Best Tent Camping near Dorena, OR

 A campground with full hookups, clean bathrooms& showers& access to a very nice lake. Off the beaten path-you're camping in the pines of South Central Oregon. Yes, it's dry& dusty, but it's summer& they're in a drought. We were in site 28, which is by the bathroom. Convenient for us, since we have no shower in our trailer. Laundry has 2 washers& 2 dryers, both worked while we were there. There's cabins for rent as well.

  The tent sites by the lake looked outstanding! If I was tent camping I'd totally want one. There's also some tent sites at the main campground facing the woods. This is an old fashioned campground. There's no jumping pillows. Swimming is done in the lake. The kids camping next to us entertained themselves. There's a boat ramp, fishing& a very small camp store.

 When they say you're "away from it all", that means stock up on supplies BEFORE you get to your campsite. There's restaurants at Crater Lake& I think Diamond Lake. 

The worst thing I can say about this campground is that I hated the tokens. The girl who registered me told me the reason & I understand it. The tokens for the showers are free to registered campers & given out every day for the asking. This campground sits alongside a Forest Service campground within easy walking distance. No showers or laundry there. Maybe a business opportunity for the KOA? $5 for a shower for the unregistered & stinky? I wish there was a way though to insert the tokens INSIDE your shower so you don't have to trot back to your shower wrapped in a towel!

My husband & I liked this campground very much. I would recommend it if visiting Crater Lake& the surrounding National Forests.

Not the place to take a big motorhome and no cell service but nice if you want to tent camp in the woods

Shady with RV and tent sites. Pay showers at guest services. Flush toilets at campground.

Blue Pools is a great family campground, open for walk-ins during the summer. The sites are large and versatile between RV and tent sites. There are paved paths that are great for bike rides. Some campsites require a walk in with parking nearbye.

Beautiful. About 30 min away from groceries and stores. Came in late to this campround. No reservation needed. Lucky they had a couple of tent sites open. We ended up staying an extra day. About $21 for a night with a car. Extra vehicle extra $7.

We love this campground. We’ve only tent camped here. The site we’ve always stayed at is huge, way far from any other sites, and has a neat little trail between the parking spot and camping spot. The river is a short walk away and has wonderful spots for the kids to play in away from the main channel. The one downside is the train that goes during the night across the river, but we were usually tired enough it didn’t bother us too much. We’ve since moved away from Oregon but will always remember this spot fondly and will camp there anytime we can when we’re back in Oregon!

Staff was extremely friendly, professional and attentive. They have everything super clean on bathrooms, kitchen and around the park. Tent sites has electricity and picnic tables. They also a full kitchen to cook with free coffee and perishable food. They had free movie night on big screen with free popcorn and a nice forepit.

Great spot for a quick stay. There are only a few flat spots for RVs but quite a few decent spots for tent camping next to the pond. The west side of the pond has at least 2 spots that are a good distance away from the others. At the moment, no fires or barbecues allowed but propane stoves and lanterns are fine. Look for Bandits blue squeaky disk! We lost it and never found it.

I stayed here on a Monday night (and reserved ahead since it's small and popular with boaters) in a tent site. Sites are big, some face the water but ours was a bit further in the trees. There is a road to a dock on the water and a trail that leads to Shelter Cove. Mosquitos were pretty awful, so we made a fire early and left at dawn.

We stopped here for a quick overnight on a road trip (Labor Day weekend) and were pleasantly surprised by the gorgeous views from our lakeside tent site (spot #70) of Crescent Lake and Diamond Peak. Not all sites have views, but the forest setting is very nice. The camp host was friendly and the facilities (pit toilets) were clean. There are water spigots and grates for washing dishes.

The on-site host is available by phone at 1pm to 2pm and I believe 4pm to 5pm. Otherwise you have to call the main line and book a space. It’s $20 or $30 for a tent site and $30 for a rv site. I have stayed there multiple times. It has showers and bathrooms and it is clean and safe. It’s a great place to stay close to town and avoid the hotel scene.

Tent campers beware! The tent sites have cats that roam the area and the world is their litter box. The smells at night were rough. The cats caused dogs to bark all night. People playing loud music throughout the night. Screaming kids and adults all night. People throwing rocks. And again, the smells are awful. Very Overpriced. Go up the road or just find somewhere else. I camp 6-7 times per week for the last few months across the country. This is by far the WORST campground I’ve ever encountered.

This was a great campsite. We were in a walk in Tent site right on the lake which was quiet for the most part. Right next to hiking path that went around the lake. There didn't appear to be a boat put in around the area, but there is one down the street. We stayed in Campsite 28, which helped get away from the chaos of the big group sites which I would strongly Recommend! Beautiful place.

Large, spacious tent sites with fire rings & tons of trees. The hosts are great and deliver firewood to your site. The showers are HOT and have great water pressure. Dumpsters & a recycle bin near the bathrooms. There is a road near some of the campsites but I didn’t mind the road noise. I was able to show up and get one of the 6 camp sites for 2 nights without reservations. There are a ton of mosquitos - bring bug spray!

Camped at Poole Creek Campground and had a great experience. Lake is good for swimming, camp site has lots of room, and lots of trees for shade which was nice since it was like 102!

If your bringing a boat, there is a boat ramp, bathrooms are available, and there is no cell service. Really nice and affordable at $15 for tent site.

Good place to stay and play if your traveling through to check out all the waters falls.

This campground has 0 privacy, even the picnic tables for the RV spots, you have to walk thru a tent site to get to them. Half the sites are reserve online. The entrance to the park is hard to find in the daylight, and near impossible to find in the dark. There is one good thing about this place, it is only a couple minute drive from a great hot spring....so if you can put up with everything I have already said, I strongly recommend you go just for that hot spring.

