Best Dog-Friendly Camping near John Day, OR

This is the Only State Park Near John Day!

You CANNOT make reservations for the campsites in this park. Only the Teepees are reservable. However the park hosts here are amazing and allow boondocking in the large park overflow area when no sites are available.

The sites are spacious with hook ups available. There is a restroom and shower located in the center of this small campground. There is no playground, but there is a large day use area adjacent that my kiddos loved to run around in. The John Day River runs along the south side of the campground and there is a nice walking trail.

Be advised the closest store is 8-10miles in the city of John Day. Prices are high and selection is limited, so do come prepared if staying a few days!

If the 3 John Day National Monuments are on your list, I highly recommend this campground for its location, friendly park hosts, and small campground feel!

This is my second time staying at Clyde Holliday and wound up in the same site I stayed in last year. The sites are huge and well spaced. Lots of trees and a nice trail system along the river. Close to John Day and the Sheep Rock Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds.

We stayed at Clyde Holliday for one night on the way to the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument.  The campground is conveniently located near the town of John Day and is adjacent to the John Day River.  It had all the amenities we needed: electric hookups, water, T-mobile reception, hot showers, and a dump station. The hot showers were welcomed after our visit to wonderful (but dusty) Steens Mountain. We had the site just behind the information kiosk / pay booth, which was perfectly fine for a night, but as it was nearer the main road, I noticed the sound of traffic more than I might have had we gotten a river site. I liked the campground though, and would happily return in the future.

Between the John Day River and the highway outside of John Day, this campground is beautifully maintained. The lawns are green, the bathrooms spotless. There are full hookup rv/trailer sites, tent sites, and hiker/biker sites. The restrooms include free individual shower rooms. There is some traffic noise but it isn't too bad. This is a first-come campground so no reservations are available. Get there early during the summer months.

This is a small, dry campground that is as good as it gets. Only bummer for me (having dogs) is that there aren't any trails. I did read about a place called Potamus Point overlooking the John Day River and canyon that the State Parks Byways brochure said was only a 30 minute excursion off FR-53. Well, 16 miles on gravel roads and an hour and a half driving and I still wasn't there and it was getting dark. Never did see it…..:( Ukiah is nearby, but has very minimal supplies. If you head into these areas have water, a full tank of gas and all your supplies already on board.

Pretty campground along the John Day River. Lots of trees and fairly private sites. Hiking trail along the river, but the mosquitos cut that short.

We were looking for a campground to stay at on our way from eastern Oregon to the John Day wilderness area. Bates State Park was a perfect overnight spot, just far enough off Hwy 26 to be quiet and exceptionally clean and well maintained. There are no hookups, and it will be a few years before vegetation matures to offer more privacy between spaces, but the park was uncrowded and felt private nonetheless. There are very interesting signs telling about the logging history of the area as well as a playground and nature trails.

We have spent 3 nights total at this USFS campground. It is a small campground along the middle fork of the John Day River. There are 2 vault toilets to service this small campground. There is no water or garbage so bring your own water and pack out your garbage. The sites are very spacious and you are far from your neighbors. The road is close but there was little traffic. When we were there in May, there were wildflowers everywhere. We were the only ones there. You are surrounded by large pine trees. Along the access road, there has been reclamation of the John Day changing it from a dredged out mess to a meandering river with newly planted pine trees and tree trunks to enable the salmon to return.

This is a very nice place to stay. They have 31 sites with electric and water hook ups. The sites are big enough for both rig and vehicle. Long side of the campground is the John Day River with a nice little nature path.

On our way to Walloa lake we stopped at Clyde Holliday for the night as we have plans to visit the Kam Wa Chung museum in John Day, nice spot and very well watered allowing for mosquitos the size of small birds...come prepared with a screen room and repellent if visiting in early summer!

We were surprised how quiet this state park was during our visit. Very clean and beautiful green grass through campground. Enjoyed the river trail along the John Day river. Perfect to cool off in during the hot summer months. Mosquitoes definitely come out at night and we were tent camping. A little highway noise at night but not bad.

We loved staying at this gorgeous campground. It’s close to John Day fissile beds and pretty remote. It was the perfect get away! We stayed 3 nights the first 2 no one else was camping there. Beautiful trail and clean site. Vault toilet and 6-7 spaces. Loved it. We will be back.

I've been visiting small town across the West for the last seven years. This is one of the nicest places I've stayed. It's quiet and clean with lovely grass growing between the camp sites. And the bathrooms and showers are exceptionally clean and nice...they even include cloth hand and bath towels for you to use!

Highly recommended, especially if you are visiting John Day Fossil Beds National Monument.

We stayed 3 nights in one of the teepees at Clyde Holliday State Park. The site backs up to the John Day river (very mellow in August). My kids loved playing in the water and catching crayfish. There is a nice trail to walk on in the park and the bathrooms and showers are great. The only drawback was the constant sprinklers running. The grass is green, but the sprinklers on all night long is a bit relentless.

