Help me plan my trip in Oregon

Seeking help from people who live, have lived or have spent time in Oregon.

A few of my buddies and I are going to be traveling through Oregon next week from Monday-Friday and we need help setting the agenda as we all have never been to OR. We are going to be camping so every area needs to be camp friendly and preferably BLM so that its free. One of the days we do want to make it down to the beach as I have heard you can camp on beaches in OR. I have a roof top tent so I need one that allows of driving on the beach and preferably one that doesn't require booking a site for an obscene amount of money.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

You will need an ORV sticker to have your rig on the beach as well as a off-road flag. Stickers are $11.50 I believe and it is not legal on all beaches. For other ideas, we will need to know what areas you plan to travel. We are on extreme fire danger in the state which means absolutely NO flames on the west side I know for sure and a good chance it is the same over east where it is even hotter.

 

Uh oh well that's a bummer. Even campground have this restriction?

 

Yes for fire restrictions. Coast may be different. I'd google a state campground on the coast for a number to call to verify because it is possible they might be different. I do know Browns camp up in the Tillamook area is closed to off-road except for gravel last I heard and every gate around here is closed and not even walk in is allowed. We had a wet winter but a very dry summer with high temps hitting a month earlier than usual.

 

You familiar with any BLM spots?

 

Most land west of the Cascades is private timber company with a little BLM or FS mixed in. Some BLM with camping area above Green Peter Dam outside of Sweet Home. I know the coast has some areas mixed in but I always stayed in a campground when riding the dunes. Over east has the most open land and lots of small lakes in the Cascades to camp on BLM/FS. If you give me an idea of planned travel route, I could pin down some areas and directions for you.

 

@RogueTRD Any input for down south?

 

http://www.oregon.gov/ODF/Fire/Pages/Restrictions.aspx

For current restrictions.

http://itsallyours.us/

Some NF info.

 

Yea that would be great. If we get an idea for points of interest we can plan a route around that

 

Interest? Fishing, kayaking, city lights, just road trip(overland), ghost towns?

 

Mostly offraoding and hiking and photography (so points of interest, waterfalls, volcanos, forests) all the natural wonders

 

Copy. I'll look through my maps later and get back with you for ideas. Want a different location for each day?

 

Yes we will be wanting to push forward to a new spot everyday

 

You'll want to decide the general area/regions you'll want to visit & plan around it. There's great points of interest all over. The eastern half is desert & the western half is mountains or plains. Eastern half is way less populated, so there's more public land & super remote areas if that's your style.

Visiting the coast obviously puts you in the west part of the state, making it a long drive to, say, Hells Canyon near Idaho. Crater lake, rogue river are good POI in SW Oregon. There's sand dunes on the southern and central coast, which can be fun to drive/camp along, but prime coastal camping spots can be tough to come by on popular weekends. The cascade mtn range runs N/S through the center of the state and contains hundreds of scenic waterfalls & lakes. Bend, in central Oregon is an outdoor activity hub with fishing, climbing, biking, you name it. In NW Oregon, you can drive on the beach near Fort Stephens.

Check restrictions of campfires & stoves. The state is a tinderbox right now with a few forest fires active.

 

And that is kind of where we are all struggling. We are trying to see what each areas have to offer before deciding which region to stick to. Probably wont go to far up north. But we are thinking around Bend as it is 4 hours from the shore so it seems pretty central to eastern and western OR.

 

~2 days coast/SW Oregon and 2 days in Bend is a good mix for Monday-Friday. Can mix it up within each area, but will only have 1 long drive in between. No need to drive 2 hours to see a waterfall when you'll pass 10+ getting there.

Crater Lake/Diamond Lake are worth a day, then you can spend another day at the dunes/coast.

I'll typically use google maps to check out the area around Bend, there's a number of lakes that you can access via forest roads & then research the lakes to see if people have written trip reports. Taylor Lake has a campsite on the shore & requires a little high clearance/4wd for a short section.

 

First, you do not need an OHV sticker or a flag to drive on the beaches in Oregon (other than those few that are posted as such, like Oregon Dunes), but as far as I know, you are not legally allowed to camp overnight on the beach anywhere in Oregon. Legally being the key word. There are, however, several fee campgrounds, some that are really nice, that are along the coast.

I am not aware of Browns Camp trails being closed other than a couple with timber activity.

Please correct me if I’m wrong!

I might suggest the Bend area, as mentioned above. It’s the hip place right now. LOTS of back-country roads and trails with a virtually unlimited amount of dispersed camping. Loads of breweries in town too. Check out Fort Rock, Hole-In-The-Ground and Crack-In-The-Ground (amongst plenty of other cool places) while you’re out exploring.

From there, head out to the coast and take the scenic McKenzie Pass Scenic Byway on your way. There’s some dispersed camping west of there if you look for it.

Once you make it to the coast (via Eugene), pick up an OHV permit for $10+ and have fun driving around the sand dunes. Bring a flag and an air compressor. Camp at Jessie Honeyman Memorial State Park.

Which direction you go from there would be good either way. North up the coast (Newport, Seaside, Astoria), swing around through Portland, drive along the Columbia River Gorge (a shitton of hiking trails along waterfalls, and photo ops). Or, head south along the coast, go through southern Oregon, check out Crater Lake and/or the Rogue area... lots of dispersed camping down that way.

Kinda shootin' in the dark without knowing general areas that you're wanting to go, but I hope that helps give you some ideas. Just head up here, bring a map, and explore!

 

I can't think of any dispersed beach camping in Oregon. Even the Oregon Dunes enforce designated campings sites. The Roque River-Siskiyou National Forest is great for dispersed camping and is enormous. It runs just inland from Port Orford at it's northern edge to the OR/CA border at it's southern edge. You can enjoy the coast during the day, like hiking Samuel S. Boardman State Park and then set up camp along the Rogue or the Chetco Rivers. There are smaller rivers as well. Most will have a parallel FS road with offshoots. Inland enough to escape the coastal clouds, but nice and cool. with a little exploring, you may discover a vista with views of the ocean. On the way back to CA, If you've never done it, you can take in your home state of CA. Jedediah Smith Redwood Park is a must see. The park contains some of the largest Redwoods known to man. There's a gravel road that runs through the park and winds among the giants. It comes out near Crescent City, CA.

 

TSF just re-opened yesterday, keep an eye here:
https://tillamookstateforest.blogspot.com/
Trail status posted here:
http://www.oregon.gov/ODF/Recreation/Pages/MotorizedTrails.aspx

Look in the sticky for more
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/nw-basic-offroad-information-links.122411/

 

Im going to be putting together a trip map today or tomorrow and I will post it for some of your guys feedback. On a side note, does anyone know of any scenic spots to set up camp for the night relative to the Bend area?

Yea I agree that seems like a good mix. I know I wont be able to see it all but I have heard great things about bend.

Definitely going to note the brewery suggestions. Thanks for the good info, Im going to have to try to incorporate all of the scenic drives you suggested in the route for sure. I looked into Jessie Honeyman the otherday, looks great but its a bummer that OHV is not allowed this time of year. Is there any dispersed camping by crater lake? I have heard that it is madness with tourists, but Im hoping that since we will be out during the weekdays that is not the case

Great suggestion about the redwoods on the way back to CA. We are all into photography so im sure that will go over well with the group.