Washington and Oregon campsite recommendations for next year

[frieed]

Hi all,

DW and I are trying to plan out a 2-week trip for next year in the Washington and Oregon area. We'll be starting near Salt Lake City so getting there won't be too bad. Main goal is to not move the trailer too much, rather opting for day trips from a central location. We want to see Olympic NF, see the coast, see Crater lake, see Mt. Rainier. We're mostly focused on scenery vs touristy towns and would prefer a quiet place with a little generator time for battery recharge and a dump station over cramped full hookups. I've got recommendations from co-workers for generalities of Columbia river gorge and specifics of La Wis Wis or Ohanapecosh on the flanks of Rainier. What say you JOF?

[stjohneyre]

Union creek is a great location sits about 30 miles from Crater Lake....several BLM campgrounds in the area, well paved roads leading to all of them, most offer level sites, pit toilets, water stations, no showers. Great scenery, rivers, forest service roads for exploring, extensive trails for quads. I would also recommend a state park that is just south of Waldport Oregon on the 101 coastal highway. Just inland from beach but so peaceful at night. Good cental base camp if you want to explore up and down the coast line. We live in S Oregon along I5 and love it here.

[milw156]

West of Crater Lake in Canyonville, OR is the best RV park we've ever been to called Seven Feathers RV Resort. Reasonable cost, great sites and facilities, and really professional and friendly staff. It's part of the Seven Feathers Casino operation so 24 hours a day they will send a shuttle to pick you up at your site, take you to the Casino, and take you back to your site. We don't gamble so the DW and I took advantage of the buffet. Go to the Casino and get a free Club card to get a discount at the RV park as well as at the fuel station. We were there 1 night on the way down to California from Washington, and 2 nights on the way back. We will definitely be staying there again.

www.sevenfeathersrvresort.com

I totally agree with you about basing yourself at a campsite and driving to the destinations. This is especially true for Mt. Rainier and Olympic National Park where roads get narrow and sharp. I haven't camped near either since we live within a day's drive, however friends who have stay in the National Forest and Washington State campgrounds (https://secure.camis.com/WA/) which give you more privacy and nature at the cost of lack of hookups.

Safe travels to you and your family.

[frieed]

Thanks for the responses...

I'll add these places to our list of possibles.

[RollTideinWA]

My family and I just returned today from a 10-day trip south from Seattle to Crater Lake and back, and most of my RV and tent camping is located in the areas you mentioned. Here are a few recommendations:
Olympic national park: Kalaloch & Hoh. For Kalaloch, the difference between the best experience ever and a so-so place to lay your head is the site. Book a good site during peak season and you'll dream of going back.
Mt Rainier: Ohanapecosh is great, but for ease of access to Paradise don't discount Cougar Rock or the Forest Service camps north of the park.
Crater Lake: we've only stayed at Mazama but found it to have plenty of pull-thru sites, a lack of late night parties and great access to the park.
Oregon coast: we're partial to Ft Stevens for exploring and biking, the campground loops have sites with plenty of space and when I want solitude I just head out to the beach for the evening. We also love Pacific City, there are some fairly remote campgrounds nearby although I haven't checked them out.

A good resource: Camping! Washington by Ron C Judd. Very accurate descriptions of campgrounds and a solid rating system. Don't think twice about booking anything he rates 4.5 or 5.

Hope you are able to plan a great trip to our neck of the woods. During the summer I'd argue there's no better place to visit.