Best Equestrian Camping near Diamond, OR

We go up to the South Steens Campground each year and stay in the Equestrian side of the campground. Normally we spend 7-10 days there and ride the gorges and down to the Riddle Brothers Ranch. This campground is great for horses. The solar well is great for water and having corals at each site is awesome! We high line some horses but there is still plenty of space for that as well. No campfires are allowed in the fall but what we do to stay warm outside is we have a small wood stove that works great to cook on as well. Just a little piece of advice is to always have you rain coat with you when you go riding in the Steens, the weather can change fast!

I originally went to the South Steens family Campground to find a site and it was full. I went over to the equestrian campsites even though I didn't have any horses. It worked out just fine. The campsites are close together so there isn't much privacy. It is August and they are not allowing campfires. They have restrooms and a well house to get water from. The skies were clear and I was able to get a glimpse of the meteor shower. I've never seen stars like that it was really nice. This is a good base camp to go to Wildhorse Lake for a quick hike. It's 2 1/2 miles long but worth it. I would come back here.

This review is based on an overnight versus destination campground (CG). We followed our RV GPS to Harney County Fairgrounds. We saw the fairground entrance sign, turned into the main fairground area, and stopped in front of the office. We had called the fairground office about a week prior and left a message to call us back, which was quickly returned. The nice lady on the phone said camping was first come, first serve, and if there was no one in the office and it was normal work hours, a worker on the grounds would help us. She also said that there was nothing going on that week, so come on in. No one was at the office, so we proceeded straight into the fairgrounds. We came upon a worker, and he came over and led us to the new full hook-up area, which is in the southwest corner of the grounds. The gentleman could not have been nicer, giving us a rundown on the fairgrounds and camping areas, including opening up the new bathhouse/restroom that is located in the 30-site fenced FHU area. There was no one camping at the time, so he told us to pick any site and either pay him (cash or check) or put the payment in the slot at the office. That evening another camper came into the FHU area and another into the water and electric sites, which are at the end of the office road where you curve around and head to the FHU area about 150 yards further down the road. We chose site 18 as it had the lowest sewer connection, as most were 4 to 6 inches or more above the ground. The water, which we were told was very good/clean water, had water pressure at about 60 PSI, so we used a reducer. The pads are not marked, but you can figure out how they are laid out. Depending on how busy the FHU area might be, you could be parked very close to each other. There are a few street light poles. Overall, the FHU area is just a big parking lot but worked well as an overnighter. There are huge areas to walk or run your dog. We had stayed in the area before, and the fairgrounds are a bit cheaper than the other campgrounds in the area, but you don’t get a picnic table or other amenities other than the bathhouse. Call 541-573-6447 after hours or if no one is around to check in. Highly recommend that If it's your first time, don’t come in after dark as the sites are not well marked, and you could run over the FHU area utilities. Take a right out of the FHU area, as that road is the recommended exit. Though on the pricey side for what you get, we’d rather have the privacy and spaciousness to let our dogs run.

Stayed a little bit up from the campsite in the wilderness. Beautiful approach to this area, the canyons are impressive. Remote and quiet, if that’s what you’re looking for. This will never get much traffic. And then, right next door you wake up the next morning to find an incredible natural wonderland. Huge canyons, old glacial relics, a radical canyon wall that drops off to a sand dunes desert...spend a day, spend days wondering around the canyons and summits of this mountain range. Unreal beauty and so untouched, so out of the way as to almost have it to yourself.