BLM John Day River - Priest Hole

Nice views around, access to river, boat launch, and picnic tables at day use area. Two pit toilets fairly clean. No cell AT&T. About 5 miles of unpaved road mostly gravel from the painted hills, the last mile is more narrow. Was very peaceful, there can be annoying amount of flies when its hot perhaps because the vegetation around the sites are tall. I enjoyed it most there when it was cooler, cloudy and windy. Each spot has a dirt lot and a gravel part around a picnic table and a fire pit. The spots closer to the river are closer together but the vegetation provides privacy. Be careful if going through the vegetation for foxtail especially if you have dogs. Deer will go by your site along with, turkey and quail. Can get busy and fill up quick towards evening, its a one way loop around with 14 sites.

First time we have stayed here. Spent two nights along the river. Quiet, serene and peaceful. Each campsite had recently been upgraded with heavy duty Pilot Rock fire pits, fresh gravel, restrooms were clean. These upgrades were done over the past several years according to BLM Prineville staff. Maintenance of this nice area will be difficult since temporary staff and seasonal help have been reduced from 20 employees down to two. Pack it in and pack it out. Appreciate and protect what these public lands have to offer.

I would recommend a rig with lots of ground clearance. The main gravel roads have been recently maintained but the last bit has deep ruts and there are rocky areas.  Our trailer had better clearance than our truck and we bumped a few rocks getting into our spot. There are a few less rocky areas, but they seem to get taken first.  More people in the off-season than I expected for such a remote area.   You need to use a fire pan for fires when allowed, so be sure to bring one.  It was our first time using a fire pan but it was better than using the ground as they are designed to allow perfect air flow.

Incredible little spot. We pulled in around an hour before sunset and found a beautiful site right on the river. Doesn’t look like there are a ton of spots so make sure to get there during daylight to be safe. It was super quiet and peaceful with no noise other than the river roaring which provided a great nights sleep!

The views are also stunning both at night and in the sunlight!

We made it through all the gravel roads fine (about 7 miles total) with our van pulling a 21ft travel trailer. Just go slow and you’ll be fine!

There is one bathroom available, but we didn’t use it.

The road into the hole is a sketchy single lane with large ruts. A high clearance vehicle is a must. We pulled a 28 ft Travel trailer down in early June. The place was not crowded at all. We probably should not have done that, We got lucky that we did not meet anyone on the road.

Can get a little crowded and noisy especially on the gravel bar and with teenagers doing donuts in the parking area on their ATVs!

We chose this place when our first choice was overbooked. As other reviewers have mentioned, getting to it is its own adventure. Be careful on the narrow mountain road coming in from the east. We got one of the last sites overlooking the River, but it was smallish, not level, so orienting our small tent trailer was a bit of a struggle. But the views were completely worth it.

Our reward for braving miles of gravel and dirt road was our pick of a spot on a huge gravel bar in the middle of the John Day River. We brought a 30 foot AF trailer with high clearance- that’s probably the max to make it down there. Beautiful vistas in the late afternoon and other campers were fly fishing. There were 4 other camp groups but it still felt peaceful and plenty of space. Our dogs lived to swim in the river.

This campground was lovely. The surrounding area (mountains, river, etc) was stunning. No light pollution, so I was able to see the Milky Way galaxy (somewhat). The only problem is that you will need a vehicle with enough ground clearance - definitely more than a Nissan Altima, haha. I read some reviews about the campground (on another app) saying that you didn’t need that much ground clearance, but I’m pretty sure that I almost tore the bottom of my car out.

If you come out here, have fun…just drive carefully. :)

Away from it all, had place to ourselves, very impressive scenery but some trash around, either very dusty or rocky and barely ok for our tents. Next time I’d rather go “dispersed”.

Parked right by the river. Fish were jumping, caught a little white fish. Just beautiful!

Great time over Memorial Day weekend but got there a little later than I would’ve liked and missed out on any natural shade. There are several sites along the John Day, fires only allowed in a metal pit (bring your own).

Camping on the river bed was a very cool experience. Even though there were other campers everyone was far spaced apart so you didn't have to worry about crowding on each other or having someone ease drop into what you were doing. We did get rained on pretty hard one day and the next morning a Ranger came by and warned us of flash flooding from the Blue Mountains so if coming here you should be mindful of that depending on the season. All and all a great place to get away from everything and your only a short drive away from the Painted Hills which I would definitely recommend checking out too.

The campsites are outside of painted hills park. Took us awhile to figure that out with no signal. We parked near the River when we arrived and the sounds were incredible. Near the River you could see a few painted hills and the sunset was amazing.

My husband and I had the worst sleep at this campsite. The wind was insane, we came in March. Sounded like someone was pounding on our tent all night.

The other downside - tons of dirt. It gets everywhere and on everything. My husband and I are used to mountain camping and don’t prefer sand or dirt locations normally. Just be aware your clothing and gear will be covered in it.

Overall, the sites were amazing, just tough weather and conditions during our trip.

This is a beautiful location with the Painted Hills and John Day River as a backdrop. However, it’s first come first served dispersed camping and gets busy on the weekends during the summer. Arrive early to claim a spot!

NOTE: You need to have an AWD vehicle, preferably a truck with spares. The road is gravel that gets rutty and difficult the further you go. We got a flat (apparently along with 20 other people) when we went. It’s an unforgiving spot to get stranded with no cell service so be prepared.

Also, it’s totally primitive so you’ll need to haul out all your garbage including any “waste”.

Got there in the late afternoon and there were a lot of other people and groups there. People were fishing camping and day swimming. The only negative point is more funny then negative: a guy had brought his Honda Civic in and then had trouble get back up to the road. He kept digging himself in until someone else walked over and gave pointers

I was nervous I wasn’t going to find the place or it would be really awful. Exactly the opposite! It will take a half hour or so to get there from the main road, very bumpy ride, but well marked and easy enough to figure out where to set up camp. There are no amenities other than a vault toilet. Highly recommend this location.

This is open year round and I would not say it's hugely populated. There is vault toilets but not much else. It's so wonderful just to drive up to a spot on the river and camp, what's better is it is free! The stars are wonderful here, as there isn't much light pollution. The canyons show an interesting history. In the spring the wildflowers are truly a site to see! Watch for snakes and cats! Make sure you bring everything you need, there isn't anything near by. Road in is gravel, take it slow.

Beautiful if remote location on the banks of the John Day River in Central Oregon. Very few amenities (only vault toilets) and no set camp sites per say, however, it just means you drive up and pick a cool site on the river and enjoy the gorgeous view.

Definitely remember to bring all that you need including food, supplies, tables, and water. But still mere feet from the actual river, quiet, and great star gazing.