Planning a dispersed camping trip near Medford? Find everything from dispersed backcountry camping to boondocking with The Dyrt. Whether you're looking for a quiet location in the trees or wide open spaces, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect dispersed campsite.
Elderberry Flat Campground provides 11 campsites along the tranquil and beautiful West Fork of Evans Creek, a tributary to the famous Rogue River. There is a paved road that provides easy access to the campground which is typically open from late May to September. The area offers a variety of recreation activities including camping, biking, hiking, hunting, OHV riding, picnicking, swimming, and wildlife viewing. The campground provides multiple access points to the creek to enjoy the cool water on hot summer days. Granite sand bars, calm water, and gentle sloping access provide family friendly access to the water. Campsites are equipped with picnic tables and grills and there is one pit toilet. There is no fee to use the campground but a 14 day limit is enforced.
14-day camping is allowed from May-October. Oregon Sno-Park Permit is required between Nov. 1 and April 30.
14-day camping is allowed from May-October. Oregon Sno-Park Permit is required between Nov. 1 and April 30.
Remember to LNT in any dispersed area and respect any "no camping" signs you find.
Guide
Large, paved parking lot. Plenty of room for big rigs and vault toilets. Some road noise, but nothing that bothered us. Great location for access to Glacier NP and a small town with a few restaurants was not far away.
Huge thanks to Rogue Snowmobilers - there was Wi-Fi available while we were there, which helped out a lot!
Guide
There’s nothing here except the highway but you can drive down the bike trail and stay there as well, just so your further away from the lot and the road.
Ranger
We absolutely loved camping here. During our off season stay it was fun and with all the ATV trails it was our favorite place to camp.
Our neighbor campers decided they could ride the trails without helmets and found out the hard way that is is a no no. They were brought back to the camp without their bikes and in the back of a National Forest Service Enforcement vehicle. After being spoken to about the importance of following the rules of the trails, they were left at camp and had to find their own way back to their motorcycles.
Fortunately we did not have the same experience. It can get very dusty so just be prepared for that. The trails are absolutely great and access to the Rogue River is just icing on the cake.
It was so nice to have areas provided for unloading bikes and ATV's so folks could safely load and unload their toys.
TravelerStayed for over a week and the only thing is it buts up to a quad/dirt bike trail. Other than that quiet and peaceful!
Guide
The road getting up to it wasn't too bad. Some bigger potholes that we're easy enough to avoid. The pond at the top was beautiful with tons of bats flying around at night. Super cool!
Guide
This spot is a gravel pull off that is about 25ftx15ft. You can fit a small pull behind, truck, and/or van. The 6.5 mile road (FS-25) is paved so the accessibility of the site is a plus. The only downside is the logging operation that you can hear during the week further up the mountain.
GuideWe needed a place to set up for a quick sleep on our way down to Yosemite from Washington. I navigated using Google Maps due to other reviews saying Apple made it confusing. This led us right to the pond/camp sites. The road is a little rough with potholes but it’s not terrible if you just drive slow over the holes. There is a few split offs/2-way roads along this dirt road, the last one being a tree with a smiley face and an arrow leading you where to go. Didn’t get lost at all and it was already dark when we got there. No one was there, it was peaceful, clean and quiet. There is a pit toilet/bathroom with toilet paper. No trash cans so you’ll have to pack out your trash. I recommend this spot for anyone willing to drive 10-15 minutes off the freeway for some dispersed camping.
Ranger
There was a few pullouts on the road and I wouldn’t exactly call it dispersed camping. I parked in what I think was a road for fishing access. Only positive was the river was right there
Guide
We had to go in a ways before finding a suitable spot, but it was very secluded. We camped near the road but nobody came through the whole night we stayed. An owl swooped right through our camp site and scared the crap out of us. Easy route in and out.
Traveler10 miles up a fire road with some spots along road. All are tiny pullout spots just enough for a van to park, would not recommend for an rv or trailer. Very gorgeous though! And paved road the whole way!
Guide
It looked like a decent place to camp with river access. I was disappointed the camp was closed due to fire. I saw a couple campers but I didn't stay.
ScoutThis is a lovely spot. Just a few campsites around a pond. Just overnighted here. Saw some folks camping and fishing. A bit of a challenge to find. Take speaker road to the end of pavement and then follow the dyrt map carefully. The correct location is pinned.
GuideI liked the area, but it seemed to be heavily trafficked. Lots of cars and vans drove by. I was also woken up in the middle of the night to someone practicing with their shotgun in the distance for a good half hour
GuideThis is a good campsite to stay to look at Crater Lake. It is about 15 minutes to the south entrance of the park and then another 15 minutes to the Rim Village. Huge thanks to the Rogue Snowmobilers who make this site so great. There was a rec area we ate dinner in and played cards. The only issue with the site is the mosquitos. Make sure to have bug spray and make a fire
ScoutNot a long drive after leaving the highway. Several spots were all empty when I got here mid-November. The actual campground is closed for the season, but the pull-offs and turnarounds are enough. There are large trucks that use this road but it was quiet enough and far enough off the road to not be a problem. I was the only one here.
GuidePlenty of parking with bathrooms . We were the only ones there in our camper van got in late driving from the redwoods on the way to crater . Lots of stars . No cell service
Traveler
Entrance across from Annie Creek Sno Park. Stay left at first fork.
