Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Central Oregon

Entrance is free. The sites are strung through the trees and overlook the Badlands of Central Oregon's high desert. Cool temps in summer

We were able to score a couple of nights here in Early May.  It's a very popular Oregon State Park and I'm sure summer requires advance planning.  The weekend we were there was pretty full and our site was at the top of the B loop.  Monday, however, the park cleared out to much fewer campers.   The lake was actually mostly full and the views were beautiful.   Some of the amenities were boating, of course, lake views from some sites, a nice dog park along with the normal state park fare.  We'll definitely make another trip!

We rode the Central Oregon Backcountry Explorer. Jalet made sure we had a place to stay and even helped recover one of members who got heatstroke a mile out of town. This Hostel was AMAZING! They thought of everything!

I will be using this hostel every single opportunity I get in the future!

Great secluded little USFS campground in a quiet forest. We had the place to ourselves in mid-September, other than a couple very pleasant camp hosts. Easy dirt road in. Fresh cold spring water on site. Trail access to Steins Pillar and a Twin Pillars. (We didn’t take either one, unfortunately.) We’d definitely return next time we pass through central Oregon.

Beautiful if remote location on the banks of the John Day River in Central Oregon. Very few amenities (only vault toilets) and no set camp sites per say, however, it just means you drive up and pick a cool site on the river and enjoy the gorgeous view.

Definitely remember to bring all that you need including food, supplies, tables, and water. But still mere feet from the actual river, quiet, and great star gazing.

There are a lot of trails nearby! Hiking, Bike and atv trails. There is also access to the "road" that leads to the top of Grey Butte. It's not much of a road more like a widened rough trail but we made it up in our truck! The view.up top was spectacular!! The road is only open certain time if the year-i believe March thru September. Definitely worth the drive up to top! Makes you feel on top of the world-or at least Central Oregon 😁

Smith Rock always surprises me- here you are, driving through the farmlands of Central Oregon and BAM. There is Smith, rising out of the ground. Although there are no actual "sites", the area for tents is peppered with naturally formed sites amongst trees. You may need to search a little for some space, but I've always found a secluded spot for a tent or hammock. You may just have to move a few rocks out of the way. Parking can occasionally be a struggle if you get there late at night, but that just means a little bit more of a hike in.

There are no fires allowed, and all cooking is done in a communal area. Although this takes away from the "camping" experience of no s'mores, there is something to be said for joining fellow adventurers at meal times. There are plenty of picnic tables, and it's great to see what other people's set ups look like! There is a bathroom near the communal area, as well as a dish washing sink outside of the bathrooms. There is even an area at the bathroom to charge phones and other electronics. Showers are available.

The bivy sites are a short walk away to two different ways to get down into Smith Rock proper. You'll want to get an early start if you have specific routes in mind, especially on weekends or holidays. There is a drinking fountain at the bottom of the hill down to the climbing routes, right before crossing the river into a great network of trails.

I love wild cat! It sits right on the edge of the Wildcat wilderness area, a beautiful and rugged piece of nature.

Having grown up in Central Oregon, I'm no stranger to Smith Rock State Park. My family used to spend weekends hiking the trails and watching rock climbers defy gravity on the massive basalt walls. I didn't get into rock climbing until college, and it's a shame that Smith was in my backyard and I never took advantage!

When I moved back to Oregon, I knew I'd spend quite a bit of time at Smith Rock, and the campground did not disappoint! We spend a lot of time in dispersed camping on Forest Service roads, so the amenities at Smith rocked!

Tents are pitched at the Bivouac, an area about 50-100ft away from where you park. If you get there early enough, sites along the fence posts offer incredible views of the Crooked River and basalt monoliths. However, there are plenty of places to pitch your tent, and even some good trees for hanging a hammock.

In the center of parking, there are a bunch of picnic tables for the communal eating area. You're not allowed to cook food at the Bivouac, so all meals must be made in the center of the parking lot (I assume this is to mitigate fire hazards). The bathrooms are unbelievably clean and you can take a shower for $2. Alongside the outer wall of the bathrooms, there's a giant sink and dish washing area.

Costs have gone up since I first visited the Bivouac, and are now $8/person/night. Not bad, considering most other parks in Oregon are upwards of $20/night. Parking at the trailhead requires a $5 fee, which is included in your camp fee. Plus, if you have a Parks Pass or Northwest Forest pass, the fee is already covered.

There are only two downsides: 1) No fires allowed, so in turn, no s'mores. 2) Super popular and no reservations. I recommend going early to nab a spot. Arriving too late on a Friday in the summer is an almost guarantee the campground will be full.

5/5 would absolutely recommend!

