Sarah S.

The Dyrt Pro

Portland, OR

Joined September 2014

Live in Portland with my husband, Kevin & the original DyrtDog, Brandy. My favorite camping spots are along the Clackamas River in Oregon.

Open and Wonderful

This is our second time staying here and I loved it even more this time. We arrived on a Thursday and were able to get Site 26 which I think is the best site in the whole campground. It backs up to the river and is almost totally private. We could barely see our neighbors over at site 27 but couldn't see our neighbors on the other side at all because there is so much forest between those two sites.

Some sites here are reservable and some are not. We did not have a reservation. While it did fill in on Friday and Saturday it was definitely not full and there were still good waterfront sites available all weekend.

The pit toilets were the cleanest ones I have ever been in and the camp host was super nice and had wood available to buy.

We drove about 5 minutes down the road to the Hardesty Trailhead and did some awesome hikes during the day before coming back to the campground to cool off by the river.

I have AT&T and there was no cell service at the campground but there was about 5 minutes down the road as you are heading back towards Eugene (or the trailhead).

Beautiful dispersed camping near Panther Creek Falls

This area of Gifford Pinchot National Forest has lots of dispersed camping spots but this area was a gem. To access it, as you are driving on NF 65 you will see a small road to the right just a bit before you see the parking for Panther Creek Falls also on the right. If you are at the parking area for Panther Creek Falls and look up you will see a huge wall of rockā€¦the area is up there and you need to turn on the road before the parking area to access it. There are actually 3 areas where you could camp: As you drive up the small road, you will notice the first, pretty large area for camping straight ahead. It looks like a road continues up toward the right but that is actually blocked. If you go to the left you will see the road continues (and you might not think there is anything up there) and you will see one more spot straight ahead and then if you continue up toward the right (hitting some branches along the way) you will come up to a large, wide open area with tons of space for camping. We were pretty excited when we saw it!

We spent one night in that huge open area and it was beautiful - the stars were amazing. During the day we would go peek over the edge and could see people parking to go to the falls. You could hear a tiny bit of road noise from up there but it was very light. You can also hear the noise of the waterfall from up on the ridge. The only downfall about this spot is that there is no shade and it was very hot, so hot that we couldn't have a fire. The second night we spent in the spot just down a tad so that we could have some shade and a fire.

The hike down to Panther Creek Falls is literally right across the road and I think these falls may be the most beautiful falls I've seen in OR or WA. It's a short mile or so hike but really pretty scenery.

Very convenient

We had a great stay here! We were in our van so had one of the RV sites with electricity, not one of the canvas tents with platforms. Really great location right at the bottom part of Mt. Hood. There was a beautiful hike right behind the campground that takes you back into the woods and past a beautiful stream.

This place is interesting because it's also a youth camp with the public campground towards the back of the space. The campground is in a separate, secure area from the youth camp but campers can use the gym and trampoline that's available for the kids staying at the youth camp. There are also bathrooms and showers that can be used. It's definitely a unique experience which made the whole thing extra fun!

At night we had a fire with some fellow campers in this centrally located fire area. It was a super fun, kind of communal experience. And although we didn't stay in one of the tents, they looked really nice and comfortable.

5 stars if you like RV Resorts

Some great spots down by the beach.

We had a nice stay at Myrtle Beach Travel Park in December. The spot we ended up in was 210 which is about as close to the beach as you can get. It was about a 10 second walk from our van and over the dune to the beach. Really amazing spot which made our entire stay there. Our first night there we were in B5. I would not recommend any of the sites that back up against that side of the resort as you are basically backed up to a huge 20 floor hotel. We were near their service entrance so lots of noise and floodlights coming into our site. Things were much better once we switched to 210. 

We are not normally RV resort people but this was very handy since we are working full time. Nice to have laundry, a store, and be able to walk to the beach in 10 seconds to take a break from our computers. I only saw one other van during the time we were there- definitely more for large RVs. Iā€™m sure the other amenities would be fun (pool, restaurant, bar, etc) but none of that was open while we were there. 

Iā€™m giving this 5 stars because Iā€™m sure if you like large RV resorts, you would love this place. If you prefer dispersed camping in the middle of nowhere, you probably would not want to stay here.

Beautiful spot on the ocean

We spent Thanksgiving here and had a great time. Our spot (B6) backed up to the sand dunes which gave us a greater sense of privacy but the sites are all pretty close to each other. We had no hookups at our site and still managed to make a pretty awesome Thanksgiving dinner. Campground has nice bathrooms and outdoor showers. I didn't try the showers but they looked like they might not have hot water. The ocean is a minute or 2 walk over the sand dunes - you can't see it from the sites but can still hear it, at least from our site.

This was a great base to explore the area - drove up to Corolla (cutest town ever) and drove on the beach where the horses are although we didn't see any.