On the banks of the North Fork John Day river. Five sites with picnic table & fire ring. River was high with the spring mountain runoff mid May. Nice respite for 2 days and close enough to explore and hike around the area.

Large open gravel area when you drive in with sites along the river edge with some shade trees. 

Nice visit down the road by Kimberly of Apricot Apiaries and picked up some of their honey. Trail above the campground and across Rt402 up the mountain right above.

Clean campground & pit toilet.

It's right below  Rt402 which has low traffic and none at night. Low traffic noise with the roaring river and roadway high above site.

Date Stayed: July 7th& 8th 2019 Campsite:#25 was level Price:$26 electrical Dump Station: Yes Altitude: 2875 ft Camp Host: Didn't meet Ease of Access: Very easy, our 28 ft travel trailer fit with room to spare. Easily circled campground once to find a space. Weather: Days sunny low 80's nights upper 50's Noise: Site#25 backed up to hwy 26; daytime passing vehicle noise could be loud. Night vehicle noise wasn't an issue. Activities: Geocaching cache in the park, a couple within one mile. John Day Fossil Monument 30 minute drive away. Wife and I enjoyed the campground, it was park like and very green due to water sprinklers. Well maintained grounds and the hot showers were free. Showers had one button operation which ran for 2 minutes per press. We walked along the river and found the mosquitoes, thank goodness for mosquito repellent.

General: 31 site state park that does not take reservations. There was plenty of availability at 4 pm on a Friday in April.

Site Quality: Sites are all level with paved pads, ranging in length from 37 to 84 feet. Good separation between the sites and some have foliage providing some amount of privacy. A large picnic table, fire ring, electric hookup, and wastewater drain complete each site. There are also two teepees. Sites along the river are better; road noise would obviously be louder at the sites that back up to the road. 

Bathhouse: Up to many Oregon State Park standards with hot water, soap, utility shelves, and paper towels. Clean. Showers are free ($2 for non-campers) but did not use so cannot comment on their quality. 

Activities: Not too much to do but there is a nice nature trail about a half-mile long that meanders along the John Day River. It forks a couple of times and if you keep to the left each time, you will eventually end up at a fence at the boundary of private property, but it is easy enough to loop around and return to the campground. 

Although this campground is close to the road and you will hear road noise, it was also peaceful and quiet during our stay.

Wife and I stayed here in June 2019, and loved it. The building is quaint with gaslights, and gas fireplace. The fold out bed is old and worn out. I recommend putting an air mattress or at least sleeping pads on it. 

There's a big refrigerator and gas stove in the kitchen, along with some pots and pans for cooking. But NO running water for drinking or cooking. so bring plenty of water. 

There's a nice vault toilet outside the guard station. The outhouse is much newer than the guard station and kinda looks like a public toilet in the woods. But it's within the fenced boundary of the guard station. 

Right in the middle of the Malheur Forest, this would be a great place to stay for deer/elk hunting season. 

Fishing is good if you go over to the John Day river. 

We saw Pronghorn in the Silvies Valley heading to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. I had to see the place that the standoff with the Feds took place.

We had reserved a site here and upon arrival, pulled in among all the large RVs, where our campervan was dwarfed. Spaces were all level and gravel with full hook-ups (20/30/50 amp). Large picnic table but difficult to determine which one was ours as the sites are close together with no privacy between them. The sites in the row we were in were all pull-throughs and the John Day River was just beyond the road which was nice. 

The most welcoming part of the park was the sign on our site otherwise it was dismal (the overcast weather didn’t help). We later heard from someone that there had recently been some thefts at the park. 

The bathhouse is accessed by walking through a grassy area and was pretty basic but clean. We chose this campground based on the reviews and I realize our opinion may be in the minority but we just didn’t get a good vibe here. If we had a large RV, we might have felt differently. We stayed for about 45 minutes debating what to do but in the end, left and found a space at the state park about eight miles away that better suited our needs.

I stayed at the teepee next to the John Day River. There are two total and they are a little isolated from the campground. They provide a large camping area and fireplace with a beautiful view of the mountains behind the camp. The front view, however, leaves a bit to be desired. There is a highway in front of the campground and a big parking lot with rv water hookups, so vehicles are constantly coming in and out. There is also a restroom, which is a considerable walk from the teepee, and makes it feel more like a reststop than a campground.

The rest of the campsites are in a wooded loop and seem much nicer than the teepee area. The teepee inside is very bare bones compared to the luxury of yurts offered at other camp grounds. The floor is a concrete slab. There are six green acrylic mats and a small stool and very small space heater. There are holes in the bottom parts of the teepee and a giant gap in the ceiling. All of these elements would be nice in the summer. Trying to sleep in here when its 27 degrees is another story. Next time i will stay in a tent. The campground provides a free bundle or firewood.