Carbon Farm is private camping on a farm a few miles outside of Dufur on the east side of Mt Hood National Forest. The property is HUGE- and you have access to over 100 acres for walking and exploring.

There are two places for camping on the property -  on the farm land (Carbon Farm)  and also at the farm yard (Carbon Farm Yard).  Both are bookable on HipCamp.  We camped in the farm yard in late March when the property was brand new. It was cold but we were able to have a big fire!  (Note - we camped here after a private event which is why my photos have so many people in them). 

The camping area is spacious and quiet. There is tons and tons of land to explore and lots of animals and wildlife to view. Lots of space for kids to run around and safely explore. 

There are several different loops you can hike or walk around the farm. When we were there there was a port-a-potty on the property, but this may have been replaced with a more permanent structure. There are mountain views from some of the farm areas.

They don't advertise group sites, but there is tons of space for groups or outdoor private events - suggest contacting the hosts.

Pebble Ford is a small and sweet campground on the East side of Mt Hood. Not too far from Meadows and Parkdale … and even not to far for an overnight or weekend away from Portland.

The first come sites are just off of Forest Road 44 >> Dufur Valley Road. There is a main circle of sites (about 3-4 in the main area) and another site on the creek with a separate entrance. 

All sites have a picnic table and fire ring. There is a toilet/outhouse, but no running water. There are also a few dispersed sites around the area which are lacking the amenities, but have the bonus of being free!

We accidentally discovered Gnat Creek when we needed a place to stopover on a return from Astoria. There isn't a ton here, but there are the necessities - a place to put your tent for the night and a bathroom.  We also took advantage of where we wound up and did a short hike which led to a fish hatchery. 

Camping here is all first come and tent—but it's not really the kind of site you'd book in advance anyway.

Dispersed camping at McNeil point is a backpackers dream — you get to hike far into the clouds, far away from the people, yet this location is nearly as convenient as car camping. 

While McNeil point is a popular hike, most people visiting are day hikers, or backpackers taking a few days for circumnavigating the Timberline trail. Since we only had one day, we left Portland at 2 pm on a summer Friday, hiked in the four miles most of the way to McNeil, pitched the tent in time for dinner and sunset, then got up early and summited McNeil far before the summer crowds from town had time to make it to the trail head. 

There are quite a few dispersed, designated spots to camp. The most obvious ones are those along the Timberline trail—and they are also likely the busiest. There are also obvious sites well up near the McNeil summit. These aren't as busy, but you'll have to haul your packs up the whole way.  We chose a site that we found in a clearing that had a good view of the mountain. Note - You cannot camp in most of the meadows around the lakes. There are signs that designate this.

When we hiked up to the McNeil summit in the morning, we only took our day packs, and left our big packs in our tents. After summiting we hiked back down, cooked lunch at the campsite, and then packed out.  It's definitely a recommended trip if you have a short time, but still want to feel like you got far, far away.

I camped twice at Cape Lookout this season - in June in a yurt, and in July at the campsite right behind the dune.  

In June, it was freezing, rainy and windy, and the yurt was fantastic. The most amazing feature of the yurt was the heater. It really kept the place warm, and the yurt was spacious. We were 3 adults, and could easily have slept another one or two. Each yurt has a small patio as well as a fire ring- and inside was electricity and a power outlet. Best of all, you were still just steps away from the sunset on the beach.

For camping, there are so many different kinds of sites at Cape Lookout - Sites closer to the entrance are very woodsy, the sites closest to the beach frontage (behind the dune) are very very open, and sites along the furthest perimeter are a little more spacious and some have trees (important to note if you want to hand a line or a hammock!)

We camped at the site right behind the dune where the beach access is. It was a little noisy since everyone passed our site on the way to the beach, but very lovely to be just steps away. Each of the tent sites has a fire ring and picnic table. In both June and July when I visited there was no fire ban.

Hiking is great in the area. You're also close to Pacific City, Jacobson's Salt, the tunnel at the Oceanside Beach, and Tillamook if you're staying here longer and want to take day trips outside of the State Park.

Recommend booking early for summer campsites. The yurt I booked in June was available for booking same day.

We tried to stay at a few of the other Mojave Preserve sites listed on the Dyrt (17 mile and Kelso dune)  when traveling between Joshua Tree and Death Valley), but a blown tire on our campervan rental meant that we couldn’t reach any of them as they were all down long dirt roads. With the sun setting and a limping van we had to find a new dispersed location.  [Disclaimer: we wouldn't have camped here unless we had other options. Leaving this review in case someone is in a similar situation— I was scouring Dyrt Pro offline for anywhere to go as we were searching that night and everything needed 4WD or a long drive down a dirt road]

The turn off was Aiken Mine Road and we went down it a bit to get off the main road and find a flat wider spot to safely camp.

