Redwood Bar Dispersed Camping

We tried to get to these coordinates with Apple Maps on an iPhone, and it took us somewhere completely different in the middle of nowhere with no cell signal or people for miles. The road it had us go down was very steep, couldn’t get back up and had to make camp there and hike for help the next morning. I gave a second star because on our hike we had to cross this river a few times and it is absolutely beautiful. Crystal clear, cool, perfect for swimming.

This was an ok site. We visited middle of January and we were the only campers here. It was nice being by the river but this area recently had a fire go through it and there was a lot of down trees/erosion.

Also, the amount of trash here was rather disappointing and we were concerned our dog would step on something sharp. We tried to pick up as much as possible but there were a lot of small bits and it appeared to be from a long term camp for whoever was piling up a lot of trash over a long period of time.

We live in Brookings and go up the Chetco to this river bar or to Nook or Miller Bar all summer long. No, there’s no spaces and no hookups and no cell service for miles. It’s just a gravel bar on the river where you pull your camper wherever feels good and unhitch and camp. You might have some USDA Forest Service employee drop off a pay envelope at your site but , there’s no place to leave it and they may or may not come back to get it. It sometimes gets crowded during holidays and weekends and the good places, not next to rapids and close enough to good swimming holes, become rare. So you might have to settle for something less than ideal. And, the porta potties might get full. There’s no one enforcing quiet hours or leash laws and no form of law enforcement anywhere nearby. There is a Forest Service LEO assigned to the area but in 18 years, I’ve never seen him on the bar. Despite all this, incidents involving injuries or violence or crime are exceptionally rare. It’s a great kayaking and swimming place and there’s nearby rocks for jumping off. Remember! It’s a river not a lake so kids ought to have life jackets. Please note….as the summer progresses, the water level drops, the temperature rises and the algae grows. As such, we prefer June camping.