Best RV Parks & Resorts near Dorena Lake

This is a large campground, mostly populated by big rigs, and mostly long term stays. Looked like a lot of people were working in the area. Almost all of the RV's there are very nice - no long term stay hoarder scenes. The roads are paved, majority of sites are pull through, photos on Dyrt are accurate. We had a 30 amp site and all of the utilities were well maintained and arranged well. Water pressure was good. Everything is well maintained. The women in the office were friendly, efficient, and helpful. It is a very dog friendly park and there is lots of room for dogs but everyone picked up after dogs and we heard almost zero barking. There were a few kids there but they were quiet except for a little play time in the afternoons. Downsides: a couple of the machines in the laundry were out of service (but the others worked well); there is a lot of road noise from I-5; cellular reception is sketchy. The road noise varies a lot though so ask for a site close to the office or in the older section. The new sites farther back are closer to the interstate. The road noise was much less annoying than we anticipated and we slept well. There is a TA truck stop nearby for filling up as well as a diner and a McDonalds. Of course, driving into Eugene to eat is easy enough. We had just 1 bar of Verizon and it was unusable but we had 3 bars of ATT which worked well. The do have a dog wash station toward the back of the park and also a car wash station that is easily accessible on the main road. We stayed for 3 nights while taking care of some things in Eugene and it worked out well for us. If only this place was farther off the road it would really be great.

Located near Eugene, OR, this is one of the few local campgrounds near us.

Open year round and it is usually full year round as well. Reservations are definitely a must for this small campground!

This campground has all the amenities! Full hook up sites, toilets/ showers, laundry, swimming/boat ramp, picnic area, and even a dog park. Wide variety of site sizes and can accommodate most RV sizes. There are also hiking trails nearby.

Close to town so you can easily get forgotten supplies or groceries. Perfect stay for a quick overnight when in town for Ducks games or just getting out of the house!

Definitely recommend checking this one out if your in the area!

We had a 10 day stay. Let me start with the positives:

• Most spaces have at least 10-12 feet of grass between.
• Nicely maintained.
• Nice location, lots of trees and grassy areas.
• Asphalt pads for most sites, some premium sites have a concrete pad for RV/trailer/camper with asphalt in front.
• Decent wifi during the day, but slow as molasses at night. Assuming people streaming or downloading.

Negatives:

• One way route around the park.
• Road is narrow and winding, larger rigs have issues with staying on path.
• Mostly back-in spaces, which combined with the road, makes for interesting times getting your rig settled.
• Spaces are fairly short, especially on Standard sites. We barely fit our 39’ Class A and a 2 door Jeep Wrangler. If our vehicle had been any longer, we would have had to park in overflow parking. We saw a lot of fifth wheels with no other vehicle in the space, we assumed they were in the overflow area.
• No real spot to unhook a tow, except for the overflow parking area, which has a wider road portion.
• Some signs of semi-permanent residents.
• If you have a satellite, I am not sure the shady/trees spots would orient. We saw a lot of tailgater dishes at front of spots (we had a lawn spot with landscaping, but not in the trees).
• Grassy lawn area is large enough to require weekly maintenance and the lawn mowing can be annoying.
• ALL spots require jack pads. Having not stayed in too many parks with asphalt, this was a surprise for us. They did not mention at checkin, but we got a polite email the next morning.
• Billed as a luxury rv park. Price does not reflect that. No pool, just laundry/showers/restrooms.
• Freeway noise. Very close to I-5. Louder on the side of park closest to street and entrance.

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.

The website was not kidding about not following the directions through Google Maps. The last 9 miles to the resort was really trying - the roads were narrow, twisty and winding. If you are probe to car-sickness, go slow. I took extra precaution and dabbed essential oils on myself and my children.

Our pull-through site was in the Upper Marina, #22. If you have an extra canopy for camping, I'd suggest you bring it. It got really HOT when we were there. The good news is once the sun sets behind the trees, around 6pm, it makes eating dinner at the picnic table so comfortable and cooling.

My husband and children perused the bathroom/shower facilities which was just across from our campsite. He said it was spacious - a shower + private bathroom + sink setup and wide enough for a family.

Access to the swimming beach/boat launch is just a short 3 minutes walk. You just have to exercise caution because you will be crossing a main road (cars and big logging trucks rumble along often enough during the week).

