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Old 05-21-2016, 01:11 PM   #1
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best WA /OR campsites

We are picking our 21 up in mid June and have plenty of time. I would love to know some of the better areas to camp in Washington, Oregon and Idaho to save some trial and error searching. Only thing is they have to be dog friendly on the trails which unfortunately rules out almost all of the Olympic National Park.

Our primary interest is hiking and seeing scenic areas.
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Old 05-21-2016, 03:33 PM   #2
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We are picking our 21 up in mid June and have plenty of time. I would love to know some of the better areas to camp in Washington, Oregon and Idaho to save some trial and error searching. Only thing is they have to be dog friendly on the trails which unfortunately rules out almost all of the Olympic National Park.

Our primary interest is hiking and seeing scenic areas.
Hi thumper, We just picked up our 21 in April and intentionally stayed only in campgrounds with full hook-ups, as we are new, wanted practice, and didn't want to complicate things with water and electric experimentation. We took Hwy 20 to the Port Townsend Ferry and crossed over to the Olympic Peninsula (ferry reservations at www.wadot.gov). What a great experience. We stayed at GilGal RV park in Sequim and highly recommend it as a good private park. It is very clean, well landscaped, and pet friendly. They have a large field and dog walk right across the road.
In Oregon, we loved Nehalem SP, Waterloo County Park (only 50-60 miles off the coast), and Sunset Bay SP. Each is dog friendly with lots of hiking options. We also liked Port of Newport Marina & RV park, and loved Sea Perch (unbelievable sites on the ocean), but they don't offer much in the way of hiking and trails. Turtle Rock RV, near Gold Beach in southern Oregon is at the mouth of Hunter Creek and the Pacific Ocean and offers endless dog friendly beaches.
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Old 05-21-2016, 07:12 PM   #3
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You might consider a drive to Mt Baker on the Mt Baker Highway (WA 542). The start of the highway is about 187 miles from Chilliwack. The highway is a 57 mile drive to the Mt Baker Ski area & some beautiful mountain views. While there are a couple of Forest Service campgrounds along the highway, all the sites have always been reserved both times I visited the area.

The Silver Lake County Park is a good place to stay, just a couple of miles from the start of the highway. Your choice of hookups or dry camping. A photo of my $30.00 water & electric site is here & some photos of the top of the drive are here.

On the other end of the state a very pretty waterfall is the centerpoint of Palouse Falls State Park near Starbuck, WA. While only dry camping, you have a choice of a couple of tent sites that have room for a small trailer in the parking area or setting up in the overflow parking area.

I was lucky - there was no host, so I got the full hookup host site. Some photos start here.

Probably not worth going to the other end of the state just for the falls, but if you are in the Walla Walla area it is worth a stop.
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Old 05-21-2016, 07:24 PM   #4
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If we knew your route it would be easier to offer suggestions.
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Old 05-21-2016, 08:37 PM   #5
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If we knew your route it would be easier to offer suggestions.
Actually, I don't have a route other than We will eventually end up back in texas. We will likely plan our route based on which parks we decide to go to.
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Old 05-21-2016, 09:56 PM   #6
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Actually, I don't have a route other than We will eventually end up back in texas. We will likely plan our route based on which parks we decide to go to.
If you cut over to Idaho on I-84 you'll miss most of Oregon.

Continuing south on I-5 (or 101 if you have a LOT of time) will take you along the Oregon coast and superb campgrounds/state parks all the way down to the Northern California Redwoods. You'll need to have a grasp on boondocking there - most public campgrounds in California don't have utilities.
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Old 05-22-2016, 09:24 AM   #7
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Thumper,

Go to the Search button near the top of this page. Choose the Google Search option, and type in Favorite Campsites. You'll find a great thread on favorite campgrounds in Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. This discussion was very helpful to us.

