samuraitowd
Washoe Valley, NV, USA
Senior Member
Joined: 03/05/2004
View Profile
|
Site size is the most important consideration. We had a class A that was 25' and could get in to about 50% of the campgrounds but now with the 29 footer and the Samurai will be severely limited. Many of these campgrounds have a "host" that will discourage partying but some will be unattended and you take your chances with the "nabes". Most were designed for tent camping so maneuvering the roads may be tough in a bigger rig. I would decide where you want to be and call the local USFS office and hope for a nice person for suggestions. I think we will stay at a commercial RV park and drive around and check out the FS campgrounds. We have had good luck parking and then driving around with the dinghy looking for a good spot to boondock. With all the logging there are many landings (logging clearings) left behind.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rick n Andy n SandyPaws
Rexhall American Clipper 29': 2005
Suzuki Samurai; 1994
|
Yodelpup
Cornelius, OR
New Member
Joined: 07/09/2008
View Profile
|
Have you checked out Indian Henry campground on the Clackamas River? It's very nice and there are some sites that can accommodate a rig your size. It's also one of the few NF cg's that you can reserve. Timothy Lake has some nice spots too.
08 Fleetwood Saratoga
07 Toyota Tundra 5.7
|
Minot
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Full Member
Joined: 06/02/2002
View Profile
 Offline
|
[quote=elh0146][url=http://www.coleman.com/coleman/travel/default.asp]
This is a neat website that I'm glad to know about, BUT -- its maximum RV size info is NOT to be trusted. I'm not familiar with Oregon campgrounds, but checked one I know here in California (Mono Hot Springs in the Sierra NF) which say max size is 40 feet. There are no sites in this campground that would accommodate a 40 foot rig, but it doesn't matter, cause there's no way you would get a 40'er over that road. FYI, the Reserve America site for this campground says 26' max. Having driven it in my 19' class B Sportsmobile, I wouldn't want to try anything bigger than 26'.
Ann Harwood
Jacob -- 2 1/2 year old yellow lab
Sportsmobile 2002 Ford penthouse top
Visit my website to see my van and some of my travels.
|
campersuzid
Bisbee
Full Member
Joined: 12/27/2006
View Profile
Offline
|
FYI - Although site size is not provided for each campsite in a campground on US National Forest Campground Guide website (http://www.forestcamping.com), it does provide the average length. So, if you see 12'X 45' as the average parking apron size you can be sure there are some 55' as well as 35' parking aprons. Also, if the interior road is "tight" we'll note that under the RV comments field. You've got some super FS campgrounds fairly close to Portland (unfortunately the Columbia Gorge Scenic Area's campgrounds are CCC era and the parking aprons tend to be the short side). I would suggest taking a look at the Siuslaw's Tillicum Beach or Alder Dune campgrounds (my husband's favorites) or head north to the Gifford Pinchot NF. Sunset campground was so nice but I enjoyed our time at Peterson Prairie campground. Hope this helps a little.
|
was_butnotnow
Fulltime: Emery, SD
Senior Member
Joined: 05/28/2003
View Profile
Offline
|
The first site I go to when traveling to a new area in the western section of the USA is
Public Lands Information Center It is the benchmark we start with. It also has the parks and recreation sites even if not camping in the area.
See where we are at: DataStormUsers map
Sharing Travel Journals and Adventures Hitchitch.com
Personal site Fulltime.Hitchitch.com
|
|
|
tpi
Southern CA.
Senior Member
Joined: 02/22/2005
View Profile
|
In CA the forest service campgrounds seem to come in all stripes. Some have large level spots with ample access roads. Others have tight overgrown access roads barely passable with a passenger car with tiny unlevel sites.
I have not found a book or guide yet which is trustworthy enough to pull a large trailer blind into some of these campground loops. I've had my share of moments watching my trailer clear a tree by a couple inches. In general though if the campground is older and located in steep terrain you are more likely to have problems than a newer campground in flat terrain.
I also recommend advance scouting the campground. There are some very nice sites in many of them.
|
pnichols
Santa Cruz Mountains
Senior Member
Joined: 04/26/2005
View Profile
|
I just returned from a 3700 mile trip in the West and again confirmed what I stated in my post earlier in this thread.
We stayed in several NF and BLM sites and in general really prefer these to anyplace else. Entrance and camping fees are also waived or half price for seniors.
For these type sites, the shorter your rig the better (..we have a 24 foot Class C). However, the BIGGEST problem is getting your rig level in these spots. I brought along five each home made 3-step leveling blocks plus three riser blocks to extend these even higher. I OFTEN had to use four of these to raise the four rear tires (always raise duals together) and one of these to raise one front tire ... plus one of the three riser blocks in each position. Three-point leveling of our motorhome was common for us in NF/BLM campgrounds.
Beautiful they are - but hard to get level for the refrig and sleeping!
* This post was
edited 08/17/08 11:44pm by pnichols *
Phil, 2005 E450 Itasca 324V Spirit
|
