Best RV Parks & Resorts near Hines, OR

Bosch's Big Bear RV Park was easy to find and we knew from our pre-arrival email that we were in site 2. We also knew from the website that if you arrive between 8:00 AM and 1:00 PM its a $10 charge. We arrived after 1:00 PM, but no one was in the office. There are 10 FHU sites that are pull throughs. However, if you’re longer than about 35’ it is best to just line up on your site in the huge parking lot and back-in. The lane for pulling through is a little tight and we would have hit the nice shade tree they have planted between sites. After we set up, we went back to the office and there’s a chalk board that had info plus a phone number to call. We called the number and talked to the owner who said that her son, who normally manned the office, was out for the afternoon. We didn’t need anything but the WiFi code, which was texted to us. Overall, this is an impressive little campground (CG) that is perfect for an overnight or, in our case, a three day stay. The big and very nice lodge, which at one time had a restaurant, was closed. There is no playground, laundry nor showers, but they do have a porta-potty and a small tent area. There’s obviously water, electric, and sewer at each RV site but also a fresh water spigot and hose at the front of the lodge area and a dump station at the end of the RV sites. A picnic table was set up at our site and there were picnic tables and fire rings you can grab and take to your site, however there was a burn ban so no fires. A WiFi booster is at site three and due to the small size of the CG, plus it was not full, the WiFi signal was outstanding. We got three OTA channels so we set up our satellite with a clear shot to the southern sky. We also got three bars on Verizon. The website provides good info on the CG plus things to do in the area. They are open year round but water is turned off November to March. Hines is just down the road and has your major amenities. Overall, we had a good time exploring the area and would stay here again.

General: To say there are not many choices to camp around here would be an understatement! Fortunately, our stay turned out to be decent. We were greeted cheerfully by Tina (she and her husband Scott own the park). This place mainly attracts birders in the spring, hunters in the fall, and people passing through (this was us). There is a mix of back-in and pull-through sites. The back-in sites are along the east and north sides of the property with the pull-throughs in the center. There is a coin-operated laundry, store/gift shop, and restaurant. We didn’t eat in the restaurant but did indulge in Tina’s delicious homemade fruit turnovers! 

Site Quality: All sites are level on gravel. Each site has a nice patio with a plastic picnic table, fire ring, and bbq platform. There are some trees scattered throughout but when we were there, they had not quite bloomed yet. Our site (34) was at the end of the row which gave us privacy on one side. Backs up to a fence and you will hear some road noise from the road behind it, but it is minimal. 

Bathhouse: Three all-in-one units with a code to enter. Entering was a little tricky until we got the hang of it but once in, the units were clean. Showers take quarters. 

Activities: Not much for us as we were passing through but a nice haven for birders (the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is close by) and convenient for hunters. Note that on GPS it looks like Mudd Lake is fairly close by, but the lake has been dry for at least 10 years according to Tina! Again, this was a pleasant stay for us as we were traveling through.

FEATURES:

PROS:

-A firepit with wood is provided for guests. The owner says he sometimes hosts "Smore Nights," for guests in peak season. 

-a propane grill is also available for use.

-Our back-in site for our 30 amp travel trailer wasn't too hard to get in too.

-Good wifi, though there weren't that many other people in the park at the time we were there.

-The campground is on a river, though you can't really sit by it or see due to growth along the banks.

-The office was closed when we were there, but according to their website, they have local beer, wine, and snacks for sale.

CONS:

-Bathrooms are small, two showers, two stalls.

-Our site was unlevel so we needed our levelers.

____________________________________________________

Overall a fine stay. We didn't hear the road much at all inside our trailer. We enjoyed sitting out on the picnic table at our site. Owners very nice.

Normally don't stay in RV parks while traveling in our camper van, but we needed to do laundry, take showers, replenish our water supply, and recharge our power storage units after days of dispersed & primitive camping. We really liked this RV park. Tina, who checked us in, was fantastic - very friendly and welcoming. She even gave our dog treats! She put us in site #39 which was not next to big rigs. We used the water & electric at the site. Reasonably priced. The park was very clean. The laundry room and restroom/shower rooms were also clean. The meals at the cafe were good, along with good service. We weren't enthusiastic about staying at an RV park, but we were glad we did. Fit our needs for an overnight stay.

Not much here since the lake dried up. It is a good stopping place for a nite or two if your traveling this way. The sites are pretty big. We had plenty of room for our 5th well and truck. It was not crowded at all this Memorial Weekend, as there is not much to do…sad to say. It is very quiet and dark out here. Oh and the wind can get a bit strong as well! There are NO trees to hide behind.. Ha! Ha!

We obtained fuel and water from the Shell Station in Hines as we passed through from Salt Lake City. The staff there are very nice and friendly! We did see a Hines Market just as you got East out of town that has a Dump Station, if you need. Not sure how much space they have for big rigs to maneuver around.

We visited during Oregon’s “high” season, so by the time we booked, only back in spots were available for our big rig. Okay stay, just not impressed with amenities for price and that park has sappy trees over spaces.

Pros:

• Nice place to be for a week. Slower change of pace.
• Proximity to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
• Nice staff.
• Had a little lending library, so donated some books and took a couple of new ones for the road.

Cons:

• Our back in spot was under trees that drip sap. We have sap on our rig and our tow. The rules allowed you to wash your windshield, but you could only use water in a bucket - no spraying with a hose. First time we have ever had to wash our windshield before leaving a park.

• Sites, despite an apparently fresh dump/spread of gravel, were not as level as site managers seemed to think. Back of the back in space sloped just enough to cause issues.

Generator quit working so we couldn’t boondock. Way too hot outside. Checked in on a day they were closed so the only signs of life we saw were the people who live here full time. Most sites are 30 amp. The ones with 50 amp were not marked at all and there was no information in the welcome email indicating what site we needed to look for so after driving five hours with four children and a dog, we had to go site by site to look for the proper hook ups in 100° weather. Was not very thrilled about that. Good stop over spot in a pinch. Served us well for what we needed it for