Jeni N.

Salem, OR

Joined August 2020

Avid hiker and passionate farmer. Traveling with my boyfriend across the states on a budget.

Did the job

We were on our way to Crater Lake later in the evening, decided to stay here before making the trip to Crater Lake at 5 am to catch the sunrise. We arrived past dark and there was a ton of smoke. We parked in one of the first pull offs so unsure if how the road is past where the pull of is. Very quiet. Woke up at 5, most of the smoke dissipated. Would stay there again, especially being so close to Crater Lake (45 min ish)

Easy access next to a beautiful river

Very busy, almost all the sites with shade were taken when we visited during the week so we grabbed a spot that unfortunately had A LOT of ants. Windy at the time but we loved the wind considering it was pretty hot. Great spot otherwise. Pretty clean bathrooms and good sized sites! We don’t fish but seemingly great fishing opportunities.

Pretty view, very isolated

We camped here for 3 days at the beginning of July. There are about 6 or so designated campsites with tables and fire pits (which we didn’t utilize because of the fire ban). Good amount of shade and pretty windy at time, which was well appreciated because it was 90 and sunny all three days. There is plenty to explore at the campsite and plenty of opportunities to post up a hammock. Bring plenty of water and fill up your gas tank, the closest gas station is in Maybell.

Great view and quiet

The road up to the campsites is pretty well maintained but you do gain a good amount of elevation. The scenery is beautiful with lot of wild flowers and tall, towering trees. It rained before we got there and there was some moisture on the tent the morning after. Make sure to follow the road to Four Mile Park and continue up the road for another 20 minutes or so. You will see a pull off to the right with a sign for the White River National Forest. Continue on to find some more campsites

RV Camping Compatible

We were scrambling to get a campsite the on tail end of Labor Day Weekend. The cheapest campsite we could get had a cement slab, potable water, picnic table which was great. Right across the lawn was a beach for swimming, clean bathrooms, and a sandy court for volleyball etc. As a tent camper, we would not recommend this campground on a busy weekend. If we had an RV, this seems like a perfectly fine campground to go to. Lots of families and the campground officials were incredibly kind!

Great area!

The drive was beautiful and the map/directions were very clear. The roads within the dispersed camping area were pretty intense with dips, rocks and potholes but we got through just fine with a Subaru Forester. The permitted sites are marked which are easy to find. We chose to not go too far because it was getting dark out by the time we arrived. The first 5 or so campsites are pretty close to each other which limits privacy but I can not speak for campsites further into the campsite.

Beautiful sunset

Seemed like there were plenty of spots for campsites and RVs. The gravel road was well maintained. It was EXTREMELY windy but it had calmed down by the time the sun had began to set. The walk along the water was beautiful and we had found some incredible rocks. The sunset and the stars at night are definitely the worth the visit.

We loved it!

My partner and I stayed two nights at this free campsite and loved both nights. We saw most people in RVs but the sites are great for tents too. The wind made tenting a little difficult but doable. It looked like each site had a fire ring and there are two public bathrooms. The lake and backdrop is beautiful and worth the visit. The clay quicksand-like ground close to the lake was fun to play in and explore!

Great dispersed camping!

This was a great area, beautiful trees and respectful roaming cows. The road is rocky, so rocky that we actually popped a tire on the way in so we camped at one of the first sites with a fire ring. It was right next to the bridge and a brook. The sound of the brook was wonderful and the road wasn’t too busy. Take in/take out of course. Limited to no phone service so plan accordingly.

Words can’t describe how beautiful

By far our most favorite campsite. The road turns into pavement to dirt, and once on the dirt road, it’s rocky, has potholes and the road thins out. We camped towards to the top. It had plenty of room for tents amongst the trees and in the field. There were fire pits but at this point in time, there was a ban so we didn’t start one. We grabbed pizza from Fat Daddy’s in town and it was INCREDIBLE. Great view and great camping. Definitely recommend going during the week rather than a weekend because it gets BUSY.

Great campsite!

We hadn’t camped where The Dyrt directions take you, although that was a nice spot, more so for an RV though. We camped a little down the road at a turn off. It had a fire ring but because of the ban, we couldn’t start a fire. There were several spots for a tent, maybe big enough for an RV. The campsite was against a fence, and on the other side of it were cows. It was quite close to the road but it wasn’t busy enough for it to be a problem. There were also deer and cows grazing outside of the perimeter of the fence. I’m a farmer so I loved the sound of the cows at night and in the morning, some may not like it as much.

Definitely worth driving a little further

We arrived to the area with plenty of time to explore our options. We decided to drive further up the mountain, gaining some elevation but it was much more secluded. The dirt road wasn’t terrible, just needed to be careful because the road is skinny and sometimes rocky. We snagged a tiny spot which is all that we needed for our tent and an area to make food. There was also some walking paths behind our campsite which helped us get to know the vegetation and animals in the area.

Perfectly quiet

We wanted to stay at Del Norte but the road up to it was too unsettling for our car at the time. Instead, we tented right around East Fork Campground. There was a sign saying it was closed but there were plenty of campers still in and around the site. It was very windy that night but otherwise, it was a perfect place to set up our tent.

Quiet, kinda clean, simple

We went to the furthest site on the paved road that had two picnic tables available on site. This site was clean but the adjacent sites had lots of garbage left behind including burned bean cans. Still a great site and very close to the water. Listened to fish jump out of the water most of the night which was wonderful.

Plenty of deadfalls for firewood and the fire pits were fine to use. Very quite all night and hardly any traffic. The road leads right to each site with just a short few yards of a walk to the actual tables and fire pit.

Free public bathrooms available that seemed a bit unkept but smelled nice. All in all a great quiet night, wonderful wildlife sounds and plenty of dry wood for roasting hotdogs!

More of an RV camping spot

My friends and I booked a spot at this campground after visiting Harrisburg, PA. When we arrived, our expectations were let down by the quality of the campsite simply because of its proximity to its neighbors, the site setup and the limited space for our tents. I give it 4 stars because I am sure all of the problems we experienced would not been a huge deal if we were in an RV. Seemed like a great spot for kids/families especially because it had access to a swimming spot.

Awesome dispersed sites!

A couple of friends and I traveled to the Monongahela National Forest in search of some free camping. Unfortunately we had gotten there late on Labor Day weekend so we drove pretty far in to find a campsite. All of the campsites seem to be along the river and have a fire ring. Although our neighbors were across the river from us, the sound of the river blocked out any noise they had made. It was perfect! We also took a ride up to Spruce Knob in the morning, for two reasons. One because we wanted to see the view. Two because on top of the Spruce Knob tower was the only cell reception we were able to find in order to find our way out of there.

Our experience was interesting

This site is a wonderful place to camp because it is free. There was a ton of trash, including broken bottles and broken pans, near each site which was very unpleasant to see and camp near. There seems to be more spots to camp other than where the obvious drive-in sites with a picnic table were. We did not swim or fish in the water, but the lake is beautiful and there is a decent looking boat launch on the property. Our night was interesting because we had heard two gray foxes screeching ALL NIGHT LONG. We hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep that night, along with the dog barking from the very-close nearby houses. No one else was around us though. Overall not terrible, would recommend if anyone is looking for a quick place to swim/fish/sleep.