Overall, average, kind of crowded campground but an excellent location with ocean access.

Had everything we needed plus a beautiful lake

We stayed here for a week while we were both working. It was our first time using our Thousand Trails membership and it was pretty fun! I don't think I've ever stayed at an RV resort like this where you have a lot of people who have pretty permanent type places. It seemed like people view their RVs here like their weekend cabin and they just leave them here and come and go. 

The lake was beautiful and every morning we would take our chairs down by the lake to have our morning coffee and watch the mist and the fish. There was a little shop where we could get supplies, food, coffee, etc. We pretty much had the showers and bathrooms to ourselves since everyone has them in their RVs. Was also nice to do a load of laundry. 

It was a lot of fun to walk around the campground and look at people's set ups (also a little eerie since very few people were there since the season was winding down) and a full loop of the campground was about 2/12 milesā€¦not a bad walk!

Fine for an overnight stop

Perfectly fine KOA. Nicely decorated for Halloween and seemed like it had lots of nice amenities for kids. We did a quick overnight here so we could have some electricity and a shower. Lots of highway noise. We had one of the back in sites which was nice because there was nothing but woods behind us.

Great sites right on the water

We just randomly chose this campground since it was not a big detour off the highway during our road trip across the country. We arrived at night so did not fully understand how beautiful of a spot we were in until the next morning. Our site was right on the water and it was so beautiful and peaceful. It was a quick overnight stay so can't say much more about it than thatā€¦

Wilson State Park has a bunch of campgrounds. I feel like they would normally be considered loops of one campground but here, each loop is it's own campground.

Nice quiet spot and easy to get to

We stayed here one night on our road trip across the country. It wasn't much of a detour off of Highway 64 which made it nice and convenient since we were in a time crunch. There are actually 3 campgrounds here. One is Shady Rest (where we stayed) which has electric hookups. The other 2 campgrounds don't have hookups - Lonely Oaks and Little Bears. We were only there for a quick night so didn't see a lot but seemed like a nice enough campgrounds.

Note: no cards accepted. We had to run back to the town of Nashville to get some cash from the ATM.

Stayed in the dispersed area - No frills camping

We stayed one night out in the dispersed camping area and pretty much had the huge area all to ourselves. I wouldn't say it was the greatest site in the world but the sunrise in the morning was pretty spectacular. And it was nice to have a clean bathroom and shower to use if we wanted to.

There are makeshift fire rings out in the dispersed area and it's really just a free for all - just park anywhere!

I took a few pictures of the campers you can stay in but never saw the inside of one.

Only about a 10-15 minute drive into Taos. There is also a brewery literally right next to the campground but it was closed the day we were there.

Nice campground with lots of amenities

This was my first time staying at a more RV focused campground and I really liked it. Since we've started working full time from our van I wanted to make sure we had internet and electricity and camping here really gave me peace of mind as we worked for the week. We really have everything we need here. There are definitely some sites that I would not be very thrilled to get but I really liked the site we got- site 43. It felt a little more private than some and had a few trees and bushes around it making it feel nice and cozy. Not sure I would want to tent camp hereā€¦those sites didn't look as good. I also think the sites that you back into as opposed to the drive through seem nicer and a bit more private. The sites for the big rigs were more like a parking lot style. 

I've never stayed at a campground with so many amenitiesā€¦pool, mini golf, laundry, store. It was really a fun change to stay somewhere with such a community feel. 

This campground is about a 15 minute drive to downtown Durango.

Easy to access, beautiful dispersed camping

To get to this BLM dispersed camping area you just take the "Rest Area" exit from Highway 6 onto Horse Canyon Road. The area we found to camp was about a mile or so down the road on the right side. It's a huge area so plenty of space to dispersed camp and a few fire rings around to use when there are no fire bans. There was no one anywhere near us. Beautiful views for as far as you can see and we had a perfectly clear night. We were lucky enough to be there during the beginning of a meteor shower and saw a few fly across the sky.

Our "go-to" spot for dispersed camping

Love this dispersed camping area just south of Sisters, OR. We've camped here a few times over the years and there are never many campers around. We just camped here over Memorial Day Weekend and there was no one camping within at least a mile or two of where we were. There are lots of different areas to choose from so drive around the area until you find something you like. We were driving our Subaru with our Cricket camper attached and there's no issues with the roads. 

Because this is right in a mountain biking area there are tons of trails to go explore - either hiking or biking. Some really pretty views! You will have bikers biking by your campsite from time to time but I actually like that - fun to have activity around.

This area is also just a few miles from Sisters which is my favorite little town in Oregon. Lots of restaurants, bars and shops to explore!

Be sure to check on a fire ban before having a fire.

