Best RV Parks & Resorts near Seneca, OR

Bosch's Big Bear RV Park was easy to find and we knew from our pre-arrival email that we were in site 2. We also knew from the website that if you arrive between 8:00 AM and 1:00 PM its a $10 charge. We arrived after 1:00 PM, but no one was in the office. There are 10 FHU sites that are pull throughs. However, if you’re longer than about 35’ it is best to just line up on your site in the huge parking lot and back-in. The lane for pulling through is a little tight and we would have hit the nice shade tree they have planted between sites. After we set up, we went back to the office and there’s a chalk board that had info plus a phone number to call. We called the number and talked to the owner who said that her son, who normally manned the office, was out for the afternoon. We didn’t need anything but the WiFi code, which was texted to us. Overall, this is an impressive little campground (CG) that is perfect for an overnight or, in our case, a three day stay. The big and very nice lodge, which at one time had a restaurant, was closed. There is no playground, laundry nor showers, but they do have a porta-potty and a small tent area. There’s obviously water, electric, and sewer at each RV site but also a fresh water spigot and hose at the front of the lodge area and a dump station at the end of the RV sites. A picnic table was set up at our site and there were picnic tables and fire rings you can grab and take to your site, however there was a burn ban so no fires. A WiFi booster is at site three and due to the small size of the CG, plus it was not full, the WiFi signal was outstanding. We got three OTA channels so we set up our satellite with a clear shot to the southern sky. We also got three bars on Verizon. The website provides good info on the CG plus things to do in the area. They are open year round but water is turned off November to March. Hines is just down the road and has your major amenities. Overall, we had a good time exploring the area and would stay here again.

FEATURES:

PROS:

-A firepit with wood is provided for guests. The owner says he sometimes hosts "Smore Nights," for guests in peak season. 

-a propane grill is also available for use.

-Our back-in site for our 30 amp travel trailer wasn't too hard to get in too.

-Good wifi, though there weren't that many other people in the park at the time we were there.

-The campground is on a river, though you can't really sit by it or see due to growth along the banks.

-The office was closed when we were there, but according to their website, they have local beer, wine, and snacks for sale.

CONS:

-Bathrooms are small, two showers, two stalls.

-Our site was unlevel so we needed our levelers.

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Overall a fine stay. We didn't hear the road much at all inside our trailer. We enjoyed sitting out on the picnic table at our site. Owners very nice.

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.

We visited during Oregon’s “high” season, so by the time we booked, only back in spots were available for our big rig. Okay stay, just not impressed with amenities for price and that park has sappy trees over spaces.

Pros:

• Nice place to be for a week. Slower change of pace.
• Proximity to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
• Nice staff.
• Had a little lending library, so donated some books and took a couple of new ones for the road.

Cons:

• Our back in spot was under trees that drip sap. We have sap on our rig and our tow. The rules allowed you to wash your windshield, but you could only use water in a bucket - no spraying with a hose. First time we have ever had to wash our windshield before leaving a park.

• Sites, despite an apparently fresh dump/spread of gravel, were not as level as site managers seemed to think. Back of the back in space sloped just enough to cause issues.

Our truck broke down just outside of Burns and we ended up having our travel trailer towed to this RV park, as it was the only place we could stay for the week while waiting to get our truck repaired. We had a full hookup spot, which was super nice, but the spot itself was pretty small. This is typical of many RV parks I have been too - good amenities but small spot.

There were some other spots in the park that were slightly larger and had picnic tables, but ours did not. We had only a tiny plastic table with 2 chairs, but we were so close to the RV next to us that we were basically either looking in their window or we would have to be right next to the "road'. Not ideal so we didn't spend much time outside.

There was room here for all sizes of campers - from tents (I saw I guy on a bicycle who tent camped for the night) to giant motorhomes with cars towed behind. The park hosts were all extremely nice and helpful, given our circumstances. They also gave us a military discount since my husband is a veteran.

Restrooms and showers were fairly small (only 2 toilets and 2 showers in each bathroom) but I think most folks used the facilities in their RVs. The shop/office sells propane and ice, so we were able to restock on both (plus they have wine and ice cream if you need a little splurge).

The park is right off of the highway so you may get some truck/traffic noise but it didn't seem to bother us city folks too much. :)

Wifi was fairly decent and you can get some local channels in the TV, if those things are important to you.

Dog and kid friendly, but there is really not much for either to do here.

Overall, this suited our purpose, in that we had a nice safe place to stay while our truck was repaired, but I'm not sure I would stay here just for kicks. Close to the Malheur Wildlife Refuge and a great stopover if you need a night to rest while driving through the high desert of Oregon.

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.