Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Fossil, OR

This beautiful campground was loaded with amenities. The gorgeous John Day River, was perfect for fishing, swimming, floating. There was several trails within the campground as well as trailheads around the perimeter. We brought our own bikes but if you don’t bring yours, they offered loaner bikes and there were little bike workstations on the grounds. Pet friendly! Including a fenced in dog area (about an acre) and doggie poo bags readily available. We have a truck with camper but the tent sites each had a solar panel to provide electricity for charging the essentials. The grounds must have been a farm originally and the campground designers did an awesome job of using the existing structures to add to the rustic nature and maintain the land’s historic relevance. Cottonwood Canyon surpassed our expectations, especially considering the very low price tag. I cannot recommend highly enough.

We were so glad we kept driving down this road until the very end. Along this road (Lower Deschutes Access Road- which is pretty bumpy but we did fine with our camper) you will pass several other campgrounds- Twin Springs, Jones Canyon, Beavertail Recreation Site, Rattlesnake Canyon- and then at the very end of the road, you will find Macks Canyon Recreation Site. 

It was fairly empty when we arrived and we got an awesome site along the river, site 11. The view of the river was amazing and we watched lots of fishing boats and rafting boats go by. There is also a railroad track across the river and it was fun to watch the trains go by. No AT&T phone service here. 

The only negative is that it can get super windy. At one point we were frantically trying to get our awning down from the Cricket and things were flying everywhere. The wind lasted about an hour and then things calmed down again. 

From the end of the Lower Deschutes Access Road just above the campground, you can hike along the old railway line. Again, amazing views of the Deschutes and the canyon. We did about 5 miles road trip but you could go further.

One of my new favorite places to camp in Oregon!

I'm on a road trip of the John Day Fossil Bed Units. I stopped in Moro, OR for a couple of days to resupply before heading to Cottonwood Canyon State Park. This is another small town, fairgrounds campground, but it's awesome. Quiet, clean with a great open, off leash area for dogs and full hookups. At the time of the writing they also have an awesome host! There aren't many supply options in town so if you need major groceries, go to The Dalles, propane go to Wasco, gas go to Biggs or the Dalles.....you get the picture. Moro also has a must see museum.

There aren’t a lot of reserve-able campsites in this area, so I was happy to find the group site a few weeks before our trip to the Fossil Beds.

The good: location can’t be beat - though if you’re looking to explore all of the units in the Fossil Beds monument, it’s gonna be a lot of driving no matter where you stay. The camp host, Gloria, is great, and the kids loved Ricky, her dog. The outhouse is clean and if you’re in the group site you’ve basically for your own. Mitchell is ~20 minutes away for groceries and ice. 

And this campsite is HUUUGE. Lots of shady areas, three picnic tables, Very nice fire pit (though burn ban meant no fires for us). We had three tents, a sun shelter and three hammocks set up with lots of space.

The not-so-good: the group site is closest to the highway, so we did hear a lot of noise. (If I were to come back, I’d try my luck with the first-come-first-serve spots set further back.)

Also, dry camping, so bring your water jug and things to keep you cool. We went swimming in the John Day near Burnt Ranch, which was perfect!

Bear Hollow County Park is a decent little campground to spend a night if you're passing through Eastern Oregon for the fossil beds, painted hills or the just the dark skies. We stopped here on our way into Spray as we were running out of daylight hours and didn't know the roads well. It gets dark out here!

If you're looking for a destination campground you can do much better in Oregon - but Bear Hollow is adequate for a drive in!

There is an ADA accessible site. Water didn't appear to be potable and there isn't really anything nearby so you'll need your own supplies. 20$ a night - cash only.

Fossil is an awesome little town near the Clarno Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds. The Wheeler County Fairgrounds RV Park is super clean, with full hookups and decent size sites. There's a wonderful little trail right nearby the takes you up to the city water tank and 360 view of the town and area. Fossil also has the best grocery store in the area so stock up on fresh produce. Movie rentals too!!! Only downside is that there's no connectivity in town. No phone, no wifi, no cable, no nothing. Bring lots of books or have your iTunes downloads ready to go....or just enjoy the peace and quiet.