Best Glamping near Deschutes National Forest

Stayed in Yurt #2 in the Yurt village on Fathers Day weekend. There was also a fishing tournament this weekend, so the park was completely full. The Yurt Village stayed very quite. Most noise was the Trucks/Boat coming and leaving the boat ramp which is about 400yds away. 

Yurt #2 & 3 are deluxe yurts. All this means is you get a larger deck and propane firepit. To use the firepit you need to bring your own propane, large 20lb style. The Yurts have solar lights inside and out, not sure how long they run, but they lasted us a weekend with conservative use. There is 2 pit style bathrooms in the yurt village. Bathrooms are located at the parking lot.

The yurt village is a ways from the RV/Tent sites. Not a quick or easy walk. 

Parking at the yurt village is a little walk from #2 and #3. Best to bring a wagon or such to help transport. Its about 100yd walk each way. 

There are 3 beds, one full side bottom with a twin bunk on top and one full size futon. There is a dining table and 4 chairs. There is no running water, bring your own water. I saw a fountain near the parking lot, but did not test it. 

While it says no pets, one other yurt had two well behaved dogs. The park knew and didnt stop them, so make your own decision with your pets but dont ruin it for others please.

Weather was pretty good for us. No mosquitoes, though lots of nats but able to sit outside all day without being bothered too much.

I had a great experience here The campground was clean, the leave no trace policy is followed here. Quiet hours are 10pm - 6am, it was quiet even during the non-quit hours. Very private. There are running water spigots strategically placed throughout the camp, each water station has a waste water dump, and trash can. There are flush toilets with running, a sink and trash can. The garbage was picked up daily. Each site was a tent pad, fire pit and large table. Each site was very private, I couldn't see the other campers unless they were passing by our site. There is no internet, no electricity, and no showers, bring your own. The only negative was the mosquitos - easily resolved with a netted day tent or pop-up with mesh. Laying Creek sounds heavenly all throughout the camp, the trails are great to walk, and you will eventually wander to a swimming hole. Beautiful campground, with a great history going back to 1933. Highly recommend!

Mallard Creek Golf and RV Resort is located about 3 miles from Waterloo (or 8 miles from Lebanon, Oregon and 11 miles from Sweet Home, Oregon). It is off the beat and design for those serious golfers. The RV resort is design for trailers of any size with 30 to 50 amps electric, also includes, water, sewage hook ups, cable, and a cement table. The Club House has showers, bathrooms, and laundry facility. The club house has a wonderful party space with TV, gas fireplace (no fires at sites), tables for games and social gatherings. Free WIFI, your cel phone and data plans work wonderful in this area. Dogs are allowed, but no pet area to run loose. Kids are welcome but not gear up for things to do unless they love to golf too.

Mallard Creek is gear up for the serious golfers so the summer has special packages for the RV site with golfing from Memorial day weekend to the end of September. For non-golfers the RV resort is available between October 1 to the Thursday before Memorial day.

Similar to nearby Princess Creek Campground, Sunset Cove Campground is part of the Deschutes National Forest and is located on Oddell Lake. They also both have docks for day-use boating, pit toilets, and generally nice, larger camp sites surrounded by trees.

Sunset Cove is a bit larger and more developed, the day use area is nicer and more accessible, and there's drinking water available. The spots on the lake at Princess Cove, however, are amazing, and I never found camp sites quite as nice at Sunset Cove.

In summary: you'll do great at either of the Deschutes National Forest campgrounds on Odell Lake. If you want slightly more developed facilities, including drinking water, go to Sunset Cove. If you want to get away from everything with an amazing spot on the water, go to Princess Creek.

A few miles from La Pine, this 5-site campground sits along the Deschutes River in the Deschutes National Forest. The campground is pretty bare-bones in terms of basic amenities; there is no tap water available and there are two pit-toilets. There is also no cell service. However, the campground does provide great access to the river and even has a cement boat ramp for easy access.

Each campsite has a picnic table, a fire pit, provided firewood (at least when I was there), either a pull-through or back-in parking space, and a view of the river. If you make a reservation (which are required for at least 2021), the camp manager will post this on the site marker so that your site isn’t taken by another party. The campsites themselves are somewhat dusty/sandy, but are otherwise clean. Sites 1-2 and 4-5 are right next to each other, whereas site 3 is probably the best site for privacy.

One more thing to consider if you are staying in a vehicle is that not all of the sites have flat parking spaces. I was able to make something work with my van in site 1, but site 2 would have been unpleasant for sleeping in a van. Sites 4 and 5 seemed to have the flattest parking.

Tumalo State Park gets only 3 stars from me because it was hot and crowded. Since its only 4 miles North of popular Bend, Oregon, its a convenient stop... but what I consider "pit stop camping," on my way to quieter destinations. They have good campground amenities for this: flush toilets, running water, showers. Its a pretty location, near many fun outdoor activities near and in Bend, but the sites were too crowded together for my taste. Note that, as in most of Oregon in high summer, open flames and camp fires are prohibited. It is a Red Flag zone, meaning there is a high danger of wildfires. In fact, as of last week (late July, 2018) you could see the smoke from several fires in the surrounding forests.

One option when looking for a campground last minute during the summer close to Eugene, Oregon. This one is not usually very busy during peak season in my opinion.

This is a primitive campground so no hook ups for your rv. Bring the generator if your needing a power source during the day.

There are restrooms/ showers on site along with drinking water, a playground, and an rv dump station. Picnic tables and fire pits at each site. Trails are nearby along with a beach/ swimming area at Dorena Lake. Watch for signs of Algae or Swimmers Itch as it has been present the past few years at Dorena Lake.

Overall its a great last minute campground not far from town ( Cottage Grove- Eugene), but doesn't make my list of top 5 if I can make reservations a head of time.

We booked site 30, which is up a hill away from the water with a few other sites (27, 28, 29). The site was rated for 32 feet and we were able to comfortably fit our 31 foot trailer and long bed truck. We did have to pull in way too close to the fire pit to make this work but there is a burn ban so we would not have been using it anyway. It would have been nice to know that we were up a hill since we have a toddler, but it wasn’t a huge deal.

The trailer took up the vast majority of the level space available at the site, but otherwise it would be a nice space for a tent and chairs around the fire.

Be aware that the wind picks up around noon and goes super strong until after you go to bed. It’s great for not getting any mosquito bites but it is not a mild breeze!

The lodge staff weren’t overly helpful but not hostile either. I’m sure they are understaffed and annoyed by tourists just like everyone else. They had live music Saturday night and we would have loved to go if our little one wasn’t asleep.

The area has so many hikes and bike trails so close by that you could spend weeks there and not get bored.