Looking for a place to camp near Milton-Freewater with your horse? Finding a place to stay in Oregon while traveling with your horse is easy. Search nearby equestrian campsites or find top-rated spots from other campers.
Some campsites and all cabins are open year-round. Note that park roads are often snow-covered or icy in winter. Book reservations up to 6 months in advance at oregonstateparks.reserveamerica.com. Reservations are required Oct. 1 - June 1 for the duplex totem cabin and six rustic cabins.
16 full hookup sites Five sites open year-round (water available only at restroom/shower building in winter) 1 electrical site with water (closed in winter) 32 tent sites with water nearby (closed in winter) Hot showers and flush toilets Horse camp with seven sites (closed in winter) Six rustic log cabins open year round (four pet-friendly) Duplex cabin (Totem) Group tent camp (closed in winter) Universal Access: Tent site A19 is accessible to campers with disabilities.
$12 - $36 / night
Godman Guard Station, built in the 1930s, sits just outside the impressive Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness. The complex is adjacent to a historic Civilian Conservation Corps campground. Horseback riding and hiking trails into the wilderness are easily accessed from the cabin. Horses are permitted in the area, however, due to sanitary reasons, horses are not allowed near the guard station. Horses may be tied to the barns hitching rails located about 200 yards up the hill. The barn cannot be used by renters, just the hitching rails and feed bunks. Winter access is by snowmobile, snowshoes or cross country skis. A groomed snowmobile trail passes right by the cabin.
Guests will delight in viewing scenery along Skyline Drive Road and the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness. During the summer months, horseback riding or hiking in the wilderness are popular pastimes. Many trails descend into the rugged river canyons and offer fishing opportunities. Check with the appropriate state Department of Fish and Wildlife for regulations. The Godman Trailhead can be accessed from the cabin. In winter, campers enjoy snowmobiling on groomed trails, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.
Godman Guard Station is perched above the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness at an elevation of 5,600 feet. From a barn about 100 yards up the hill from the cabin, expansive views of the wilderness can be seen. The wilderness includes nearly 180,000 acres of rugged basaltic ridges, steep canyons, rushing rivers and their tributaries and abundant wildlife. Rocky Mountain Elk, bighorn sheep, white-tailed and mule deer, black bears, cougars, coyotes and pine martens inhabit the region.
The cabin is 28 miles or a one-hour drive from Dayton. Groceries and fuel are available. The Tucannon Last Resort Store is also about an hour's drive away.
For Reservation Changes & Cancellation Fees, please see Rules & Reservation Policies.
$60 - $75 / night
Dispersed camping is a popular camping method for many visitors to the Forest. Choosing to camp along a stream or adjacent to a meadow where there are no picnic tables, toilets or firerings allows campers to enjoy a more primitive experience.
It is recommend that dispersed campers keep to traditional campsites off of established 'two-track' vehicles routes which have been used in the past. Most of these routes are less than 300 feet from a designated open road.
There are some areas on the Forest that are closed to dispersed camping. These include administrative site, special use permit area, or sensitive areas for archeology or wildlife.
Please remove all temporary structures before you leave such as meat poles, toilets, furniture, and ditches around your tents. To find out more about minimum impact camping please visit our outdoor ethics section. Some general rules of use and restrictions also apply to visitor using dispersed camping sites. These include regulations like forest-wide camping stay limits; use of camp fires, firearms, and fireworks; and controlling pets.
Spring Creek Campground is located in an open pine forest near a small meadow. Just a short drive from Interstate 84, this small campground offers 4 campsites which are occassionally used for family reunions or group camping.
Located along the Tucannon River and bordering the Wooten State Wildlife area, the Tucannon Campground has several ponds nearby, managed by the Washington Department of Wildlife. These ponds are stocked with trout, offering excellent fishing opportunities for the entire family. This campground is heavily used from the opening weekend of fishing season, in early spring, through the fall hunting seasons. Tucannon is open for camping year around and is easily accessed by paved roads directly leading to the campground. Please call the Pomeroy Ranger District for current conditions. A fee of $8.00 per night with a $5.00 extra vehicle fee is charged from March 1 through October 31st each year. From November 1st through February there is no fee charged. Please Leave-No-Trace.
Panjab Campground offers opportunities for hunting, hiking, swimming and bicycling. Just beyond the campground is the trailhead for Rattlesnake Trail #3129 that accesses Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness. This campground is located along Tucannon Springs River; which is a favorite area for mushrooming, hiking, and just relaxing listening to nature. . No camping with stock at Panjab Campground. Stock facilities are available 3 miles up Forest Service Road 4713 at Panjab Trailhead. Please Leave-No-Trace.
$8 / night
Guide
Very nicely maintained campground with full hookups. Clean showers. Level spots.
