AUG 18 to 21, 2017, I was there to camp and watch the Total Solar Eclipse on the grassy field. I…read moreshared the cabin "Kingfisher" with my mom, her friend, my friend, my twin sister, and her fiancé. But some have to sleep in tents next to the cabin. I really enjoyed swimming in chilly shallow waters of the Santian River. I enjoyed walking around the trails that were well tended. The shower and bathroom facilities was clean and the water pressure was good. The wide grassy field next to the river was the perfect spot to watch the Total Solar Eclipse. 2022 is the year I have learned what happened in 2020 when a wildfire swept the once delightful camping attraction. I am so sorry the wildfire happened. I really hope the campground will come back as it used to be but it may be a long long time before it actually does.

Fisherman's Bend is a hidden gem! It may be one of the most beautiful campgrounds in Oregon! It…read morecertainly is one of the cleanest and one of the best run campgrounds! A special thanks and shout out to Mr. Floyd Jensen! Floyd is 89 years old and one of the best "Camp Hosts" that you will ever meet. One of his associates was Opal and she was great as well! We loved our experience at Fisherman's Bend and will return for more adventures!

If you're gonna do the Trail of 10 Falls (or 8 as it was recently due to northside trail closure),…read moreI recommend a counter-clockwise route starting at South Falls to avoid crowds and work your way up the magnificence scale. Also helps to get there early as you can. Trails were wet from recent showers but well-maintained and not slick. If it's really been raining and the falls are pumping, be prepared for standing water behind a couple of the falls. (Luckily someone had put out small stones to balance on, but from the looks of their wet shoes many people were unlucky in their attempts to cross.) Walking sticks can be helpful in the steeper grades. It now costs $10 to park unless you've got an annual pass

Daily parking permits are $10 per day, per vehicle for Oregon residents, and $12 per day otherwise…read more There are machines that sell the permits at the parking lots, so it's a pretty straightforward process. I went when there was a lot of rainfall, and so there was actually an emergency trail closure that spanned the majority of the park. Fortunately, the Canyon trail between the South Falls and the Lower South Falls was still open, and so I hiked that trail. It was absolutely amazing!! The falls were roaring and the creek was almost overflowing. The hike began with dark clouds and rain. As the trail led down and behind South Falls, the spray from the falls was heavier than the rain, soaking you from head to toe. The path then hugs the creek, which threatened to take over the trail at some points. There's a flight of stairs right before the Lower Falls, and at this point you can hear the thundering crash of the falls. As you go behind the falls, a shroud of darkness envelops you and you realize that suddenly you're fording through ankle deep water. With the loss of sight comes with the deafening noise of the tumbling water, and the spray attacks you every which way. Stumbling through, you emerge and find that the rain has stopped. As you crest up the path, the sun breaks, filtering through the trees with only the silence of the forest, punctuated with the occasional plop-plops of the trees shedding the water drops of the earlier rain. The silence is almost deafening. Good thing that the trail takes you right to the Lodge, which has a roaring fire inside to dry yourself with! There are also cool nature exhibits inside, as well as a small cafe to get drinks to warm yourself from the inside too. I would come here again, rain or shine!

This time of year one must assume the area is not at its peak of entertainment value. But every…read moretime we are passing through I've been inclined to stop for a night. So we decided to do just that a couple weeks ago, and as I expected, even though half the campground is closed at this time there were plenty of available sites. We chose the last water side site, although currently the water is nowhere near the park. We ran into the ranger on duty who was very helpful and friendly, letting us know that since the tent sites are closed and we weren't using any (hookup) amenities we could pay the tent site fee for the night. I would say since the grounds run right along the highway that the sites nearest to it could probably be quite loud...hence our choice to grab the one furthest away. We took a walk down to the water just before dark. I found there to be an eerie, calm beauty about it at sunset. There wasn't much to the brief stop besides our walk and a quiet night of sleep, heading off first thing in the morning. But I can see where during peak season there'd be more adventures to partake in here. Again, a highway setting, but there are some lovely trees within the grounds. While not my favorite campground, it was nice to finally check things out here, even if during the off season. Sure would be nice to see the water level back up where it clearly used to be!

The campground was well kept and my kids enjoyed our stay. HOWEVER.. the staff are extremely rude!!…read moreThe volunteers addressed my kids in the most inappropriate manner regarding our dog. She was just plain nasty!! She chose to address my 11 year old instead of speaking to as adult. We were late in checking out and the employee named Greg was beyond rude about it!! As we were setting up our RV to leave, Greg decided to park his golf cart right in front of the site. When we asked if we could help him, he said he was going to sit there until we were gone and charge us if we were not out by 3pm. It was only 1:50 at this time. When I asked for the employees name I was asked why I needed to know?? We will never stay here again just based on the staff alone!!

