Looking for the best dispersed camping near Fort Rock? Dispersed camping is the perfect way to get off the grid. Whether you're looking for a quiet location in the trees or wide open spaces, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect dispersed campsite.
Nestled in the sagebrush rangelands to the west of Silver Lake___s dry lake bed, Duncan Reservoir is a great place for picnicking, canoeing, camping, and fishing for stocked rainbow trout. The campground consists of four single campsites on the west side of Duncan Reservoir, and a group campsite on the north end of the reservoir, below the dam. Additional facilities at Duncan Reservoir include a boat ramp, vault toilet, covered picnic area, and several picnic tables and fire grates. During the winter months, ice fishing is possible if the reservoir freezes over.
Open year-round. The 5-mile Portion of County Road 4-14 is gravel and sometimes rough. Be aware of livestock grazing on the open range, especially near OR 31. 4 Individual Campsites, 1 Group Site; first come, first serve. Vault Restroom. No Drinking Water available. No Food or Gas at Duncan Reservoir. The Nearest Services are in the nearby towns of Silver Lake, Fort Rock, and Summer Lake, Oregon.
County Road 4-14 winds through open range, revealing occasional glimpses of Silver Lake, Table Rock, Picture Rock Pass the occasional herd of pronghorn antelope.
Guide
This is an active shooting range, so if you're looking for peace and quiet or a spot that is not littered with pulls of trash, you've come to the wing place.
On the upside, when there is not shooting, the quarry is an ok view (if you can get past the litter), and there is endless space and open skies for solar or starlink. It's also easy to reach and rig friendly, but not far from main highway for access.
GuideNice open spot with some shade. Quiet and close to town. May get busy during day with riders. A good parking spot.
GuideLong term campers and trash. Some interesting folks for sure. Prob harmless but camp at own risk.
Guide
Only about 70 yards from main road. Super fine dust, everything will be dirty.
Tall trees so no good vantage point for starlink or solar.
No water features right at site.
Guide
Cool spot, check similar reviews from folks on the Badlands Rock location page.
Guide
A good open area with lots of nice smelling juniper. Theres parking at the few trailheads or off the road. The best spot, with some nice features such as lava rocks, is the 3rd right from the main road. Some folks may be particular about their "spot". No toilet, trash nor water but good trails. About 20 mins into town. Didnt see any snakes but was checking just in case. Prob best for RV or car camping. High desert gets to 40s at night this time of year.
TravelerTried to drive in but all entrances were blocked by large rocks and signs that say no motor vehicle access.
Same with the other entrance a couple miles down the road.
GuideBasically a gravel/dirt lot about 20 minutes outside of Bend. There's a chance I needed to drive further down the road to find better options. Stayed for two nights - no complaints. Near the road but quiet enough. A solid option for a short stay.
Traveler
Plenty of spots on this road. Saw a few other campers (a 25ft trailer and a 35ft class A) but it was very quiet and dispersed. My 24ft class C did fine and dirt roads were in good condition.
Guide
It was a nice area; it was pretty easy to access, and there was lots of open space. I couldn't really hear the highway, but several trucks did drive down the dirt road. Had good cell service with t-mobile , but did spend most of the time in my tent due to the flies and mosquitoes
TravelerI spent a Thursday night here and it was almost completely empty. I only saw one person drive down the forest road. Good cell service for T-Mobile. Easily accessible for any car. Be a good human and bring a trash bag to pack out some of the litter.
TravelerI camped on the rim of the hole with my daughter. While we had a good time, and there weren't very many other people around, we arrived after June 1 during a dry year, meaning no campfire. The temperature during the day was around 85, and pretty comfortable, but at night it dropped down to around 40. We were pretty cold since we had counted on a campfire. As for the Hole in the Ground, it is pretty cool, and you can walk the trails down into it and back up. Typical high desert semi forested terrain, decent roads, but bring a map, it's a hole, and therefore not visible until you're right up on it. Our map showed the power poles that run nearby, as well as the railroad tracks. We used those to orient ourselves so as to not get lost. There are no services here, so if you need something, you'd better bring it. We liked it, and will return.