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Old 05-22-2016, 10:16 AM   #8
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If you are headed to Crater Lake, one of my favorite routes for hiking to waterfalls (actually, most of them is not all that long a hike) is OR 138. Some photos from two trips Here and here. I like the Susan Creek BLM campground which is along the road. No hookups, but hot showers.
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Old 05-22-2016, 10:38 AM   #9
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If you take the Port Townsend ferry (actually called the Coupeville ferry) as Steve suggested not only do you avoid Seattle but it's a beautiful trip. Ft Worden is right on the other side in Port Townsend and a great place to stay. Lots of trails, the fort, the Point Wilson Lighthouse: Fort Worden | Stay Here

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Old 05-22-2016, 09:36 PM   #10
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There are a lot of good leads here. It sounds like we need to stay along the coastline till we get to CA, and then turn west.
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Old 05-22-2016, 09:47 PM   #11
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If you cut through Utah headed for Colorado, close to their board is Dinosaur National Monument. Well worth the stop, especially if you have kids:

https://www.nps.gov/dino/index.htm
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Old 05-22-2016, 10:49 PM   #12
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There are a lot of good leads here. It sounds like we need to stay along the coastline till we get to CA, and then turn west.
Ha-Ha! If you head west you'll need to hone your nautical skills...
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Old 05-22-2016, 11:20 PM   #13
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The southern Oregon coast has world class scenic beauty. I ditto Sunset Bay. Nice campground, nearby hike along the rocky coastline. Harris Beach is nice but we didn't hike that area. Beachside CG is good with great hikes at Cape Perpetus.
We just did Hwy. 1 in California last month. You will need a lot of time to do that route. It is a slow, winding road but beautiful. A stop in the Redwoods on 101 is worth it. Great walks through the trees. As mentioned Oregon state parks have hookups and showers. California state parks usually have no hookups but most have flush toilets and showers.
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Old 05-22-2016, 11:33 PM   #14
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If you are headed to Crater Lake, one of my favorite routes for hiking to waterfalls (actually, most of them is not all that long a hike) is OR 138. Some photos from two trips Here and here. I like the Susan Creek BLM campground which is along the road. No hookups, but hot showers.
Jon, Thank-You so much for your BLOG and posts. You are so inspiring! I'm motivated to get back to Oregon, especially Hwy 138 and Crater Lake. Thanks

Cheers
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Old 05-23-2016, 07:51 AM   #15
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Ha-Ha! If you head west you'll need to hone your nautical skills...
Dang, I was hoping no one caught that!!!!!!
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Old 05-23-2016, 09:47 AM   #16
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We made a 2 month tour of the West Coast last fall. We camped at 4 or 5 Oregon State Parks and they were all great . I would be cautious about spending too much time in Oregon because it is addictive. After traveling to Oregon and Texas , we much prefer Oregon and plan on returning there soon . Oregon is 2000 miles from us but worth the trip in our opinion . Joseph H Stewart SRA is a beautiful park and fairly close to Crater Lake.
Plus Oregon State Parks have very reasonable camping fees and many sites are full hook up.
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Old 05-23-2016, 11:32 AM   #17
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It depends on your camping preferences, but I'd not pass up the National Forest campgrounds throughout Oregon (and Washington). No hookups and likely a pit toilet. However the scenery and setting are usually fantastic.

I second the plan to follow the coast south till CA. We who live here want to keep the southern Cascades, mountain lakes, and beautiful river settings free from too many people. Locations such as Crater Lake, Four Mile Lake, Lake of the Woods, upper Rouge River, Umpqua River, etc. would be bypassed. :-)

Have a great trip.
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Old 06-05-2016, 11:08 AM   #18
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And...if you come to Port Townsend you could have a chance to meet four other Escape owners (three 19's and one 21') if we are in town:-)
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Old 06-05-2016, 12:44 PM   #19
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Two campgrounds we stayed at on the way to British Columbia two weeks ago were Honeyman State Park and Nehalem state Park in Oregon. Both very nice and both pet friendly. 28 and 29 dollars a night.
water, electric and nice showers.
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Old 06-05-2016, 01:41 PM   #20
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Honeyman has been a favorite of ours for 38 years:-)
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