The swimming (sandy) beach is cosy (read: tiny). There are no lifeguards on duty but enough trees offering shade for parents/families to sit back and keep watch.

You would have to drive back 5 minutes down the road to visit the Lodge for supplies or ice. The Lodge also provides some light refreshments* (deli sandwiches and ice-cream).

Our site offered full hook-ups including cable (limited channels). WIFI* was a disappointment though - we had to create an account for a complimentary hour of WIFI usage every day. Together with the zero cell reception, it renders us completely off the grid. It's great really to totally relax your mind and body but it is worrisome for that what-if's scenarios.

*Ice-cream was very pricey for the single not-generous scoop in a plastic cup that we bought for each of us. Because of the steep prices and WIFI availability (you have to pay if you want to get connected), I could only give a rating of 3.5/5 stars.

Otherwise, we had a great time at the RV resort. The sites are appealing for huge family reunion (we witnessed such a reunion during our trip). We will be back! 😊

We are a family of 4 (2 young boys with no pets). We traveled with a travel trailer.

Our GPS brought us right to the campground (CG). This was our third time staying in what we consider one of our top 5 CGs. Check-in was quick and easy. We proceeded to pull through site 49, which was plenty long enough for our 40’ fifth wheel and F450. The water and electric were centered on the pad. The sewer sat a little farther back on the pad, but that was not an issue. You can hear the river really well from site 49, and that is the major reason we chose this site. If you don't like the sound of a raging river, you would want to get a site further down or a site not on the river. We had good water pressure around 50 psi, 2 bars on Verizon, and the CG WiFi was okay. Even though there were mature trees, we got a good north shot for Starlink. Satellite could be iffy depending on your site. Sites are okay spaced, with some sites closer together than others. Our utilities side neighbor was very close, and our yard side was nearby. They have a nice laundry with 3 washers and dryers that cost $1.50 to wash/dry. There was a significant increase in train traffic from the tracks across the river as compared to our last stay. There were also some updates, such as putting in a really nice pavilion with an outdoor fireplace plus some landscaping additions. The Westfir/Oakridge area is known as the mountain biking capital of the Northwest, and there are a multitude of biking and hiking trails.

I've lived in the Eugene/Springfield area for 20 years.  Until about six  years ago we camped 5-6 times a year.  Not once did we ever consider Richardson.  We thought it might be too urban.

A friend just bought their first camper and invited us to come along for their maiden voyage.  So glad we accepted because this CG is fantastic!  Dang near in our backyard! 

The perimeter sites are mostly pull throughs.  Would be fun to reserve with a few other friends side by side to create a huge yard for kids and games! 

Lots of shady spots too!  

Only one real complaint.  I need STRONG wifi or cell signal to work.  T-Mobile and Verizon both suck at site 31.

I imagine we'll become regulars!

County run campground (despite the “State Park” in the name). It has a more natural feel, and each site has a different layout. Beautiful trees, forest-like atmosphere. Quiet and peaceful during the week. Some sites have a lot of privacy, and some are wide open. 

Site #10 was almost completely private and flat. Our 26ft class C fit in this spot. You can hear the creek from this spot and other spots but other spots also have cut throughs to the main trail so be aware of hikers coming up to your spot (except site#10). All sites are first come first serve. No reservations. Hosts on site. We arrived on a Thursday mid day and had our choice of several spots, but all spots filled up by Friday. The weekend crowd was the usual hell raising children running around all campsites, loud music and yelling. MOST people quieted down after 10 pm though. 

There are some pull through sites and sites vary in size and length of parking. Picnic table and fire pits at each site. Lots of shade and some sun throughout the day. Sign at the kiosk posted no generator use but people were using them anyway.

$17/night. No dump station here, but there are several water spigots throughout. Dumpster and garbage cans, though no recycling, as well as flush bathrooms, free showers and port-a-potties at the end of the loop. 

There is a hiking trail to the falls, though just a trickle this time of year and there were many off shoots of this trail to each camp site. Also there is a very busy river section where kids an adults played and floated in the small pools that were left from dry season. 

Two large group camp areas, day use area, and an open clearing (unfenced but natural bushy borders) for pet exercise area. 

Weak Verizon- text only, no data or voice.(cell booster did not help). 

ATT ok service, usable 1-2 bars. TMobile not available. 

NO FIRES AT THIS TIME.