Potential for 2 spots, left spot had some ground bees.
ScoutSubaru Impreza got up the road just fine! Location is about 20 minutes off i5. Hard to find with Apple Maps but we switched over to google maps and it was a lot easier!
Legend1,000 Springs Sno-park
We hiked to this spot from Union Creek Trail about a week before staying here.
Right off of Crater Lake Highway. There looks to be about 3 or possibly 4 spots to camp. Easily pull-in spots for larger campers and tent camping.
There is a large shelter house with a door on one end and wind flaps on the other. Two trash cans inside, two very large round wooden tables and an iron stove for heat. There is also a solar panel for lights and such.
We only stayed two nights as apposed of the 14 you can stay. Very spacious spots but not far enough away from each other. The second night we were kept awake by the people staying in the shelter, having a party and disco lights and loud music.
Two pit commodes are in the center of the camp. That meant a lot of traffic throughout the day and into the night by people stopping to use it, so the TP didn’t last long. Definitely bring your own just in case.
The road up to the spots from the parking area are dirt and wood chips. The stir up a lot of dust when people drive through, even if they aren’t going at a fast speed.
There are a few trails that go for miles and are very lovely to walk, or even take an OHV on.
We opted to stay the night here because we are traveling across country to DISPERSED camping areas. Would have stayed in the dispersed camping by Crater Lake but it was a $30 fee/ day to enter the park. So that’s not actually free.
If we head back up to Crater Lake in the future we may stay here again. It’s a very lovely spot, but do note that after Nov. 15th there is a fee in this Snow Park.
Might be a nice place to stay for a night, if you don’t like your privacy being invaded i’d suggest going down the road to Union Creek Trail :D
Legend
I'll add another review since we did go back there this summer and stay there for a night. But I'd check on the effects of the Rum Fire if you're planning to go to this area. Not sure what the river area looks like now. :(
We couldn't really find a flat place to park, and so ended up parking just along the bathroom, which was rhe flattest spot here. It was a nice and peaceful stay, quiet, watching boaters and rafting companies coming and going all day. Nobody else was there at night.
The area is beautiful but there's not much to do unless you have a boat or a car. No nearby hikes within walking distance.
Still zero cell service. 14 day stay limit. Garbage bins and recycling and bathrooms on site. Free!
LegendThis is a huge paved parking lot not far from Crater lake. They have bathrooms. Can hold lots of RVs. No one there the 3 days we stayed except before dark we had a few people show up.
TravelerGood location for easy access to Crater Lake NP. Huge parking area that can handle large rigs. Lot is asphalt and fairly level. It’s right off the main road but traffic was light and hardly any night traffic.
TravelerGoogle maps will take you right to this one. The drive in is pretty short, making this a convenient place to stop if you’re driving through.
Three spots, two of which are very close together. We were there in August. It was hot and the pond was scummy, but not buggy.
Pretty woods and good stars up here. We didn’t explore.
LegendThese sno parks that are available for boondocking throughout Oregon are so handy! Sno park is maintained by the Rogue Snowmobilers. Free boon docking during off season (May to October). Otherwise you need a permit (November to April).
There is a huge lot that would fit many RVs, easy turnaround and plenty of room to spread out. It is right on 62 so you'll hear cars go by but traffic was really light in May, and quiets down significantly overnight.
In mid May there was a ton of snow at Crater Lake but only minimal snow on the ground here, and the weather was cool but not freezing, and was above freezing temps overnight.
There are restrooms and a really nice warming room, with firewood and wall plugs (that I didn't test). I didn't see any garbage bins (though I didn't look inside the bathrooms).
Zero cell service anywhere in this entire area. Crater Lake visitor center had good wifi for free though.
TravelerFound this spot on our way down to California. Not a bad spot to camp, it’s very quite and we were the only ones there.
Getting there is pretty easy, we made it a lot more difficult by going down a bunch of roads. Stick to the main road, the road to the campsite is on the right and has a tree that’s spray painted with a stick figure. It’s very steep like the other review said but isn’t too bad for a truck.
There aren’t a lot of spots here. We parked right by the lake, there was another spot in the middle of the loop, and a few others.
It looks like there’s a trail that goes around the lake. We found some ticks on the dogs immediately so we didn’t end up exploring it. Overall a nice spot, it’s right off the highway so you don’t have to worry about driving deep in the mountains.
ScoutSaw lots of trash and toilet paper. Decent spot otherwise.
LegendWe checked this spot out and ended up moving on to keep looking, but would come back here if ever in the area.
This is a recreation site / boat ramp, and it's wide open for camping as well. When you pull in, you first see a large area that looks like a parking lot. It wasn't until we left the spot and looked back on it from the higher road that we saw that the camp area extended a bit past the bathrooms into more camp friendly spots, with some shade and greenery.
No cell service in this whole area.
There is a pit toilet, and trash and recycling bins. No fires at this time!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dispersed campsite near Medford, OR?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near Medford, OR is Elderberry Flats Campground with a 4.5-star rating from 4 reviews.
What is the best site to find dispersed camping near Medford, OR?
TheDyrt.com has all 24 dispersed camping locations near Medford, OR, with real photos and reviews from campers.