Along Hwy 127 between I-40 and I-15 there are a number of  pull offs where you can spend the night in a campervan or RV (I wouldn’t recommend a tent unless you can get further off the road). This space we found was very wide and far enough off the road to be quiet, but not too far that we wouldn't be in trouble with the tire. Only one car passed between sunset and sunrise. There aren't a whole lot of options between Death Valley and Joshua Tree if you're traveling in the shorter days of winter and plan to see one of the parks during the day.

I'd only recommend this option if you just need a place to sleep during the dark hours.

There is actually some decent cell service in the Mojave preserve (along Hwy 127) . There are also call boxes about every 2 miles further along the 127.

Cost=$0 also means no amenities. But there were lots of Joshua Trees to be seen and a very, very beautiful night skies because there is NOTHING out here.

The Stovepipe Wells Village RV park is a different (and privately owned) RV campground nearly adjacent to the NPS-run Stovepipe Wells Campground. 

Open year-round, this is one of the priciest places to stay in Death Valley charging $40 a night for a parking lot drive in site with hookups. There are very few sites here (14 in total) and they do take reservations.  The property is managed by the hotel across the road and you have to check in for the RV park there. You also have access to the hotel facilities (ie. pool) if you pay the $40.

Stovepipe wells RV park has air and water at the gas station/market (where the RV park is).  Gas here was almost 2$ cheaper than in Furnace Creek (about 25 miles away). There is also a general store minimart with souvenirs here in Stovepipe Wells Village.  Beer, water and soft drinks were surprisingly very cheap considering how far removed you are from civilization. A good hub for a sunrise or sunset hike up the sand dunes or an early start at Mosaic Canyon. Not too far from the Artists Drive.

Other than pool access at the hotel, this site doesn't offer much more than the NPS site next door which is only $14. The only reason we considered staying here was that the NPS site is only open during 'season' beginning in mid-October, so it was the only site actually available when we went.

A great Forest Service campground and a perfect base to hike to the waterfalls.  Lots of people.

Camping at The Loge Mt Shasta will have you humming the song“They paved paradise and put up a parking lot…” The Loge is cute and hip and there are fun fairy lights at night and wifi and a coffee shop with lattes right outside your tent in the morning. There is a community fire pit and a shared kitchen and grilling area. There is also a train going by right near you most of the night, gravel under your sleeping pad, and neighbors within inches of you who may use the easily accessible electricity and wifi to stream music. The tent area looks like a horse corral and has canvas over the top to keep you mostly try if it rains. Bathrooms are in the hotel building across the way. There are lots of beautiful natural places to camp near Shasta that are much cheaper and much much more scenic. I chose to stay here because I was working from the road and needed wifi. If I stayed here again I’d spring for a room- otherwise I think I’ll hit up nature camping next time.

All campgrounds in Joshua Tree are reservation only – but same day reservations are now allowed and you can pay online. There is no cell service or wifi in the park, but the ranger station in Joshua Tree has free wifi, so you can make a reservation from there based on availability. Suggest reserving in advance because Joshua Tree is busy, but we got lucky that there were sites available.

Indian Cove is in the park, but it is not in the main section of the park off the through road.  You have to drive into Twenty-Nine Palms to access the campground. You can access some park trails from the campground, but to enter the park, you will have to exit back out to Twenty-Nine Palms and re-enter through the Oasis Ranger Station or through Joshua Tree.

The campground is big with different loops and many of the sites are set into giant rocks which makes it feel less crowded. I was originally disappointed that we didn’t get a site at Jumbo Rocks, but this was just as great and the campsites were very similar.

Each site had a picnic table and a fire ring. The walk to the pit toilets was short, and there was  trash and recycling. We also saw a snake near our site when walking around the rocks, so it’s worth paying attention.

We had a full moon and a dust storm, so even though the stars were probably amazing, we didn’t really see any. $25 a night, pay online at recreation.gov

The special use area was open for Subsistence fishing - and made for an easy place to camp outside of Kenai. Not really a scenic site, but efficient with trash and porta potties. Most other campers were local with big set ups for the fishing days.

I camped SIX nights at the Homer Spit campground and there were so many great and not so great things about it.  We stayed four nights in site 6 (interior), and two nights in site 104 (on the beach)

Overall the campground gets a 5. It's super well managed, it's clean and convenient and the view are BREATHTAKING. (the interior sites get a 0 for being scenic)

There are 3 types of site

- Beach front (you camp on the beach, and there are no hookups)

- Beach view (you have a front row beach view and there is a plug in)

- Interior (you are basically camping in what feels like a walmart parking lot with a view)

Most people who visit the spit campground are here for 1 or 2 nights max, and about 80% of them are in RVs. There is a strict 11 am checkout and 3pm check in, so the place is pretty empty during the day, and at night looks like an RV lot.  But it's still awesome.