Big Lake Campground is a lovely mountain campground near Santiam Pass. It's 34 miles northeast of…read moreBlue River, which is mistakenly shown on the Yelp map as the location. That's the ranger station at Blue River, not the campground, which is located off U.S. Highway 20 west of Sms isters. There's 49 campsites with varying lengths. We stayed in campsite 22. We had just enough room for our 25-foot travel trailer and GMC Yukon travel trailer. The rest of our site was huge, with wooden steps leading to a picnic table and a fire ring. Out the back window of our trailer we could see Big Lake and towering Mount Washington, one of the gems of Central Oregon. A short trail leads past prolific stands of bear grass and flowers, including mountain lupine, Queen's Cup, mountain meadowsweet and scarlet trumpet. There are numerous vault toilets and faucets offering drinking water. There are also boat ramps. We really enjoyed our time at this campground and highly recommend it.

I camped here a couple summers ago and it was one of the most beautiful campgrounds I have been to…read more Mt. Washington sits right over Big Lake and boasts gorgeous mountain views with tall green trees surrounding the lake. We actually had a small lake access from our campground and the campground was nice and private from other sites. We reserved online for $24 a night (I highly recommend reserving online to be safe because the campground does fill up) and after splitting the cost with everyone it was dirt cheap! It's very reasonably priced per night. When we came in no one was at the check-in station but we found our name on a post outside the campground. Bathrooms were your standard vault toilets and there was running water but I don't think it was potable. I came mid-summer and the mosquitos were only a little noticeable and not out of control. We didn't have any issues with animals like raccoons or anything and since it was car camping our cars were easily accessible. I wish we could have brought out a kayak but it was still a nice place to swim and enjoy a beautiful summer weekend on the lake. There was a camp across the lake and a few trails we explores. I really liked the terrain and how it changed as you walked further into the mountains. I will definitely be back!

The manager is a little on the quirky side. The sites don't have much privacy and many sites have…read moremonthly renters. It is very clean but no access to the river. The "pond" is just a mosquito infested mucky mess.

Really great spot along the Mckenzie river. They take a lot of pride in this park and Jim (on site…read moremanager) is about the best we have seen. He even brought our kids glow wands and glow balloons Friday night. It is very quiet and much more spacious than the other private rv sites we have seen. Bathrooms are spotless. Wifi is spotty but all in all it is a nice stop off. Spot #10 is #1.

A lot of people know this as Opal Creek because the water is so beautiful. It's a gorgeous campsite…read morewith lots of rocks to jump off of if that's your thing! Lots of tanning and sun bathing spots as well! Very easy to access and lots of beautiful hikes.

$8 self serve per night, and just above the creek, it doesn't get much better than this…read more This campground was clean, and relatively well maintained. Beautiful forest life, and the sound of the creek will lull you to sleep. Perfect for a hot summer day dip. The campground is small, and there isn't too many camping spaces. It's first come first serve, with one pit toilet ( it didn't have toilet paper at the time I was there ). This idelylic spot is perfect for families, couples, or just anyone hoping to get away. Theres lots of hikes nearby as well, most notably Opal Creek .

It was a beautiful drive. It is run by a contractor so no park passes are accepted. I think $12 is…read moretoo much, something around $5 would be more acceptable. There is a 2 hour time limit, I think that is annoying (they mark the time on your receipt that goes on the dash of your vehicle). The parking area is tiny and the chalk lines are far too narrow, difficult to put a normal size car in the lines let alone a truck. There are a LOT of rules. Can't do this, can't do that... on and on. But oh, you don't have to wear clothes. It's just over controlled. There is a really gross toilet at the springs -some sort of belt driven system, yuck, a pit toilet would have been better. There were 26 people there when I got there and it felt crowded. I can't imagine the 50 people they allow, that would be ridiculous. The water was nice and warm. I wouldn't rush to go back.

This is a clothing optional Hotsprings, we learned this the hard way after driving 5 hours my…read moregrandson was not so pleasantly surprised lol. So we immediately left..our bad. Oops....But the host was so friendly gave us recommendations on when to come back without him. What the best times are and nearby campgrounds. $12 a person 12 and up. Short walk from the parking lot up to the springs. Pack it in pack it out, porta pots in the lot. We will be back.

McKercher Park features beautiful landscapes and tall trees with the Calapooia River running…read morealongside. Small, but clean parking lot. Bathrooms available as well. We also stopped on the side of the road a little ways down where there is a pull-out and information about the Calapooia Watershed, which is part of the park.

Absolutely beautiful! We really really enjoyed this KOA. The sites were clean, level and shaded…read morewith beautiful trees. The pet park is large and our pups loved it!!! The office was beautifully decorated and well stocked. Pricing was so reasonable and lower than the KOA in mt Shasta and the mt Shasta one doesn't even measure up to this koa. We highly recommend and hope to stop here driving through the area again. This KOA deserves much higher stars than it has

Beware of brown dirty water in some camp spots! Great location for OSU visits and decent camp…read morespots. I arrived and used an inline filter to fill my RV with fresh water. I was disgusted when I figured out the water was brown. I took the cup into the office to see if this could be fixed. Woman acted like nothing was wrong and said it was just tested and is safe. I've since learned this is a common issue in the park. My RV water system is still stained after several fresh water flushes. WIFI is terrible and yes the showers are old and not well kept. Just don't use there water.