Cool Place but not the Greatest Camping

Crystal Crane Hot Springs has a lot to offer but I'm not sure camping is one them. They have hot springs (which we didn't actually try because it was during the middle of the pandemic) which looked great and I will definitely try if I'm back. They have cabins, glamping, RV sites, tent camping, a small shop, firewood for sale, showersā€¦a little bit of everything.

We stayed twice in December, once in site 5 and once in the overflow area. The camping area feels more like an open field than an actual campground, especially in the overflow area, which I think is just kind of an open area. At site 5 there was picnic tables and a fire ring. Site 5 was good because it was a pull in, at the end of area so it was quiet, and it overlooked the hot springs.

On the plus side, the staff were super nice and the hot springs seemed great and I think that's the main appeal.

Great Campground Near Vegas

Great Campground in the Red Rock National Conservation Area. There really isn't much privacy between the campsites but the view and the feel of it makes it worth it. We stayed at site 50 just by chance and I think it's one of the best sites of the campground because it backs up on a hill. 

Make sure to make a reservation before coming to the campground.

The campground was really clean and had fire pits, tent pads, picnic tables, and several toilets. 

There is a ton of great hiking nearby in the Red Rock National Conservation Area. Even though you are only 20 minutes from the Vegas strip, it didn't feel like it. All in all, great campground that I would return to if I'm ever in the area again.

Quiet, Pretty Campground

 We stayed here in December and it was completely empty which made it a little eerie. There was snow on the ground so we stayed at a site closest to the entrance/exit in case it snowed more and we had trouble getting the Cricket out.(It didn't snow and we were fine.) 

It is a pretty campground in a little valley. Super easy to get to from the main road and from what I could tell, lots of sites along a little creek. There were 2 or 3 toilets throughout the campground. 

Because we were there in December and the campground is in a valley, it did get dark super early. Because of that, we went up to the main road coming into the campground to go for a walk so we could get some of the last sun of the day. As others have noted, the stars at night were absolutely amazing.

A great stop when you are on the road

We were looking for a dispersed area to camp after going to Valley of Fire State Park and finding it full. This area was just off to the right on highway 169 a mile or two north of Logandale. We turned right onto Waterline Road and then right again- drove for about 30 second and then set up right underneath a small bluff. There were plenty of areas that would have been fine to set up camp. The stars at night were beautiful and even though this area is just minutes from a highway it felt very peaceful and private. 

One thing to be aware of is that this is an area where people come to shoot guns and ride 4-wheelers. That doesn't make it sound super peaceful and private but it was such a large area, everything was spread out. This was a great spot for us as we were on the road, needing to get from point A to point B. Maybe not destination type camping but convenient when you are on the road.

Beautiful Views, Busy Campground - Loved our Off Season Stay

Loved going here in the off season. 

We camped here one night in November(Monday before Thanksgiving) and there is no way we would have ever snagged the waterfront site we ended up with any other time of the year! We were in site D-31 which I think is probably the best site in the whole campground. It was perfect for us to park our Cricket on the little pull out off the campground road and face our site and then the ocean beyond. 

I would imagine I would like this campground a lot less during the busy summer season but it was perfect in November. Still quite a few campers there but not full by any means. 

The path down to the beach was just a few steps from our site. From there you can take long walks on the beach.

Beautiful, Peaceful Campground

Wow! What a find this was. We had planned to go to Willaby Campground down the road but discovered it was closed. We saw that Graves Creek was at the end of the road (about 20 miles down) so decided to go for it even though it might be closed. 

The road getting there is a bit narrow and bumpy which was made even more exciting by the fact that it was dark and rainy. We got there and it was totally empty and wide open. 

We took site 2 which is right on the river and beautiful. Sites 1-5 are on the river and there is a whole section of the campground we didn't even notice until the next day and there, sites 17-20 are on the river. 

Really beautiful, very plush place to camp. During the off season, the whole campground becomes first come first serve which is pretty great for those of us who don't like to plan ahead very much. 

There is a trailhead about.5 mile down the road with some great hikes through the rainforest.

Our Go To Campground on the Oregon Coast

I have mixed emotions about this campground. It can be busy and it's not exactly off the beaten path, but we have never had a reservation and we always get a spot, even on a Friday night. That is pretty impressive for the Oregon coast, right on the 101. The sites are mixed. There are some parking lot-like RV spots but there are also some good spots that are surrounded by bushes and fairly private. It is a 10 minute walk to the beach where you can walk for miles which can't be beat.

We were at site D1. Not a bad site except that the lights from the nearby bathroom and a streetlight both lit up our site a bit.

There are bathrooms with hot water and showers (showers are closed currently because of COVID).  A good portion of the campground is currently closed because of COVID so I would probably recommend trying to make a reservation just in case, even though there are hundreds of sites.

The real draw of this campground for me is that it is open year round, it's fairly easy to get a site, some which are pretty good, and you are minutes from the ocean. There's nothing better than falling asleep to the sound of the ocean waves.