The Yurt campground at Fort Stevens State Park. Courtesy Oregon Parks and Recreation.
With the summer camping season just a few months away, it’s hard to imagine worse timing.
But Oregon State Parks says starting Thursday, you won’t be able to make camping and day-use reservations for two weeks. Not online, not over the phone.
If you’re a frequent visitor to Oregon State Parks, this may be the best time ever to buy an annual state park pass.
Oregon Parks and Recreation is dropping the price of a 12-month day use pass to $20 during December for the department’s yearly Holiday Sale. Come January 1, prices go up to $30.
You can order them over the telephone by calling 800-551-6949. They’re also available at Oregon Parks and Recreation offices and several private vendors.
For a full list, go here.
Finally, a reminder that all fees for camping and day-use will rise starting next year. Here’s a look at what to expect.
Except for the Day Use fees, the prices listed above show the amount of increase, not how much you’ll pay.
It’s that time of year. Many Oregon State Park campgrounds will be closing soon for the winter season.
Some of the first to close are popular camp sites in the Columbia River Gorge. Here’s a list.
Closing October 26
Closing October 31
Closing November 2
Closing December 1
Oregon Parks and Recreation says year-round camping is available at 29 state parks at reduced winter rates. (They call this “Discovery Season.) For more information see the Parks and Rec website.
And here’s an important reminder, parking and camping fees are going up next year.
Except for the Day Use fees, the prices listed above show the amount of increase, not how much you’ll pay. For a complete list of campgrounds and the new prices for next year see this website: 2010 Prime Season Rates.
Just a couple of days before the Memorial Day weekend, the BLM office in Coos Bay says it’s opening several campgrounds and recreation sites.
The Coos Bay district includes ten campgrounds with 158 sites near Reedsport, Coquille and other areas along the southern Oregon Coast. One of the the campgrounds, at the Loon Lake Recreation Area, allows you to book reservations online. But when we checked this evening, all those sites were taken for the weekend. But BLM says there are several first-come, first-served sites at this location.
Loon Lake Recreation Area. Courtesy BLM.
The recreation pages on the Coos Bay website are in some kind of transition. The information about where all the campgrounds are located is somewhat messy and hard to find. You’re best bet may be to call the office at 541-756-0100.
If you want to start online, begin here. It only includes information on two of the ten campgrounds and some of the day use sites. But it does include a link to an older page with some information about all the campgrounds.
If you’re hoping to reserve a campsite for the Memorial Day Weekend, your chances of booking something are close to zero at Oregon State Parks.
Oregon Parks and Recreation says all of the 4200 campsites available for reservations are gone. “We’re booked up everywhere,” says Sheri Miller of Reservations Northwest which manages reservations for the Parks Department. “”We suggest that people still call until Wednesday to see if any sites are available because of cancellations, but that’s a long-shot.”
The Yurt campground at Fort Stevens State Park. Courtesy Oregon Parks and Recreation.
Miller says you’re probably better off trying for one of the 1350 sites that are open on a first-come, first-served basis. These sites are available at 24 state parks, including Ainsworth and Viento in the Gorge, Cape Blanco and Humbug Mountain near Port Orford, Jasper Point on the Prineville Reservoir, and Hilgard Junction near La Grande.
For a complete list visit this link from Oregon Parks and Rec. Clicking on it will open a PDF file. You can also call the Department at 1-800- 551-6949.
Let’s start off by telling you what this story is not about. It’s not about higher camping fees.
But it is about changes in the online reservation system many of us use to book camping sites at Oregon State Parks. If these changes go through, you’ll have to pay more upfront when you make reservations.
The yurts at Beverly Beach State Park near Newport. Courtesy Oregon Parks and Recreations
Here’s how the proposed changes will work. When booking online you’ll be expected to pay a one-time fee of $6, plus the entire cost of the reservation. Right now, you only have to pay the $6 plus the cost of first night.
Say you’re making a week long reservation for a full hookup trailer site at $22 per night. Under the new plan, you’ll pay $160 when making the reservation ($22 times 7, plus $6). Under the current plan it’s only $28 upfront ($22 for the first night, plus $6) and then the remaining $132 when you show up.
Park officials say they’re looking at these changes to eliminate a chronic problem with overbooking. Programs Manager Richard Walkoski says that only seven percent of the people who reserve a site for 14 days stay the entire time. That means others who want to camp during that period are shut out of the booking process until the first reservation is cancelled.
“That’s unfair to people who use the reservations systems as it is intended to be used, and it’s costly to us,” says Walkoski. “Some of those sites go unoccupied, costing parks potential revenue.”
The Parks and Recreation Department will hold a series of public meetings on the proposed change.
April 21, 2009, 7-9 p.m.
Central Lincoln Public Utility Meeting Room
2129 N. Coast Highway
Newport, OR
April 23, 2009, 7-9 p.m.
Holiday Inn
20615 Grandview Drive
Bend, OR
And for more information go here:
