Best Tent Camping near Central Oregon, OR

Great spot for tent camping, friendly people.

This is a simple, wide open tent camping area and it's really close to Smith Rock. You can wake up early to see the sun on the rock formations and then hike to the climbs in approximately 20-30 minutes.

This is located just out of Prineville and can get a lot of local traffic in the summer months. It is a fairly nice CG, with bathrooms and hot water. CG is set up for RV or tent camping. Primary feature is access to the water.

great campsites and frIendly host. $13 a night, tent sites were super dusty but not much of the dust came with us. The sites are visually stunning with all the Pondarosa’s (we’re not used to big trees) 10/10

We spent one night here in mid May 22. The sites are reasonably spaced considering how open the area is. Lots of tent sites. New out house. 2 bars of Verizon so an ok connection. Only about 15 a minute drive to Smith Rock State Park.

This is my go-to spot for a quick weekend getaway. I’m lucky enough that this is only about an hour from home. Usually good fishing! Spacious pull through first come first serve sites. Good for mid-size RV’s, trailers & tent camping. You can generally find a spot if you arrive Thursday evening or before 3:00 on Friday. Right on the river with beautiful canyons surrounding you.

Tiny little campsite with spots right next to each other. 10 walk up tent sites, most are right along the water. Everyone is so close together you get to know your neighbors pretty well. Dogs must be on leashes at all times, walk up sites have porta potty style bathrooms but if you walk up to registration there’s hot showers and hookups available!

We were the only ones camping here for a night in October 2020. Sites are OK, some pull-throughs, some tent sites, too. Each site has a fire ring, picnic table. Pit toilets were dirty. Good location outside Fossil but kind of expensive at $20 for no hookups and dirty toilets, plus it’s right next to road so there’s some road noise.

Tried calling several Times right after hours, they must have abruptly left the office. Made a booking on their website, had to book a hook up camper spot because they didn’t have the tent sites available (all were available upon arrival). We got the confirmation email but it did not include the code to the bathroom! Next morning, still nobody in the office. So we had to wait by the bathroom until another camper showed up and begged them for the code. Also no wifi. Not thrilled with their lack thereof.

Camp ground is high up over 4700 feet so even in the summer it tends to get a little chilly at night but not bad.

This is a medium busy campground right on the maon road, but its never too noisy after dark.

The place is very clean and the vault toilets well looked after and not stinky!

The spaces are a good size and the ones for tent camping are at the back of the loop.

Not much trails but you can find something to do. 

One of my best nights camping was ip here. During the week late summer, Huge full moon, then the coyotes began to yip/howl..magnificent

Near the painted hills of Oregon! Not much to it, but there are restrooms with running water. Caught a ride from here to the hills for sunset.

Mitchell is a nice little town in central Oregon.

Good campground in a remote part of Central Oregon. Despite being right next to OHV trails, we were the only ones there. Just me, the boys, and the flies.

This was a great place to have a picnic, stretch our legs, and take a nap while exploring Central Oregon. It cost $8 for day use, and the picnic tables, fire pits, and vault toilets were exactly as expected. We picked up some trash, but there wasn't more than usual, although we found empty, unspent shotgun shells everywhere. Campers were friendly, and it seemed that everyone had a friendly dog. My toddler loved climbing up and down the river bank, throwing rocks in the river, tromping around in the tall grass, and meeting everyone's dogs. We will come back to this site with our tents!

First off, I had a great time staying here. Before I arrived I had some ideas of what my stay would be like and while I did have a nice stay, it was not exactly the trip I had expected. I am a female in my early twenties and was tent camping solo for the first time. I grew up camping with my family so I am experienced but this was my first time camping completely alone. When I planned my trip I assumed this was a spot where other travelers and campers would stay so I was hoping that the presence of other people would provide some comfort to counter the fact that I was camping alone. When I arrived there were people in the day use area but as I drove back to where people would normally camp there was nobody in sight. As the evening came I realized there was not going to be any other campers for miles. Needless to say I made it through the night just fine with no emergencies but I was so nervous the whole time that I had a very restless sleep with my hand practically on my bear spray all night.

I woke up the next morning, went on a beautiful hike with some amazing views and continued on my road trip. Overall the location is great, I would camp here again if I were with other people or if I were staying in a converted van or camper of some sort. But being a solo, young, female tent camper in this location without any other campers around for miles was a little too scary for my taste.

Something about Central Oregon. The smells, the sounds and the views are all found right here at the BLM Lone Pine campground.

We grabbed up the group site, right near the entrance. It’s only about 25 yards from the river, but other sites are closer. No deal breaker by any means. Plenty of room for everyone at this group site!

Two tables at the fire ring, and some nice shade as well. It’s quiet, and the river rolls by with a light rush. There is a loft toilet at the day use area a few yards away as well as in the main camp area.

You’ll have to bring your own firewood as collecting is prohibited.