The only drawback is the close vicinity to Hwy. 84 which made it quite noisy.
Guide
Sites are far apart but some lack privacy. I saw Lots of elk and turkeys(?) and a rattlesnake. Outside of the lack of privacy there are some people who it appears that they live there(I a have no issues with that) my issue is the drive up and down the road multiple multiple time a day at high rates of speed leaving dust flying. When I was out walking I walked past one of their campsites on accident I didn’t get close and they started firing a gun in the air. I slept in my car that night and left the next morning. Also trash is an issue as well as people using the bathroom right on the ground and leaving used baby wipes everywhere. So watch out for human waste if you use a tent.
GuideMany options for private pull-offs once you drive past established NF campgrounds—likely tough to do without high clearance and/or 4WD when wet. Only “traffic” was the occasional ATV/OHV. Tons of great hiking around.
ScoutWe just needed a quick tent soot on a monday night on the way to moab. better than expected. bit muddy. some shells. but lots of space. drove in to about 45.35967, -118.30846
ScoutStayed one night on my way to Seattle. I drove up the road some and found it pretty passable in my van, although most of the sites were too muddy and I was worried about getting stuck. Camped in the first spots behind the Spring Creek Info sign and had good phone service (verizon) and a uneventful night. But area had a ton of broken glass, nails and shotgun shells and a decent amount of litter. Don't know how rowdy it gets in the warmer months but it might be wise to skip this place or camp further up the road at the campground then, especially if you're a solo female.
LegendI've driven by for years and recently had the opportunity to stop in between a couple of long travel days. Site was level and surrounded by beautiful trees. We had a nice walk through the campground. It was not crowded, being a weekday in October.
I was amazed at the freeway noise. Very loud. Didn't really have trouble sleeping, but certainly not quitly peaceful, unfortunately.
Great heritage site!
TravelerThere are 100s of spots to camp
Scout
Needed a nice place between destinations and this was perfect. Clean and quiet on the last weekend of July 23
ScoutThis place is better but the freeway is so close it’s deafening! Insanely loud!
GuideEasy and vacant find for a last minute change to our route. Primitive dispersed campsites with rock fire rings right off the highway. Down side is it's a little too noisy for my taste. Would have driven further down into the woods if I had more time to set up as we got here late. All in all its an easy find just off the highway.
Scout
Very nice campground for the area. Come here all the time. First come first serve, there is a nice little river that runs near the campground as well.
Scout
I didn’t know we had a good campground near us. The cabin is pretty cheap and was able to fit my entire family including uncles and aunts and grandparents etc.
RangerWe spend a night there in July on our way to Boulder Colorado. The campground is quite nice and bathrooms were clean and providing all needed functionality. Large and tall trees provided a very welcome shade during the heatwave we were going through. The only issue was that, we were tent camping and being close to the highway it was quite noisy.
GuideWallowa-Whitman NF
NF 21
aka Spring Creek Campground
La Grande, OR
45.2125.6N, 118.1843.3W (Campground)
45.3679N, 118.2972W (signboard)
45.36944, -118.29997 (2nd spot)
14 Day limit
V 4g/2-3b, ATT 4g/1-2b (no booster)
Dirt & grass
Campground:
Not for bigger rigs. 4 spots fairly close together, picnic tables, pit toilets. Loop in is tight, and while we are only 34' long, we're 13.8 on truck and had to do some creative maneuvering to get ourselves back out. Cell signal here was almost non existent, and fairly dense tree cover if using solar.
There was one spot on the left before getting to the Campground we could have fit into, but again, dense tree cover. Didn't check cell signal here.
There is supposed to be more spots past the campground, but we haven't taken the bikes out yet to explore.
Signboard:
Easily found a spot, even on Labor Day weekend (Friday). This area could handle 4 or 5 rigs. Cell signal better, but still bounced in/out a bit. We stayed here 2nts to get past the holiday weekend. Picked up a lot of micro trash, spent shells, and broken bottles. This is also the area where a lot of a sxs park for Day Use. VERY dusty area.
2nd Spot:
WOW what a difference. After we decided to hang out in the area for a bit longer, we knew we had to move off the main road as the dust was making our solar pout. As you come in, just before the signboard there is a road going up a hill to the right. It looks intimidating, but can be done going slow in 4wd. We found 3 great spots up there without going back very far.
There are spots further back, as we saw people pulling trailers out, but we haven't explored them yet. We chose the 1st spot on the left for the full solar and gorgeous view of the meadow, tree line, and mountains in the distance. Cell signal comes in stronger on this ridge, but still a little fickle without a booster... note to self, get booster. Picked up medium sized and micro trash here, as well as bullet casings and broken bottles... and a special thanks to whomever left a bag of rotting frozen chicken wings...that was fun, but the view is worth it, and SO MUCH LESS dust.