Renogy Portable Solar Panel Review

It was SUCH a treat to have power at our campsite! I normally let my phone battery drain and wait until I'm home to charge it again. It's nice being completely disconnected, but I like having my phone to keep track of time and to take pictures. With the portable solar panel I was able to do that!

There are a few things to know about the solar panel: it doesn't have a power bank, so whatever energy it gathers from the sun it can't store. You can purchase an attachment from Renogy (a portable power bank) to store the energy as you collect, but otherwise you can plug in your phone's USB cord, set the panel up in direct sunlight, and your device will begin to charge!

When we were at Smith it was 70 degrees and sunny (perfect for climbing!), and with the panel in direct sunlight, I charged my phone completely in less than two hours. The panel comes with two carabiners so you can easily attach it to a pack and charge while you're hiking. It's also scratch and water resistant so you don't have to worry about dirtying it up at camp or on your hike. This seems like a perfect addition to backpacking gear as well so you can keep your devices charged without taking up a lot of space.

5/5 would definitely recommend this product to anyone who camps!

This is open year round and I would not say it's hugely populated. There is vault toilets but not much else. It's so wonderful just to drive up to a spot on the river and camp, what's better is it is free! The stars are wonderful here, as there isn't much light pollution. The canyons show an interesting history. In the spring the wildflowers are truly a site to see! Watch for snakes and cats! Make sure you bring everything you need, there isn't anything near by. Road in is gravel, take it slow.

We love going to Prineville Reservoir State Park because it isn't too big- lots of grassy spaces, great boating and beach area. The swim area is marked and dogs are not allowed in that area so you don't have to worry about dog messes where your kiddos are walking barefoot and swimming. The campsites aren't very big but they have a nice layout that makes you feel like you have your own space. The restrooms are nice with showers available as well.

Getting to camp you drive into a “canyon”, switch backs most of the way down. The road is bumpy but does not require 4WD or high clearance. Once you get to the bottom of the canyon, the road will pass by a vaulted toilet. You continue down the road and a bunch of campsites pop up that line the river. Great space for big groups, dog friendly, all around great hang!

Our reward for braving miles of gravel and dirt road was our pick of a spot on a huge gravel bar in the middle of the John Day River. We brought a 30 foot AF trailer with high clearance- that’s probably the max to make it down there. Beautiful vistas in the late afternoon and other campers were fly fishing. There were 4 other camp groups but it still felt peaceful and plenty of space. Our dogs lived to swim in the river.

I booked this campsite for my boyfriend and I for our anniversary and it was awful. The campground has no privacy (especially if you stay in the inner campsites), they have a public space right in the middle of all the campsites so people walk through your campsite all the time. The lake was pretty but the “beach” was just sharp rocks that people were sliding down the whole time. Our dogs paws were hurting so bad they didn’t even want to go swimming or play. It’s also on a hillside so there is nowhere to set up chairs or anything, we had to sit on top of the rocks and try and make a flat surface for the dogs to lay on. I posted a photo so you all can see the horrible beach. Also the park hosts (besides the one guy) were very rude. The older lady with the longer frizzy brown/gray hair would just walk around glaring at you and we saw her talking to someone pointing at us clearly talking about us. I’m not sure why she was so rude besides the day before when I had to go to the bathroom and they decided to clean it and close it in the middle of the day so I asked how long and just waited for them to finish(you would think they would clean it early in the morning so people could go to the bathroom when they need to). Just a very rude woman.

Campground is walk in only. There is a common area for cooking and a designated area for camping. No fires allowed but beautiful views anywhere you look. Smith Rock is ideal for climbers of all levels and while I was visiting I saw many rock climbing guides as well. Bathroom facilities were very clean and they do have showers for campers. Lots of hiking trails and dogs are allowed, which is always a plus and necessity for me. Can't wait to return to this beautiful park.

Close to Bend, easy to get to and find, quiet, views for miles. The dogs loved romping around here. The only drawback was the dust and wind. I was sure equipment was being ripped off the top of our RV roof much of the night, and there were periods of intense dust storms while we were there. Not sure if it is always like that or we just got lucky, but It would have sucked to be in a tent during all of that. Still, really gorgeous panoramic views made it worth all the shaking.

While other cabins overlook the reservoir, the dog friendly one is perched uphill by the park entrance. There is still a view from the front porch of the reservoir, and the side window looks out on the hillside where the deer amble on down to the water from. The medium sized campground spills down the hill to the reason everyone goes there, the reservoir. The campground was nearly empty after spring break, yet had many day visitors to the boat ramp and fishing platform. The wind made fishing from the dock cold and uncomfortable, moving to the shore right beside it fixed that issue. The vault toilets in the fishing and boating areas were large and spotlessly clean.