GuideNot too hard to find, just turn where the map app tells you onto this gravel road, it turns into dirt and looks a bit tweakerish at the beginning but it's alright. Not a ton of big RV pulloffs but the side of the road is pretty clear and you could pull a car onto it wherever you want no problem.
ScoutThe dirt road that used to be popular, which can be seen on satellite, is now blocked with a sign that says "no vehicle access". That leaves a turnout for the trailhead and a small turnout near the formerly accessible gravel lot. So, expect close neighbors.
GuideTook some trial and error to find a spot here, I recommend turning where all the large piles of gravel are to find a spot. The site where we were was surrounded by hills so felt very secluded. Beautiful scenery with lots of juniper trees around! As a heads up service here was pretty spotty but once you find a good area, you can get enough service to hold phone calls.
TravelerIf you are going south from Bend, you have to turn around at exit 151 due to center barrier now constructed
There are a few campsites and some are obviously used frequently. You will encounter some road noise from hwy 97 but otherwise peaceful; at least early in the season
GuideThis was a cool spot, you drive in and just park at whatever spot you want. It was not too busy when we went and we arrived later in the day. There are no bathrooms or water so come prepared. It was really windy in the morning and there was lots of dirt in the eyes but otherwise amazing!
LegendThis proved a convenient spot to connect with some friends who were traveling through the area. In the pouring rain (early May) there were enough mud puddles in the roads that others had recommended here. So, we stayed a quick overnight in the parking lot to the Badlands Rock trail heads. No one else there all night and a few hikers came in the next morning. We took advantage of a nice hike and then walked around other dispersed camping sites along this gravel road. There were several spots that looked pretty cool including one here:
43°57'00.5"N 121°01'02.4"W
Strictly dry camping. Likely hot and dusty in the summer with OHV's in the area, but the wide expansive views were lovely!
TravelerPlenty of different types of camping spots: trailer and RV to serious offroad spots. I found a very secluded place with my 4by4 down rough road but plenty of other options. Best thing about it was I was able to be in the park to watch the sunrise.
ScoutClean quiet … can’t get much better for free. I experienced what previous reviewer warned and missed the turn when wasn’t even dark.
RangerAwesome spots, 4WD required
TravelerThis campsite is dry camping. Silver Creek may be dry, as it has been since 2021. No facilities other than a picnic table. No Cell, No WiFi, etc. If you like totally 'being away from it all,' this is your place, if you can get there.
Scout
The golf course across the road has made it impossible to camp in this location! It use to be a cool place to hanger out but no more!
Traveler
Camped in a tent, beautiful scenery
TravelerThis is about 20 minutes east of Bend Oregon. You have a number of options here. Right off the road there is a lot where I saw an RV camped. I’m sure there would be some road noise there. If you go down the road, there are some more dispersed camping sites. I parked in the one with no neighbors, and it was sagebrush and desert landscape, sagebrush, etc, with some hills and it was quite beautiful. My only complaint was, and this isn’t much of a complaint, the coyotes woke me up sometime in the night when they were very close to my vehicle and howling. Quite the experience.
TravelerJust updating the reviews to let everyone know its still closed.
ScoutMy fiancé and I stopped to car camp on our way to Portland. This stop is less than 5 minutes from the freeway yet quite. We had a zoom meeting in the morning and the service was great. Woke up to a beautiful sunrise and fire in the fire ring with wood another camper had left. The perfect pit stop going into the city!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dispersed campsite near Fort Rock, OR?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near Fort Rock, OR is Oregon Badlands Dispersed with a 4.2-star rating from 18 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 26 dispersed camping locations near Fort Rock, OR, with real photos and reviews from campers.
