Whittaker Creek Recreation Site

First, it's a really LOVELY spot, right where the Whittaker Creek joins up with the Siuslaw River.   

And parts of it are really lovely.

BUT!  

Paths from the sites (7, 8, 9, others) to the river, that are *kind-of* there, need a lot of care.  There real weed-whacker, brush-clearing messes right now.

And!

It's not clear which camp sites will give you those views of the river that we see in photos.  Very few are in *sight* of the water.

If river views are what you're hoping for, campsites 31, 1 and 2 are solid choices.

Stayed here over a wet raining weekend. It was peaceful and located next a wonderful creek and river. The host was very nice as well. I posted up on camp site #1 next to a fish ladder. The site had trees to use my Tentsile Stingray Suspended tent. It was a beautiful view to get out of my tent to witness. Also a good place to catch some crawdads!

Really small campground. Only about 30 spots. Only 4 other sites plus camp host site were occupied while I was there during the day week. The camp hosts David and Loretta were really nice. My site (13) was on the front loop. Tiny area to back in-pretty tight and my SUV is small. Definitely not suitable for pop up campers or RVs (or even large SUVs or trucks). Vault toilets were about 50 feet from my site and pretty clean and must have been emptied recently. My site was close to the bathroom and my site was right against the creek, which was peaceful. Even though the parking area of my site was small but the rest of it was large-lots of privacy. I had no cell service (AT&T) but when I walked around the campground I found a spot where I had enough signal to send a couple texts and make a phone call. The old growth trail didn’t appear to be very well maintained so I didn’t hike it since I was afraid of ticks. I walked the paved roads of the campground and went over the foot bridge where the creek was. Very beautiful area. Beautiful flowers in several areas. The campsites could use a little TLC (mowing).

I have been going here since I was a little tyke with my family and have enjoyed it every time. There are tons of things to do around the campground. From Swimming and catching crawdads to hiking the old growth trail there is almost something for everyone. There are even ADA camp spots if needed. They cleared out trees and brush a few years ago and made it a little bare in places. But with a little time foliage has grown back to make the spots a little more private. We love utilizing the horse shoe pits (bring your own shoes) and the day use area if friends join us for the day. The creek if fun to play around in and you can walk all the way to the Siuslaw river with a small dammed up are where the day use are is. There is also a small boat ramp near that is used moderately. In all we love this place and will keep the tradition going by bringing our kids here every year!

Decent camp ground , horrible / dangerous camp host I’ve been going there since 85ish in the recent years the camp host have been volatile towards young children and campers in general. I’ve seen them call the sherif and rangers and have innocent families uprooted and removed for no reason . Unfortunately I will never be returning to a place that I’ve had so much history growing up a place that was like my second home all b cause camp host threatened multiple families multiple years in a row and I had to bare witness. Very very sad

This campground has nice, fairly separated sites. There's a great pebble beach to play on. The water is safe for little kids, as it is dammed and slow moving. Crawdads are a fun find ;)

There are hiking trails too!

Camp host was friendly, not a stickler for rules. Which is fine by me, just be aware! The other campers were sociable but respectful.

This campground is really great! it’s only $10 a night which is one of the cheaper ones around and they have some good spots! it was pretty quiet although I did camp during the week. The higher numbered spots at this campground are more on the grassy side which I prefer to have dirt so we did not camp on the side. But they have about 31 spots so there is definitely plenty of spots to pick from. There is also a nice little creek, and a waterfall near by and little rabbits roaming around.

the campground is old and not maintained. the pit toilets are clean and the acc was to the creek is great. playing in the water is worth it but sites are small and dead. reminds me of a hotter dryer place.

As a Ranger for The Dyrt I have the awesome opportunity to test and review products from great outdoor companies every once in awhile. This is my review of https://www.roanline.com/ a company that provides outdoor and camping gear. This review was conducted at Whittaker creek recreation site in Oregon.

Campground review

Whittaker creek is a medium size 30 site, BLM, first come first served campground encircling Whittaker creek, where it meets the Siuslaw river. It is a mile or so off of hwy 126, just before Mapleton on the way to the Oregon coast; approx. 1 hr from Eugene.

I like the setup of this campground, it has very dense vegetation surrounding some sites, but others are wide open at the foot of the Whittaker ridge. If you luck out, a few sites have private access to the small wading pool created by a bend in the creek. It is a small pool, but nice for young children to swim, for adults to float, or just sun on the rocky shore. If you want a bigger swimming area, there is a river access trail to the siuslaw nearby. Just be aware, it wasn't maintained as of this review. I had to do some bushwacking and log hopping to get there, just gave me another reason to jump in and cool off. Also, be on the lookout for skeeters, I usually don't have an issue with them, but here they were on the attack.