This campground is very family friendly. The lodging is definitely built for RVs. For this quick trip, I decided to use our tent because it was only a three day visit to Crater Lake. The tent sites are nice, and they have a very outdoor rustic feel. Upon arrival, we will be given a spot that is completely dirt, and covered by high desert pines. Our site was large. Some sites are not that large, and they are situated within 10 feet of other campers. We were so close together, I could hear our neighbor snore the entire night. I think he needs to get sleep tested for sleep apnea. If you camp here, be prepared for neighbors right outside your tent. The managers are awesome and the staff are extremely helpful. The bathrooms are okay. There are two showers and it is pretty clean. The bathroom counter height is tall, so my five-year old son struggled to use the sinks. The store is well stocked, and the cell reception for AT&T is great. There is no WiFi. I heard. Verizon works well too. If you choose to stay here, bring all necessary supplies and food. The nearest store is about an hour away.

This lovely county park campground near Roseburg offers trees, shade from the summer heat, and scenery, but I'm giving it 3 stars for being crowded and somewhat noisy. I admit I was there during peak season, and spent only 1 night, but found that my tent site lacked privacy, and the structure of the gravel road and pull-ins was such that almost every site (except for 1 perimeter drive) was subject to regular vehicle and foot traffic. There is a large yurt for rent on one end of the campground, constructed on a spacious deck overlooking the creek. It appeared to be handicapped-accessible, but as I stood admiring it, I could hear traffic noise from the highway. In between my campsite and the Campground Host's was a camper full of kids in their tweens, who started roaming the small campground after 10pm, making loud, obnoxious noises and laughing hysterically at themselves. When this went on for nearly half an hour with no intervention from adults, I did shout "SHUT UP!" at them after they passed my site and seemed to direct a shout at my tent. They stopped after that, but I hated to be That Person. There were flush toilets, running water, and showers. Bathrooms had neither soap nor paper towels or a working blow-dryer for your hands, so be a good scout and go prepared!

We originally booked a reserved site at the campground. These slots are all in the center of the campground. The spot was nice but located about 200 ft from riverfront first come first serve sites so we packed up and moved there. Site manager said paying for these was different and we had to pay again. That sucks. Don’t reserve a site here. Pros: Our site was great with a trail down to the river and a rocky beach. Fire pit, table, tent site. It had all the standards. We were lucky to have a fresh water station across the road from us. Bathrooms were adequate. Cons: The train tracks are literally across the river. Maybe 200 ft away. The train runs all day and sadly all night. If you fall asleep easily to the sound of a train horn and train cars along a track then you’ll love it here. If you sleep lightly or generally dislike train sounds, good luck sleeping. Our “neighbors” told us they had moved to the river site because at the other end of the campground road noise was louder than the all night train noise. Summary:

If you stay here it will be beautiful and the river is great but might want to bring earplugs. Fortunately you won’t need to bring your sounds of the train yard sleeping CD with you to lull you asleep at night.

Ranger Review: TEPUI Luxury sheets - Kukenam 3 at Fish Creek Campground

Campground Review:

The drive to Fish Creek Campground on the 224 (Clackamas hwy) is beautiful. You’ll be surprised by sudden breathtaking views of the river along the way while delving deeper into a sea of beautiful green trees. We chose this campsite because it is reasonably close to a few of Oregon’s most interesting hot springs and we ended up visiting Bagby during our trip. The campsite itself has everything you would expect from a somewhat remote campground including a horrifying bathroom scene (not to mention the mouse that surprised me when I went to the bathroom in the middle of the night). There are a few sites with river access but ours (spot 8) was blocked from the river with a small fence. There are also a couple of yurts you can rent that include bunk beds and some advanced shelter as compared to tent camping if you have kids with you. I’d give this campsite a 3 out of 5 stars, and can promise you there are many better sites along the way if you book early. This has everything you need for minimalist camping, but be aware that you probably won’t be able to start a campfire if you visit in August/early September. 

Product Review:

As a Ranger for The Dyrt I get to review some great and often very practical products. This trip I was lucky enough to upgrade my Tepui Kukenam 3 rooftop tent with Luxury sheets.

I chose the blue sheets to compliment my Haze Grey tent (the other option is green). I have to admit I was a little hesitant to admit that sheets could be a necessary part of camping. It is after all referred to as “roughing it” but I have to say that adding these sheets to my rooftop tent has made a huge difference. I put the bottom sheet on the first night and left it on when I folded the tent down for the night. It stayed in place perfectly, and these sheets are so much softer than the green, rough, water resistant cover that sits on the mattress by default. Now that I have these sheets I can’t imagine sleeping up there without them. I still used my sleeping bag along with the sheets and an extra blanket because it was pretty chilly at night, but the added comfort the sheets provided took my comfort to the next level. I highly recommend them to anyone sleeping in a rooftop tent!

Awesome spot right on the river. Water was flowing and chilly but not painful in late July. There are a couple of good spots to jump off some rocks into the pools. Supposedly fishing is really good. Trees are tall and shady.

Lots of great trails for biking/hiking nearby.

The sites themselves are par for the course: table + fire ring. Enough space for 1-2 tents. Sites are a little close together / exposed to each other. It's fine if your neighbors are mellow but would be rough if you had rowdy folks adjacent.

It's a small couple of loops that tend to fill up fast. Plan on arriving mid-week in peak season to get the best spots. Keep in mind that if you're on the river side, people will be walking through/by your sites a lot.

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.