Best Dispersed Camping near Oakland, OR

Dispersed Camping Reviews near Oakland, OR

33 Reviews of 13 Oakland Campgrounds

• 

  Laura M.

  Legend

  May. 19, 2021

  Burma Pond BLM

  Remote and Quiet

  This was quite a way in on a fairly smooth but steep dirt road. Along the road were random deep pot holes so be aware they sneak up on you when the road is shadowed. The last .3 miles was steep and though we made it in 26ft rig I would not attempt it again. I could see major problem if rain was expected. 

  The pond was peaceful and so beautiful with a couple of level options to set up. The area as a whole is very small though, so if someone else is already there when you arrive it’s going to feel very cozy and/or awkward. 

  There was a handicap accessible bathroom with pit toilets that someone shot up the lock (boooo) so at the moment is open despite the "closed for covid" sign. There was a pile of garbage near the garbage cans. Bullet casings littered the ground as well.

   The fish were jumping and the water clear. Overall nice, just wish people would respect public lands more and not trash these areas so much. The road is narrow with very few turn arounds. The way down I was in 1-2 gear riding the break on some of the hills. Good place to let the dogs run and swim. If we had a smaller rig we would come here again. Very weak / unusable Verizon service, no service with TMobile or ATT.

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• 

  Cass G.

  Guide

  Jul. 26, 2024

  Burma Pond BLM

  Off the grid just enough

  We 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.

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• 

  Jordie G.

  Guide

  May. 30, 2023

  Lemolo Forebay

  Beautiful but bring bug spray

  Pavement turns to dirt road to get to the sites. Each site has a fire ring and a table. The vault toilet has a trash can and was stocked with TP when we were there but we bring our own.

  The trails down to the river are loose dirt and steep but we drove to the other side of the river to lounge in the sun.

  Lots of skeeters! Bring your bug spray

• C

  Catey N.

  Scout

  Aug. 7, 2023

  Elliott State Forest Dispersed

  Beautiful spots, make sure to download a map

  Needed a last minute to car camp that was close to the coast, found these dispersed sites online and figured it try it out. There was surprisingly multiple spots that I had cell service (AT&T) so I was able to navigate myself around through a satellite map. Lots of nice spots with good views, just takes a bit of driving around to find the perfect one. Didn’t see anyone up there and I was there from Tuesday to Wednesday. Hope to return at some point! Just beware some of the side roads are a bit overgrown and can scratch up your car.

• J

  Janine L.

  Scout

  Oct. 15, 2020

  Elliott State Forest Dispersed

  Great and close to bandon

  We stayed for a night on our way down the coast. Nice and close to Bandon. No trouble accessing in our midsize suv. It was muddy at the site, and unfortunately, those before us left a lot of trash. Did my best to clean up when was left behind. There was a fire pit but we did not use it due to fire restrictions. Nice misty views over the trees in the morning.

• B

  Bob Z.

  Scout

  Nov. 15, 2023

  Elliott State Forest Dispersed

  Elliott Primitive Campsites

  The Elliott State Forest has more than 550 miles of roads and trails, but only a primary network has been maintained over the past 10 years since the 90,000 acre area was shut down with environmental lawsuits. Many of these roads lead to excellent camping sites, including old lookouts, fishing holes, secluded springs, and an undeveloped campground favored by local mudrunners. Met organization has worked with the local Community College the past seven years regarding recreational research on the Elliott, with our most recent (and likely final) focus being on historic trails and primitive campsites. The pandemic caused much of this work to be documented on student-level videos, indexed on YouTube: http://www.orww.org/Elliott\_Forest/Recreation/index.html and https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1JyKCHg2GmHjLtQzXXDks4Rb-LE9HoJ-

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• 

  Leah W.