Off of the main campground access road is the Whittaker ridge old growth trail to the Armantrout loop trail. This can be taken from either side as a point to point, or looped together for a 3 mile jaunt. The trail gains 900 ft. in a mile, so not the easiest for young kids, but I'm sure some can tackle it.

This campground is more primitive offering only 4 all gender pit toilets, wood sales, potable water bibs and dish water troughs. They also have garbage services, but I did not see a recycling area. They do not have RV specific sites, so no power, water, or sewer.

I suggest looking for a site on the back side of the creek (higher numbered sites) there are more on the creek and they are farther from the entrance. I wasn't so lucky and had to make due with one right as you drive into the grounds. I was surprised of the flow of cars in and out that seemed to just hangout for a bit and leave. This did lessen as the night went on. There also seemed to be lots of teenagers whooping it up, but this also died down later in the eve.

Overall an okay spot with plenty to keep you busy, and just a nice spot to take in the Oregon green.

Product review

This is my review of the 3 products that I found on https://www.roanline.com/

I want to start by saying this website is great. It has a lot of cool camping accessories and apparel for the outdoors. I like that this is a company started by a women for women, but they are not leaving out the men in their pursuit to outfit adventurous folk. I also like that they focus on smaller up and coming American businesses as well as companies that give back to the natural world.

My only criticism is the selection of sizes of the men's apparel. I get that this company was started due to lack of options, sizes and fit for women, I respect that and appreciate that they are not leaving the men out. However, I am a bigger guy around 6'4" 260 lbs. With that being said, the sizes offered end at xxl (with true fit disclaimer). I feel this can scare aware potential online buyers as I was deterred from purchasing, due to unsure sizing. I think they are missing out on a large demographic, no pun intended. Maybe they could offer a looser fit or a tall size, just an idea.

I did end up finding some nice camp accessories that I have utilized camping the past few months. These items include: the Sturdybros.com duck canvas dopp kit, and the Unitedbyblue.com Enamel camp mug and Mt. Mazama 100% Organic soap.

https://www.roanline.com/sturdy-brothers-dopp-kit-in-grey/

https://www.sturdybrothers.com/products/grey-dopp-kit

Sturdy Bros. is an American born company started by a couple of brothers. They hand make all of their products, featuring tool bags, aprons, gear bags, and an array of other leather and waxed duck cloth items for the handy man, or woman and any outdoor enthusiast.

I decided on the in house waxed duck canvas cloth dopp kit. This is incredibly well made, with a brass YKK zipper and hand sewn seams. It is a bit small, but it is just the right size for the essentials without adding a lot of pack weight. I feel this dopp will last me the rest of my life and is well worth the price. I was amazed at the quality, you definitely don't see this quality too much these days. I will be looking into more products from Sturdy bros. maybe a tool bag for my offroad rig.

https://unitedbyblue.com/products/22-oz-national-parks-enamel-steel-mug

https://unitedbyblue.com/products/mt-mazama-rogue-spoap

United by Blue is a company big on ocean conservation and healing the natural world. Offering products made with organic and recycled materials and others that are easy on the environment. They also remove one pound of trash from the ocean for every product sold, although I do not know if this goes for product purchased from Roanline.com.

I decided on the UBB Metal Enamel mug as I was tired of the stoneware enamel mugs that were prone to breaking if dropped while camping and hiking. I also like that the metal keeps your hot drinks hot and your cold drinks cold, longer. This mug is also safe to use on the fire or stovetop. It is the National parks foundation mug, so it has some N.P. logos around the outside of the mug. I really like this mug and found no issues with it; except maybe that they left out Crater lake. A good mug that is big and what is expected and at a fairly reasonable price.

I also was interested in the UBB Mt. Mazama Rogue river series, clay and geranium soap. This soap is 100% natural and organic, so you can use it in the river without the worry of polluting the waterway. It also smells great, suds up nicely and washes away cleanly without leaving your skin tight. Did i mention it smells Awesome! Its not a strong perfume type smell and totally reminds me of the outdoors. A great addition to any dopp kit and camp showering routine. I just wish they sold mill ends so I could buy bulk at a discount as it is on the spendy side. Worth the splurge though.

https://www.roanline.com/ offers many good products, so head down and check it out and then go spend some time at the Whittaker creek recreation site in Oregon. Happy camping!

I love Whitaker creek campground off hwy 126 west of Eugene. Its a first come first serve campground. Camp spots are along the creek. Pretty awesome year around hiking and when it's warm the creek walking and swimming is lots of fun!