Best Cabin Camping near Gilchrist, OR

Old school resort on the shores of beautiful Paulina Lake. Wonderful, small log cabin lodge with amazing food. Other log cabins to rent ranging from three people to large families with fire places, a couple right on the water.

Cabins have running water, bathrooms, cozy fireplaces, comfy couches. Resort has a boat launch and small general store for supplies, food, and bait.

The Lake itself is beautiful and the location puts you right next to all of the fun hikes, biking, trails and activities all around Paulina Lake area. Possibly also some spots for RVs.

Try the Apple Crumble and the“Knife Burger” (huge burger with steak knife stuck in it). You will not be disappointed.

General: Located just across the street from the North Umpqua River, there is a mix of:•

* petite RV sites (RVs up to 20’ with FHU 20-30 amp- 3)

* deluxe RV sites (RVs up to 29’ with FHU 30-50 amp- 5)

* Super RV sites (RVs up to 60’ with FHU 50 amp- 7)

* glamping tents (7)

* cabins with heat and A/C(4)

* a cottage

* a tiny home

* camper

* retro bunkhouse

* retro RV 

Site Quality: We were in a deluxe RV site that had a level gravel camper pad, electric hookup, fire ring, and picnic table. Unlike most RV parks, there was a decent amount of foliage between most sites to provide a measure of privacy. 

Bath/Shower House: Two toilets, two sinks, and two showers. Clean but limited privacy for the toilets with just a curtain. Bench and hooks are outside of showers with no other separation so there is a lack of privacy there as well (did not use the shower so I cannot comment on how well it worked, although they looked nice). 

Activities/Amenities:

* Guided and Self-guided hiking tours

* Guided and self-guided mountain bike tours

* a full-day waterfall tour ($75 pp, with 24-hour advance notice)

* whitewater rafting tours

* Stream and river fishing holes

* Fly fishing and hunting

* Kayak rentals on Toketee Lake (We had hoped to do this, but the weather had other plans)

* Wi-Fi is available for $2.99 per 24-hour period per device but it was flaky at best

* There is a store with ice, firewood, food, beer, and wine, apparel, propane, diesel, and gasoline, rafts, and sleds. 

We arrived later than planned (just before dark) and it was cold and rainy the next day so we were not able to take advantage of the many nearby recreation activities but the staff recommended a nearby waterfall hike that we could do in inclement weather. We would definitely consider returning during better weather.

Been staying here for a number of years and love the spot, its quiet and has a view of the lake + shower and a flush toilet. Clean running water inside as well as outside. A fire pit and picnic table over look the lake and a front porch with chairs for that morning sun.

This time around the place doesn't seem as clean as in years past (you clean it yourself and the forest service says they do a deep clean once a week, which I would question) and we would find droppings on the kitchen table in the morning. There was also something crawling between the walls that liked to make noise around 5 am every morning, so no sleeping in if you are sleeping in the bedroom.

I don't think this is worth $120 a night for all the work you need to put in (cleaning, own linens and hall away your trash) especially with COVID and the extra time it took to really wipe stuff down.

My wife and I are working remotely and exploring the PNW, and certain amenities are important: full hook up for our trailer, pet friendly, laundry, WiFi, and good location. The Camp HAS it ALL. Located in Bend, close to a Safeway grocery store, Walgreens, Starbucks and Dutch & Bros plus a lot of other places...easy drive to the freeways so you can go explore around. We’ve met a few people that are regulars there and they love it. We loved it too and will be back when in the area. Tyler, the manager is great, cool guy, knows all the details of the trailers and he can tell you a bit about Bend and about things to do since he is local. He takes good care of the place! The Camp is a small campground and very cozy. It has vintage trailers for people to rent as well as a tiny house plus full hook up sites. They also have a common area with gas grills (2), a gas fire pit with blankets available, two tables with umbrellas and chairs, great laundry facility, awesome bathrooms (individual toilette, sink and shower, 4-5 hooks, which is great so you can hang your stuff. Pass code needed for bathrooms and laundry rooms. There is a gated pet area which is great for the dogs to be off leash for a bit (kinda of hidden by the office). They have trash and recycle, which is great. We’ve seen half and half in terms of campgrounds that recycle vs those who don’t. We wish they all had a recycle option and The Camp had glass, plastic, paper, can recycle. The sites are very close to one another and there are not mature trees but you are in the city so that’s expected. While there we went on a cool drive and stopped to see the sea of lava...we are still talking about it...those lavas have been there for over 1,500 years...it is amazing and picturesque. After stopping at the sea of lava, we went to Dee Wright Observatory, walked to the top and enjoyed the beautiful view, then continued on our scenic drive to the proxy falls. It was an easy 1.25 mile (round trip) hike. It was raining so it was a bit muddy and slippery in certain areas but super fun (we had our two dogs with us and we were fine), people were doing the hike with their kids-so good for families too. We loved it. While in Bend, we went to a park in town, which was cute and people were walking around, laying in the grass, paddle Bording, kayaking and we also saw some people getting into the river on a raft. Lots to do in Bend...scenic drives, hiking, mountain biking, road biking, river water rafting, etc. This is a super cool campground, well maintained, super clean and it even has a hair salon in an air stream! This place has personality! We loved it and will be back.

