Best Tent Camping near Kimberly, OR

This campsite was easy to spot from the road, although navigation such as Google maps does not have the gravel road leading off into it. The campsite situated below the road in the valley surrounded by towering hills on either side. There are ample trees and the possibility of hammock camping if you can find the ones close enough. Each campsite has fire rings and wood or metal picnic tables. Water spigots with potable water are scattered every few sites. There are lovely vault toilets as well with air fresheners and toilet paper.

The campsite I stayed at was near the small creek offering a serene sound of water trickling while I slept. There was a bridge the crossed the creek further west of my site which is recommended as the creek is muddy and not easy to cross by foot unless you want to get your shoe stuck in the mud (I was blessed to do this while looking for firewood on the other side).

There is plenty of deadfall scattered around that can be used for the campfire rings set up in the sites. Across the creek, there were lots of bigger hunks of firewood but the fierce mud crossing claimed my shoes. Thankfully, I was able to wash them off and use the heat of the fire to slowly dry them out.

Overall, this is a nice campsite for overnighting as you continue exploring the surrounding area. If coming from Portland, it is about a 3-hour journey. I first trucked around to the John Day Fossil Beds and looped around on the 26 to the Painted Hills before heading back north on the 207. There are lots of fun activities in the vicinity that you can explore and hike in 2 days before carrying on to another area.

Came through the area planning to camp before exploring the fossil beds and painted hills nearby. Campsite is secluded from the main road, and only had one other camper while we were there (we stayed Monday night through Tuesday morning). There was a single Vault toilet that was fairly clean minus some Archaeology Today magazines, and someone came by in the morning to restock toilet paper. 

Be forewarned that the right hand entrance of the road loop that goes to each site is pretty rough! Deep potholes and tree branches leaning into the road which scratched our vehicle. Next time we will only drive through the left side which was smoother and branch-free. 

Each site had a basic fire ring(made with stones with a small metal grate that flips over the top) as well as a picnic table. Our site was next to a trail entrance, which crosses a cute little bridge/creek and heads up into the hills where a beautiful sunset over the valley could be seen. Lots of evidence of cows on the road leading up to the campground as well as on the hiking trail, but none in the actual campsites. Deer and chipmunks aplenty though! Some sites had better flat spots for tents while others seemed better suited to campers. Our spot was without large lumps or rocks in the ground but slightly slanted on a hill. We made it work okay though! 

We have Verizon and had zero cell service both in the campground as well as the surrounding areas, took a good 15 minute drive or more down the highway to get even a bar of service to show up again, so be warned! 

Would definitely stay here again if in the area: beautiful, clean, and private!

Searching for a spot on Saturday during Memorial Day weekend was probably not the best idea, but we were able to land a decent space in this BLM rec area.

Priest Hole has a few kinds of spots, some at the banks of the John Day River, some in the hills and some in the open. The riverside areas are really rocky and would be hard pressed to ground tent there, but trailer mounted and RV’s would do fine (assuming you can get them there).

We stayed on the bluff overlooking the River and hills. No shade, so we had to make our own, as it was pretty hot. This created another problem when the wind howled down the canyon, kicking up dust and rolling tents and anything not staked down!

The River is a few hundred yards away, and the single vault toilet was close by.

After exploring the area we did discover many more areas for dispersed camping, and will be back to try some of those!

Campfires may or may not be prohibited, or may have modified rules, so be sure to check the board for updates.

On the way to/from John Day and the Painted Hills, this is a decent spot to stop for a night if you are heading somewhere else. Only $5 a night, you basically pull off the road a few feet to the parking lot and walk-in from there. The sites are on a flat area between the river and the road. No real privacy, but the views of the river and hills are amazing, and it's only $5 a night. The river is slow moving here and thus technically swimmable, but a bit sludgy/swampy on the edges (no real beach).

Pros: Cheap. Easy to access. Great views on the river.

Cons: No privacy. Lots of trash when we were there. Right on the road/traffic.

Facilities: Vault toilet, picnic tables and fire pits.

There's not much happening at Shelton Wayside, but it makes for a quiet night of camping if you're passing through Eastern Oregon. It feels more like a roadside overnight rest area than a place where you'd go as a destination for a camping adventure.

Shelton Wayside calls itself primitive camping -- mostly it's a field along a hillside with a bunch of picnic tables and fire rings cut from old metal drums. Sites seem to be designated by where there is a picnic table. There is no delineation between sites. There is a water point, pit toilets, and garbage cans.

The campground is self registration only and cash is required.$20 and $5 for an extra vehicle. It gets cheaper if you stay an extra night, but we can't really figure out why you'd want to stay here for any longer than a stop over.

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.