Government Campgrounds

Government parks, which include State and National Parks, Bureau of Land Management, State and National Forests, etc, have the advantage of being located in the most scenic areas in the country. However, the quality and price can vary greatly. And some can also be quite crowded, especially in peak season. Despite this, most of these parks are treasures, and we’re grateful to have them. We especially enjoy the dispersed camping areas run by the Bureau of Land Management as well as campgrounds built by the Corps of Engineers.

Below are government campgrounds we’ve stayed in most recently.

Hudson Parcher County Park - Rainier OR

RATING: ♦♦♦

Dates: Jul 17, 2019 – Jul 21, 2019
Length of stay: 4 nights.
Cost per night: $23.78.
Discount: 10% Senior discount.
Hookups: 50 amps, water, and sewer. Water hookup was on the wrong side of motorhome.
Site number/quality: #15. Large site with narrow gravel pad. Fairly level. However, it was very close to trees on the passenger side, making it tight for the slide with no space to sit. But there was lots of space around on the driver side to sit out in the sun.
Park Quality: Small county park. Nothing special. Quiet during the week, full on weekend with lots of families.
Access: One mile off US-30, which runs between I-5 and the Oregon coast. Rainier OR is across the Columbia River from Longview WA via the Lewis and Clark Bridge, which was built in 1930.
Connectivity: Verizon-OK, AT&T-strong, and T-Mobile-OK.
Return yes/no?: Maybe, if traveling in area.
Notes: Took a day to drive into Portland.
Website: Hudson – Parcher County Park

Schwartz Park (COE) - Cottage Grove OR

RATING: ♦♦♦♦

Dates: Jun 17, 2019 – Jun 24, 2019
Length of stay: 7 nights.
Cost per night: $10 with 50% discount.
Discount: National Parks Senior Pass.
Hookups: There are no hookups, but a dump station is provided.
Site number/quality: #27. Our site was paved, very wide, and fairly level, with a nice picnic table. We had no shade trees on our site, but some nearby tall trees gave us plenty of shade in the afternoon.
Park Quality: Schwartz Park is located on the Row River, just below the Dorena Dam and Lake. The campground is surrounded by a pleasant mix of marshland, forests, and grasslands. Having no hookups is not much of an issue for us. Our on-board tanks allow us to easily survive for a week with no water or sewer hookups. And our upgraded electrical system, which includes a 200 watt Renogy portable solar panel, two 100 amp hour Battle Born lithium batteries, and a 55 amp PowerMax charger, kept us amply powered up. We only needed to run the generator for a total of 90 minutes for the whole week. Most days we didn’t run it at all. But some campers ran their generators all day, which can be noisy. Fortunately, none of them camped near us.
Access: About 5 miles off I-5 near the town of Cottage Grove.
Connectivity: Verizon-poor, AT&T-poor, and T-Mobile-poor.
Return yes/no?: Yes, if in the area again.
Notes: The area is noted for its historic covered bridges. The Cottage Grove Scenic Byway meanders past seven of them. They were built in the 1920s and 30s, and some are still in use.
Website: Schwartz Park

Pleasant Valley Campground - Bishop CA

RATING: ♦♦♦

Dates: Apr 26, 2019 – May 5, 2019
Length of stay: 9 nights.
Cost per night: $14.
Discount: None.
Hookups: None. Only a vault toilet and dumpster.
Site number/quality: #59. Wide, level site right next to the Owens River below the Pleasant Valley Dam and Reservoir.
Park Quality: This is part of the Inyo County park system. Very pretty location in the Owens River Gorge, but the sites and roads in the campground are poorly maintained. It’s also too expensive for what you get. No fresh water or dump station. We had to go back into Bishop for both.
Access: One and a half miles off US-395 on Pleasant Valley Dam Rd (paved) about 12 miles north of Bishop.
Connectivity: Verizon-None, AT&T-OK, T-Mobile-None.
Return yes/no?: Not this campground, but definitely hope to return to Bishop.
Notes: We love the town of Bishop, and enjoyed hanging out. On one of our explorations, we discovered the Horton Creek BLM Campground only a few miles out of town. If we’re ever back in the area, we’ll try to stay there. It has fresh water and a dump station and much cheaper (only $4.00/night with our Senior Pass).
Website: Pleasant Valley Campground