SP Campground Review – Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area, Pendleton, OR
Not a “destination”, but a convenient and green stop along I-84 in Oregon
Link to campground here: Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area, Pendleton, OR
Link to map location here: Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area, Pendleton, OR
- Site Quality = 3/5
Decent, but not spectacular sites here. They are all paved back-ins, with a selection of either full hookups (18 sites total -> 30 amp/water/sewer) or tent (32 sites -> no hookups) and on-site picnic table and fire-pit. Decent separation, although some are closer than we’d like plus good all-round green and trees everywhere. Biggest ding is unlevel sites (ours required all the levelers we had on our back wheels) and several of the “tent” sites are at right-angles to the road and have rather difficult access for bigger rigs. There is also a separate cabin loop (C-loop) and horse-camp area. - Facilities = 3.5/5
Basic, good facilities here. Large warm, individual showers and toilets all kept spotlessly clean. Biggest ding is showers have those annoying spray-heads (except disabled shower). Small picnic area on-site plus large green lawn behind the community building. - Location = 2/5
This is not exactly a “destination” location. It’s a convenient stop on I-84 and is not that far from La Grande, plus it does have some OR trail history (a few displays), but not much else. - Pet Friendliness = 5/5
Good doggie site. There are no “official” trails in the park, but plenty of “unofficial” logging trails behind the facilities which go for miles into the woods. Decent space in camp, plus there is a large, green lawn for doggie to play behind the community building.
Overall Rating = 3.4
BONUS ALERT = Explore a historic stop on the Oregon Trail!
Summary: I would call this a convenient & green stop along I-84, but not exactly a “destination” location. It’s a good all-around State Park set in a thick fir forest just off I-84. The positives are the green environment and the Oregon trail history (the spring here was a common stop for emigrants and the park a few displays on it). Sites are OK, but not spectacular. They are paved and mostly quite large, but quite a few are rather uneven. All sites are back-in and have fire-pit, picnic table and a selection of either full hookups (30 amp/water/sewer) or “tent” (no hookups). Decent separation, although a few are closer than we like. There is also a separate loop (C-loop) with cabins and a horse-camp area set nicely back from the road. There are no official hiking trails, but many “unofficial” logging trails right from camp (explore behind the facilities and you’ll find quite a few miles). The biggest issue is road-noise. This campground is literally right off the I-84 so you will get constant day-and-night noise from the freeway no matter which site you choose. Not a big issue for a short stop, but it makes it way too noisy for a longer stay.
Extra Info: Good Verizon 3G signal. Sites cost $20/night for full hookups (18 sites -> 30 amp/water/sewer), $17 for tent sites (32 sites -> no hookups) in summer season. On-site dump station and water.
Nina,
I can’t tell you how much we enjoy your blog. My husband, John, and I have been RVing for over thirty years. I have always kept a trip journal and I do quite a bit of photography. Last year we went on a 4 week trip to the “Western States” and I wrote a blog on word press for friends and family to share. I enjoy doing it very much but I find it extremely time consuming. I would really love to know how you are able to write so much wonderful, thorough information in such great detail and still find time to enjoy your travels.
Thanks in advance for any good tips and tricks,
Eva
Well, I appreciate the lovely compliment and I wish I could tell you I have some kind of magic formula, but this blogging stuff really does take time LOL. I’ve managed to get more efficient at blogging over the few years I’ve been doing it. Generally I’ll think of the blog outline while I’m out visiting stuff and will have a good idea of what to write by the time I get home. But even with that “prep work” there’s usually a couple of hours that go into each post. It’s a lot of work…good thing I like it 🙂
Nina
I have not yet seen an Oregon state park campground that I didn’t like, especially when I compare them to a Washington state campground (WA is my home state).
As a place to park & a warm shower at a reasonable price, I’m a fan.
I have to agree that OR State Parks are pretty nice. There are variations in space, location etc., but overall they do a really, really nice job. We’re fans!
Nina
There is also a casino there one can park at…..we visited as a day trip from Walla Walla which was nice….but I am not a fan of Pendleton….
Yeah, I think we saw the Casino on the way out. Good to know you can park there.
Nina
It was a great picnic stopover for me last summer. I agree, a nice stopover location. I will be heading towards the Portland area next week. How far from Portland will you be just before or after Memorial weekend?
We’ll be right IN Portland on Memorial Day weekend. We prefer to “hide” away in private parks during the big vacations. So, we’ll be staying at Columbia River RV Park.
Nina
As always you give great information. Being your spectacular photo skills, I wonder if it would be too much trouble in one of your future blogs to show a closeup of the tires on blocks when you indicate ‘very uneven’ parking pad. Just curious to see how you set up. Thanks
Sure. In fact I wrote a post about leveling (with pics) a while back. We still use the same stuff:
Supporting & Leveling The RV
And here’s a recent pic too. The blocks under the tires are Lynx Levelers. They’ve worked great for us.
Leveling “the beast”[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_14682" align="alignnone" width="300"]
Another nice SP is Deschutes River State Recreation Area (found this last year, as I was driving and I wanted to stop…lol), It is a green oasis in a desert. The only “downside” were the railroad tracks. But most of the state parks that go thru the Gorge have trains passing by. We don’t have a dog any more but if we did it would get a 5/5. Very green, river is a walk thru the campground, showers very clean. Most of the sites looked pretty level to us (we are picky). Liz-Boise, ID
Just looked it up since I hadn’t seen this one. Looks like a nice, green spot to stop on the east-side of the Gorge.
Nina
That is one area of Oregon we have spent very little time in. Thanks for the campground info; this may be the year!
Oh no! You’re making me want to go back to Oregon! Great review and pics, Nina.
I hope you gets bit of green and cool in your spot, Sue! We’ll be following along.
Nina
Sue,
I just noticed your blog was down and I sent you a message. Let me know if I can help in any way to get it up and running again. We can’t lose your blog!!
Nina
Happy to see Sue on your blog. I hope she’ll be back blogging very soon. Nina, I follow you as avidly as I do RVSue. Both of you are my favorite RV bloggers and I’m so thankful that you share your adventures with all of us.
I just heard from her. She’s working on getting her blog transferred to a new host, so hopefully she’ll be up and running again soon.
Nina
We are volunteering there Aug 2013 to develop a nice trails map with mileage, etc.