When we Stayed: January, Thursday-Saturday

The Cabins: we stayed in a deluxe cabin. It had a full bathroom and kitchenette - I've stayed in other state park campgrounds and this was the biggest cabin I've stayed in!

Location: beautiful wooded park with a trail along the river. On a morning walk I saw a herd of elk cross the river and run behind the cabins! The cabin area was large and private but I didn't explore the rest of the park since it was the middle of winter when we were there.

Dog Friendly: huge off leash fenced park that's a bit of a walk or quick drive from the main campsites.

This was a quick overnight stay. Extra star for the pretty snow.

Literally no issues. Stayed in a cabin with electricity and a working heater. They had a air purifying system installed into each cabin to meet COVID needs.

Cabin clean, two double beds. Bring your own bedding.

Small table and two chairs.

Fantastic wide porch with long bench to sit on watch the stairs.

Site came with pic nic table and firepit. 

Dogs romping, walking and hiking around the snow. 

Roads were pretty easy to get through, and clear signage.

Clean bathrooms.

No issues with checking in or out.

The Cabin is perfectly fine, but don’t expect any frills. No cell service or WiFi. No tv. No fridge. The water is hot. Note that this“cabin” is actually four different hotel rooms that all walls. You are not in a quaint cabin in the woods. You are in a bare bones hotel room with thin walls and no amenities. There is a picnic table outside but no real lounge area despite being in the middle of a gorgeous national park. 

I ended up in this cabin because the system that manages the reservations screwed up. I booked and RV site 6 months ago and was called two weeks before and told that they overbooked. The only way to accommodate me was to have me stay in one site for one night and then move to a different site for 8 nights. However the 8 night site turned out to be too short for my RV when I showed up there(I was always up front about the length of my rig). I was told the only thing open for the length of my stay was a cabin and were told to park the RV in the cabin parking lot and stay in the cabin. 

Things that occurred over the course of 9 days:

Housekeeping knocking on my door at 730am on a Saturday provide service while I was asleep. They typically knocked on my door 2-3 times per day to ask when I was leaving.

running out of toilet paper and having to walk 3/4 mile to the camp store to get more(there is no phone in the room and no service)

the power going out

and my favorite, getting home from dinner at 10pm to find that our keys had been deactivated because“they thought we were leaving that day” and having to drive up to the crater rim(30 min round trip) to get new keys because the camp store closes at 9pm 

The campground advertised laundry but the laundry is broken with no timeline to fix. 

All in all, I just wanted what I paid for, a campsite with electric that fit my RV. Not a weird parking lot spot and a half-baked hotel room. 

Unfortunately this campground is the only game in town. Good luck with your visit to crater lake.

As far as RV parks go, this is the coolest one I have ever been to.  They have RV pads that you can bring your own trailer to, or you can rent one of their beautifully restored vintage trailers or tiny homes that they have on site.  They have a pretty central location in town, so although you won't feel immersed in the wilderness, you will be walking distance from several great breweries and restaurants.  This is the perfect respite after camping in the boondocks for several days.  

They have a really great common area with a gas fire pit, 2 gas grills, tables, and corn hole.  They also have heated bathrooms and laundry trailers.  You can't be a great business without great staff, and the staff at The Camp Bend is really top notch.  They are a great resource about fun things to do in the area, and are always friendly.  10/10 would recommend.