There is a spot across (right side of road) where we've had over nights pull in late, but they left by 9am and both were very quiet setting up. Other than them, and the people from further back pulling out after the weekend, we've been alone up here.
There is a GORGEOUS spot further up on the right, but I couldn't get any signal.
From all but the campground, you will hear road noise. I84 is just beyond the trees. I pretend it's waves (don't judge), my husband uses ear plugs. We've both had no issues sleeping.
If we had only had the 1st 2nts experience I would say we would only be back as a last minute overnight, having discovered this other area, yep we'd be back no problem.
As with all boondocking, scouting out is the key.
GuideBeautiful setting in old growth timber. Freeway is literally adjacent, so entire campground is road noise. Some spots are directly looking over the freeway (A06) so try to get ones further west. The bathrooms are clean and there are a few short hiking trails. Maybe good for an overnight or if you plan to go elsewhere during the day. But not a place to spend much time.
ScoutThis is a beautiful area and clean campground. There is too much road noise to enjoy the outdoors.
GuideWhen we arrived after dark the 200 ft path to our cabin was cleared and we could easily drag our items stacked on a tarp to our cabin. The cabin does share a wall with another party but it was funny to hear the children laugh and play. It was below zero but the electric heater kept us toasty warm. The bathroom and shower is about 300 ft away if you walk through two feet of snow. We brought a collapsible toilet to have on the covered porch. Drove up to the bathroom when needed. The park ranger spent all day moving snow and keeping the roads through the campground excellent. The bathrooms and showers are always clean. The day we left the park ranger came and moved another foot of snow so we could easily pack out. We brought our instant pot and warmed are already prepared foods. If you don't want things to freeze you got to keep them in your cooler. We brought lots of cozy blankets and could hotspot the computer to watch movies. Make sure you follow trip check for closures of i-84 if camping during snow.
TravelerCame here for an overnight stop while traveling through the area. Solid spot - 4 large sites with level spots, fire ring, picnic tables, vault toilet. Arrived around 5pm on a Saturday in October and 3 spots were available - the others filled up after me. Quiet and beautiful while being close to the highway. Perfect and pleasant for my overnight stop
TravelerOregon always has beautiful state parks. This one is no different. It is close to Hwy 84, so there is road noise. The campsites don't seem to be as on top of each other as some places.
ScoutGreat little campground far enough from the interstate to be peaceful. 4 spots available so it fills up fast. About a mile of decent dirt road, a few washboards and potholes, just go slow. Vault toilet was very clean. Verizon was 2 bars, 4g but slow. Wifiranger with AT&T was very fast. Overall a great campground if you can get a spot. There is other dispersed camping areas near by if it's full.
ScoutThis is a really nice and maintained campground but the traffic noise from the interstate was awful. It was sometimes hard to carrying on a conversation because of the noise. I probably will not stay here again.
LegendI just needed a stop on my way to Wallowa Lake. This was on the way. Heard the big trucks going by all night. A safe and decent place to spend the night, I wouldn't want to do more than that.
Guide
Tucannon is a place I’ve been coming to since I was a kid. Absolutely love the area. Quiet and away from others.
GuideFree during the off season but don't get stuck with a dead car battery. Can get really cold and no phone service and very few people pass by.
GuideWe stayed at a cabin toward the end of the park. The cabins are great and super comfortable and the bathrooms are clean. Saw park staff cleaning and taking out the trash frequently. It is about 10 feet from the highway so loud all day/night. Interesting history but the springs themselves have mostly been paved over by 84. Hiking trails a bit confusing and mostly gas line right of ways. Would recommend if you need a comfortable place to stay on a road trip but not exactly a "camping" getaway.
TravelerWe have stayed here many times. 10 years ago was one of our favorites. Our families came from all over Oregon and Washington, even California. We came from Missouri. What an amazing family reunion. The park rangers were so nice. They had informed classes about animals in the forest. The Jr rangers program for the children was wonderful and hands on.
TravelerThere is a small campground with 6 sites mostly good for campers or tent in a grove of trees with a vaulted outhouse. in the surrounding aria there are plenty of dispersed campsites that can hold any size RV Around the form almost completely shaded to full sun. It is a designated ATV aria with tons of trails used by hikers and horses in the fall it is a favorite spot for hunters
cell service is serves is sporty from 3 bars to none
Oregon offers a fantastic experience for horse camping enthusiasts, with several campgrounds providing excellent amenities and access to beautiful trails.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Milton-Freewater, OR?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Milton-Freewater, OR is Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area with a 3.5-star rating from 25 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 6 equestrian camping locations near Milton-Freewater, OR, with real photos and reviews from campers.
