Outdoors

Oregon, It’s Time to Book Your Summer Campsites

Six months out is the sweet spot for securing the state’s most coveted tent sites (and cabins, yurts, and fire lookouts).

By Rebecca Jacobson January 3, 2025

For a sunrise paddle on Sparks Lake in Central Oregon, pitch a tent at nearby Soda Creek Campground—sites can be booked six months in advance.

Summer is…OK, not exactly nigh, but it’s coming. And winter is the time to get your camping plans in order, because while Oregon has plenty of first-come-first-served camping options (and we’ve got some recommendations on that front), six months in advance is when reservations open for campgrounds on both state and federal land. Cabins, yurts, and ever-coveted fire lookout towers also book six months out.

Can the process be cumbersome? Yes. But it’s worth it for avoiding the summer scramble. So let’s get to it—here’s what you can lock down right now.


Oregon State Parks campsites, cabins, and yurts

Most campsites—and all cabins and yurts—at Oregon State Parks require reservations, which open six months in advance at 6am. But with 66 options, how do you choose? Some of our favorites include Cottonwood Canyon (located along the John Day River, where monumental basalt cliffs burst with color during the day and block out light noise at night, offering sublime stargazing), Carl G. Washburne (near Florence, these 66 spots nestled among dense rainforest offer a feeling of seclusion found at no other campground on the coast), and Cove Palisades (party barge on Lake Billy Chinook, anyone?). Take note that bond-funded work at eight parks means a number of campground closures this summer, including at Beverly Beach, Cape Lookout, and Champoeg.

Bask in spectacular views at Cove Palisades State Park.

State forest campsites (some)

Most campgrounds in Oregon State Forests operate on a first-come-first-served basis. The few outliers are the three group sites in the Tillamook State Forest and the two equestrian-specific campgrounds in the Clatsop and Santiam State Forests, which can be reserved six months in advance through reserveamerica.com. So if you wanna make s’mores with your crew—group sites accommodate up to 24 people—or hang with your horses, chop chop.

National forest land campsites, cabins, and fire lookouts

In addition to loads of campgrounds across the state, the forest service rents historic cabins and fire lookouts that’ll give you a taste of life as a ranger. These, unsurprisingly, are very popular, especially on weekends, but the experience is unparalleled. Two we recommend setting your 7am alarm for: Fall Mountain Lookout Tower in the Strawberry Mountain Wilderness, which is accessible by vehicle and offers the rare amenity of electricity; and Fremont Point Cabin, which was rebuilt in 2015 and perches 3,000 feet above the eerily shallow, alkali Summer Lake in the scrubby Oregon Outback (stargazers, listen up).

Fremont Point Cabin sits in an otherworldly landscape in the Oregon Outback.

BLM land campsites (some)

Most Bureau of Land Management campgrounds are first come, first served, though a dozen or so in Oregon accept reservations. Like forest service campsites, they’re reservable through recreation.gov. A few to consider: Alsea Falls, 40 minutes southwest of Corvallis, with its scenic swim spots and excellent mountain biking trails; Loon Lake, in the Coast Range near Reedsport, much loved by families for its sandy beach and recreation opportunities, including boating, fishing, and paddleboarding; and, closer to Portland, Three Bears and Cedar Grove, both nestled on a picturesque stretch of the Molalla River.

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