The sites are small and there is nothing between them besides a log so you know where your boundaries are.  Each site has a picnic table and a fire ring. There are about 150 sites. There is one bathroom which was very clean nearly every single time I used it and it has hot water!  Showers cost 2x per person if you're staying at the campsite and they were FANTASTIC - so clean, and hot, and not timed, and amazing water pressure.

--- (the negatives)

- Many of the electrical 110 outlets at the interior sites did not work. This was a small problem for us because we were trying to work in the mornings.

- There was pretty much nowhere for dishwashing. Dishwashing was forbidden at the main water point, with signs to wash dishes at the hose that was also used for feet rinsing at the beach. This wasn't a problem for most people who were in their RVs - but if you're planning to tent camp and cook, you will likely want a dishwashing bucket/bin.

- In the morning the main water point was usually overtaken by a line of RV's filling up the water tank. It wasn't a problem unless that was when I wanted to refill my water…

- The interior sites are not at all scenic. We faced a big dirt pile and a safeway tractor trailer when we were in our campsite. You're staying there for the location, remember, and if you walk 10 feet you will see all the mountains.

++ (the positives)

+ You're literally right at the end of Homer Spit at the campground and you can walk to all the shops without having to fight all the other people for parking!

+ The wifi worked across the property with no problems

+ OMG, the view. 

+ If you don't want to make coffee or breakfast, La Baliene and Sue the Bus are just across the street.

+ the team literally checks every site every day, they clean the trash out of the fire pits, and actually make sure that everything works.

This is a giant and pretty fantastic campground on the eastern side of Oahu’s North Shore with that has access to so much! The campground itself is super reasonably priced at 10$ pp per day. 

Each site has a table and fire pit. The sites across the different loops are super variable. There are sand sites super close to the beach that you walk into(parking is not far away) with almost no windbreak at all, and there are also sites that are in much more dense tree areas that you can easily drive into for car camping. The campground also has some bunk cabins. 

On the weekends it’s much harder to get a site and the camping areas are a bit of party central for the locals. I was here during Covid when sites were limited to 5 people per site– and it was still even a little loud and crazy then. 

There are also very friendly campground chickens (do not leave your food unattended) The bathrooms were a short walk away and mostly clean, and the staff at the office were really helpful. There isn’t electricity besides one plug in outside of the reception area. 

There is nighttime security on the property and they actually do patrol the grounds in a golf cart. There is a gate to get in with a code and a property curfew. When I visited you could not get in after 7pm or out before 6am. This was actually a bit challenging for logistics if you wanted to have dinner in Haliewa, stay late on sunset beach to watch the sunset, or get up for an early start for a hike. We wound up parking near reception outside of the gate a few times to make it work- but if your site is a long walk this might be a challenge.

I camped here in January 2021 during peak Covid closures when the campground was not yet re-opened for group camping. 

In 'normal' times this campground is mostly used for events and it's well set up for that. If you're independently camping, I recommend calling ahead and reserving one of the sites on the beach.  The sites are huge.

During covid they were only using every other site, and had installed a shower and sink at each one. The bathrooms are a walk away inside a yurt. We were assigned a bathroom for just our site and given a key for it. 

The property has a gate with a code that you can go in and out as you please, and the staff were really helpful and kind.

There is one large fire pit area to share, and we had a table at our site. You are not able to drive in your car, but it's only  a short walk, even to the furthest away sites.

We had the whole property to ourselves one night - but if you're visiting when events are operational, this might not be the case, so I recommend checking how busy they are when you call to reserve. 

They also have tent 'cabins' right on the beach which were pretty nice (but you still bring your own mats and bags).

For me, the greatest thing about this site is that it is located on the NW side of Oahu. In January, the winds were strongest from the East and we had to vacate our other campground when winds were up to 20MPH off the ocean.  This side of the island gave us a break from the wind.

It's a very short walk to "Lost Survivors Beach" (where they filmed the pilot of Lost) and a short and beautiful  drive to the state park and hike where the road deadends just a few miles past the campground.  For supplies, it's about 15 minutes back to Haliewa where there are tons of restaurants, food cards, groceries and a Longs Drug.

Havasupai was on my radar for a long while, but I'd never managed to land a reservation until this year when I discovered the Havasupai cancellation reservation page. (You can find it by searching on Facebook and they post when new cancellations open and become transferrable).

Everything you've read about how amazing Havasupai is, is true…. Here are a few things I didn't read in advance that I wish I'd known…..

- Take a tarp. The weather can change in a split second in the canyon. I packed one at the last minute and it was THE BEST THING EVER.

