Cottonwood Canyon State Park, Oregon

This weekend we decided to go car camping and went east of the Cascades so as to be dry.  Having visited Cottonwood Canyon last summer quite by surprise we decided to go back and car camp.   This is one of Oregon’s newest state parks, as evidenced by pristine pit toilets.  It hasn’t been around long enough for people to ruin them yet.  Here you can drop one comfortably, while not feeling like you’re in the wrong end of a sewage treatment plant.  You don’t have to rush to gain access to oxygen outside.

There are trails lining both sides of the canyon, with more planned for the future. There are a few other trails in the park as well, taking you to some pretty spectacular scenery.  You can definitely get a decent hike in, or do a shorty if you want.  Word has it the wildlife is abundant, but we were unlucky this trip save for a few duck/geese sightings.  Unfortunately you can’t backpack out here as far as I know.

The campground wasn’t full.  There are spacious spots along the John Day River, which was swole.    Most sites have what we thought was a privacy barrier, but then figured out the next morning is actually a windbreak.

The only downer?  Fucking RV’s running their goddamn generators in the evening, and first thing in the morning.  Funny, the only power I need is the sun for my little LED lamp for our tent, what the hell are you doing in your RV that requires so much electricity?  I know its fun to go play gypsy, but seriously get out of your RV and stop watching TV.  You can do that at home.  Otherwise this is a great car camping place, and its never really busy because it is new, and just isolated enough to keep the crowds away.

There are also bike-in sites and hike-in sites, but I don’t know where anyone would be hiking in from unless you hitchhiked in for some reason.  You could also raft-in obviously, since it’s right in the river canyon.

On the way in you get to see some beautiful country, peppered with wind turbines.  Go check it out.