is a quick turn off the main road. Take a right or left to start the loop and you’ll find various spots for dispersed camping. The road is mostly ok with some areas of high rocks but we made it in our 26ft Class C with only one ding on the steps. Larger vehicles might have problems along the lower half of the loop, but the upper half was doable. There are some spots close to the river and others up above it more with nice views as well as shade.
There are a few “long term residents" here. One was right on the water with a big mirror and a homemade sign warning of “thieves among us." The sheriff and ranger came by the next day and left citation on his camp. Nothing scary nor anything that made us feel unsafe at all.
This is a dry camp with no amenities. Tent/car campers welcome but must have port-a-potties. You must pack out your waste and trash. We found several trash piles which we cleaned up. There are NO fires allowed at this time. Also be aware that there is a lot of poison oak around.
Also there were unleashed dogs, one in particular that wandered into our camp site every morning. A lot of rafters and kayakers, especially on weekends, but they stay mostly on the water but can become quite loud at times. River access in this area is available in a only few spots that you have to walk to. There is no real shoreline to hang out in unless someone is not camped right in those areas.
Zero cell reception from ATT, verizon and TMobile in this whole area.
GuideSand camp is essentially a dispersed camping area. There is a large gravel parking lot and a pit toilet available. There is a path down to the Smith River where you can set up tents and tent camp if you want.
The toilet was a basic pit toilet, but it was fairly clean as far as those go.
We parked our VW Bus in the gravel lot for the night, it was very quiet. Though its next to a road, there is very little traffic at night as this area is fairly remote. The sky was dark and clear, perfect for stargazing. The few other people camping there were quiet and friendly.
LegendSooooo, apparently dispersed is no longer free in some places. This campground was$10 a night. But for that$10 you get camping on the gravel bar right next to the river with semi-clean porta potties. The best reason to camp here is that you are in the“banana belt” of southern Oregon where it gets really warm. I was able to dive right into the river from my site(I was camped next to a really deep part of the river). There are lots of fire rings set up all over the gravel bar, you just have to pick who you want to camp next to. There were the usual rowdy groups as well as hige family gatherings and the line campers as well.
LegendThis was quite a way in on a fairly smooth but steep dirt road. Along the road were random deep pot holes so be aware they sneak up on you when the road is shadowed. The last .3 miles was steep and though we made it in 26ft rig I would not attempt it again. I could see major problem if rain was expected.
The pond was peaceful and so beautiful with a couple of level options to set up. The area as a whole is very small though, so if someone else is already there when you arrive it’s going to feel very cozy and/or awkward.
There was a handicap accessible bathroom with pit toilets that someone shot up the lock (boooo) so at the moment is open despite the "closed for covid" sign. There was a pile of garbage near the garbage cans. Bullet casings littered the ground as well.
The fish were jumping and the water clear. Overall nice, just wish people would respect public lands more and not trash these areas so much. The road is narrow with very few turn arounds. The way down I was in 1-2 gear riding the break on some of the hills. Good place to let the dogs run and swim. If we had a smaller rig we would come here again. Very weak / unusable Verizon service, no service with TMobile or ATT.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dispersed campsite near Cave Junction, OR?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near Cave Junction, OR is Redwood Bar Dispersed Camping with a 3.6-star rating from 8 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 23 dispersed camping locations near Cave Junction, OR, with real photos and reviews from campers.