- There are raccoons.  I'd read so much about the crazy squirrels who would invade your camp and eat all your food… and we took precautions against them- but nobody ever mentioned the RACCOONS who literally ate all of our food one night -- even though it was in a bucket with a lid. 

- Even though people are supposed to carry all of their stuff out, they leave ALOT of stuff. We spent our first day (in the rain) scavenging stuff to keep us dry, and our second day after the raccoons ate all our food scavenging stuff to keep us fed. You probably shouldn't rely on stuff, but people bring in a lot extra, and the community in this camp ground is AMAZING.

Because it rained the full 3 days we were there, we chose to camp on the high ground that is at the forward part of the campground rather than the sites lower down because of the potential of flash floods.

The Snow Lake Zone is one of the permitted camping areas in the Enchantments. Permits  here  are very hard to get via the lottery (but easier to get than a permit for the Core Zone). You can also camp in the Snow Zone if you have a Core permit.

Snow Lakes is amazing. It's about 8 miles backpacking in from the Snow Lake Trailhead. It's at elevation, but not as cold as the Core Zone.

There is a backcountry toilet at Snow Lake (no walls, just a toilet),  but no other amenities.  There is water everywhere in the Enchantments, if you have a filter, you're never more than steps away from an alpine fresh water bottle refill. 

I used my 15 degree sleeping bag end of July (I'm a cold sleeper and the temps were about 30)

There are no fires allowed.

The best camping place we found  was a little spit at the far end of  the lake (almost all the way to the end that is closest to the core zone)

There is nothing too amazing about this campground except it's location.  It's large and busy and full of people. There aren't many trees, and you're pretty much next to your neighbors. If you don't mind this type of camping, you will love the area.

You can practically walk to the alpine tram, you're right on Wallowa lake, there's a great marina and lake access for your boat or SUP, and you're just a few minutes drive to Joseph. 

Also, the sunsets are incredible. 

This is a busy location. Sites fill up fast.

Moss Springs is a quiet campground on the edge of the Eagle Cap about 9 miles up the a forest service road from Cove, OR (which is about 14 miles past La Grande).

Most people use this campground for parking to hike into the Minam Lodge or to backpack into the Little Minam, or to park their trailer to ride their horses into the area, so there are plenty of people in and out, but not many people staying just for the campground. 

The facilities are basic, picnic tables and fire rings at each site. There is also an area for livestock unloading and places for tying up your horses.

There isn't much around, but the road back to cove, while not paved, isn't bad, and there is a great mini mart right on main street where you can buy anything you forgot (including gas).

If your car can make it up the 6 miles of "road" you'll be glad that you found Elk Lake. I made it up the hill in a 2001 Rav4. You'll definitely want some clearance for the trek up.

I used this campground for my base for hiking Battle Axe Mountain. The sites are not well marked and the campground was pretty empty- even leading up to a holiday weekend. There are fire pits and tables.

The campground is pretty primitive, you'll want to bring in everything that you need - including water and some kind of floating device to spend your days on the lake. There are several places where you can put in your boat, kayak or paddle  board, and the lake is actually pretty warm in August - warm enough for swimming (and I don't ever swim in Oregon water)

If you do the Battle Axe Hike in the late summer, study up on your edible berries before you come, there are so many huckleberries here I could have filled a bucket.

Breitenbush is a retreat center that offers a variety of different accommodation options including cabins, lodge rooms, dorms, platform tents, and campsites for tents only and tents with cars. 

The tent sites (for your own tent or the platform tents) are only available in the summer.

Camping (or staying in any of the accommodation options) at Breitenbush is part of a package deal. For a tent you pay $77 a day for one person, which includes your entrance to the hotspring as well as 3 meals and your participation in any activities that are happening while you are there (like yoga or meditation).

The campground is really basic- basically just a space for your tent in and it's a short walk in from the parking lot. Carts are provided.  There are 5 sites you can reserve that have space for a vehicle.

There are lots of rules - no stoves, no alcohol, no food in the camp area, etc. But really everything you need is provided for you at the mealtimes in the lodge, so it's more like you sleep in your tent vs. being around your tent for a camping experience.

The hotsprings are amazing (and clothing optional- and most people are opting out), and there is some decent hiking to do that is accessible from the trailhead at the Breitenbush parking lot. 

You can also access the hotsprings by reserving a day pass (call ahead from Detroit - there's no signal past the 46 turnoff).  Another option is to camp at one of the nearby campsites and daypass the hotsprings if you aren't into dining at the retreat center option.

It's a great place. It got 4 stars instead of 5 because it isn't really an amazing campground. Also- the nearest campground toilets are  port a potties. There is a bathhouse and showers available near the cabins, but you'll have to walk.