Trout Creek Campground Boat Ramp

We enjoyed a return to this campground and found it less populated in April than it had been when we were here during late summer a few years ago. It's located right along the Deschutes River with a landing used by rafters and fishers. There are lots of trails and roads to walk on, so it would be easy to spend a few nights here. You can't make reservations, although when we found it full last time we were able to share one of the larger sites with a guy who had somehow fit his Class A motor home through the very small tunnel you have to fit through to get here. There's no drinking water, so make sure to bring your own, or be prepared to purify the river water. There's a fair amount of ground cover, so you feel like there's a little privacy between sites. This site will stay on our list of easy favorites in Central Oregon.

Reservations are not taken at this BLM campground, but it's not usually very full. That could be due to the fact that it's a dry camp with (very nice) pit toilets, or it could be due to the 14' clearance tunnel you need to pass through that limits some RVs, or it could be because of the rutted washboard gravel road that pleads for you to drive 20mph. If none of that scares you off, and you like to camp in a hot, dry spot with few neighbors, this place is for you! Many people use it for the boat launch to start their Deschutes River rafting trip, so not many actually stay. Which is exactly why this place is at the top of my list. You can sit by the river in the shade of an ancient juniper and watch the wild horses from the Warm Springs Indian Reservation collect at the watering hole while dipping your feet in the icy rushing water. And do absolutely nothing but watch the sky turn colors against the surrounding rimrock, listen to the baby ospreys calling for their meal, watch the cows and horses graze across the river (and a mountain goat who thinks he's a cow!) and cook your dinner on your propane stove (grills and campfires are prohibited during summer fire season - leave your s'mores makings at home). Leave your motorized off-road vehicles at home, too. You won't need them here, anyway. There's hiking trails and fly fishing and rafting instead!