  Legend

  Aug. 26, 2018

  Elliott State Forest Dispersed

  Review of Matador Freerain 24 at Elliott State Forest

  Dispersed camping is allowed in all state forests within Oregon. https://www.oregon.gov/ODF/Recreation/pages/Camp.aspx

  We found an awesome spot along Marlow Creek Road, about 4 miles into the forest (coming in from Allegeny). There are plenty of pull outs all along the way, with room for 2-3 cars, as well as full tents and chairs set up. The road follows a babbling creek which was amazing to sleep next to. There are no amenities, follow any postings about campfire restrictions. (When we went- no fires were allowed). This is a logging forest, so we had huge logging trucks roll by in the morning - because of this, it may not be the best spot for kids or off leashed dogs. The trucks went by very quickly, stirring up a lot of dust- keep your car windows shut and use a pot while cooking breakfast! We had very few mosquitos or bugs, and loved being encompassed by the mossy trees!

  Ranger Review of the Matador Freerain 24 L Backpack

  https://matadorup.com/products/matador-freerain24-backpack?variant=47744934037

  As a Ranger, I occasionally get the chance to test out gear in the field. I was really excited about trying out this pack, as I do a lot of canyoneering, and dealing with waterproof bags inside of soggy backpacks is always a hassle. Or you have to figure out a way to secure a typical waterproof bag to you. The bag is made of a lightweight rainjacket-like material, and has a roll top to it’s main compartment. I took the bag on a 3 mile hike to some waterfalls, where I could test out it’s waterproofness. At home, I went to a nearby lake to try submerging it.

  Pros

  This bag was extremely light, small and pack-able! You have no reason NOT to bring it with you if you may be heading somewhere wet. It folds into a small drawstring about the size of a baseball.

  This bag has separate storage compartments whereas most drybags are a long tube where everything falls to the bottom. Within this bag, you have 2 water bottle holders (where I tossed things like keys), a easy access zip pocket on the front, as well as the small drawstring that the bag itself can be stored in (I put my packs of gummies in here for safe keeping).

  Cons

  The bag does not have a chest strap, so there was the potential for the backpack to slip off if you were doing strenuous activity, it also didn’t sit perfectly comfortable because of this. It does however, have adjustable shoulder straps (which I didn’t see as necessary).

  I was nervous about putting my 1 L Nalgene bottles into the water bottle pockets because of the material of the bag…with just 1, it made the bag extremely lopsided, or with 2, it seemed to put a lot of stress on the bag itself. I tossed my water inside the bag instead, which made it pretty lumpy since the packable bag doesn’t have structure.

  The front pocket is as advertised, water resistant, but definitely did not pass the waterproof test when I submerged the bag. It’s OK for waterfall mist or a light rain, but I wouldn’t keep my phone in there if we were getting dunked!

  Conclusion!

  If this bag had the chest strap, I’d be in 100% for using it for canyoneering adventures, however- since it doesn’t seem made for more rugged situations, I’m not sure why you would need such a waterproof bag. Most daypacks nowadays come with a raincover, or are made of a water resistant material to keep your goodies from getting soaked - unless you are planning a very casual dayhike where you are literally walking under waterfalls, I would most likely invest in a different daypack solution..

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• 

  Hannah S.

  Guide

  Mar. 21, 2022

  Burma Pond BLM

  Nice spot to spend the night

  Found 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.

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• C

  Clayton P.

  Guide

  Aug. 7, 2025

  Burma Pond BLM

  Nice, not far from I5

  Quiet spot not far from I5. No noise at all, just the wind in the trees and bullfrogs. There are defined spots with a vault toilet next door. The spots are VERY close together, 10 to 20 feet apart. All of the spots are right on the edge of the water. Spots are small but room for a single vehicle or van at each. We had the place to ourselves on a random Wednesday in August. Tons of blackberries growing wild along the waters edge.

  Road in from I5 isn’t bad, well maintained gravel with a few large potholes. GPS via Apple and Google wanted me to go on a rarely used and overgrown forest road to get here, I recommend using GPS to get in the general area then look at the map to manually navigate the last half mile or so.

  Starlink mini had decent reception for being hard mounted to my roof. Cell service is basically non-existent, one bar of LTE every now and then.

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