Bates State Park

We arrive late in the afternoon on a Tuesday. There were 3 spaces of perhaps 30 occupied. All sites were self select and back-in gravel pads. Each site had a wood picnic table and a fire ring. Trash cans were available around the park. Walk-in and bicycle rider tent sites were available on the hill near the entrance. The camp host trailer space was empty, but the firewood area was piled high.

You pay via drop box, but can use your credit card information to pay. Each night was $11 per site. Firewood was $5 per wagon load.

The park was extremely quiet and dark, except for the restroom lights. Walking paths and trails were in the non-camping area of the park.

Come prepared - there did not appear to be any stores or fuel for miles (best locations for both services are miles away in Baker City, Vale, or John Day). There are no hook ups. They have a hand dump for grey water from dish cleaning and a couple of potable water points. There are lots of non-potable water supply points - they are very high pressure and are used to keep the vast lawn areas green.

Should we find ourselves in the area again, we would stay here without hesitation.

Open spacious sites, lots of grass. We had the best site #25. Even the host agreed because there are mature trees and shade.
Great hiking loops which could be as short and easy as 1/2 mile or doing multiple loops not all easy. You can do 3-4 miles. My dog loved it and we saw a few dear and many hawks. The pond and paths have benches where you can sit.
Great fresh water spring on route 7 about a mile from the intersection.

This is a prime road biking area and there is a bike/hike camp in the park.
Great water and clean restrooms.
Route 20 or north fork road is quiet.

If you have a 4 wheel drive, a trip up vinegar hill where there used to be a fire tower and mountain goats is worth while. It is a right turn off about 2/3 miles down route 20. The road is very rough the last 7 miles on the climb.
There are a few mines to explore also.

If you travel down 7 to mile marker 6 you can get Verizon cell service.

We stayed here for two nights the end of May 2021 and we can’t wait to go back. There is no power or sewer but there is lots of room between you and the next site over with lots of grass. It is kept up wonderfully, even the bathrooms. Lots of trails to the pond and all over the place. Also, a great place to take off on your bike. We rode highway 7 to Galena and back and it was scenic and awesome. The tent area is so nice and they have electricity!
The only negative would be the mosquitoes in the evening but they weren’t all that bad compared to other places we have stayed. Just cover up.
Oh, and no Verizon service. You have to drive about 5 miles to get any.

We were here 9/29-10/2, and truly enjoyed our peaceful visit. The park was immaculate, and we had our choice of sites. They are pretty much in the middle of a green open field...which we found as a welcome relief, as it was extremely dry in Oregon and fires were raging back home. It also meant we had great solar. The vault toilets were the cleanest we've ever seen, and smelled of bleach every morning.

The park has several displays detailing the history of the company town and lumber mill of Bates, that used to be here. The wood was brought here via the narrow gauge Sumpter Valley Railroad. Families that grew up here still get together for reunions.

We also enjoyed the network of trails on site. We took a day trip from Bates to hike the trail to Strawberry Lake (south of Prairie City), as the road to the trailhead was not recommended for trailers.

Very nice place, with some of the largest sites you're likely to come across. We were there toward the end of September, 2020, in hunting season, and thought it might be crowded. Nope, I think there might have been 5 sites occupied. Nice. Sites are 'paved' with large gravel, and surrounded by grass, so there is no chance of traipsing mud/dirt/sand into your rig or tent.

This place is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, so we were somewhat surprised how many pickups drove by late at night and early in the morning. Not a huge deal, but we didn't expect to hear a couple of trucks at 4 a.m. Do people live down the county road and have long commutes?

We actually have devices from all four cell providers, and there was zero signal on any of them, so don't expect to be checking your email while you're there. Near as we could tell, it's probably ten miles to the nearest signal.

No power at any of the sites, but there look to be water faucets near almost all of them. No hooking up to the faucets, but you'll be able to fill.

If you have solar (and if you don't, why not?), this is a great campground. Trees have been fairly recently planted, but it's going to be a few years before they block the sun to any of the sites.

There are a couple of miles of modest hiking trails in the park, nothing real exciting or challenging. And since we had no internet, we couldn't search for any other trails that might have been nearby.

There's a very small store/cafe about a mile away, but it's about 50 miles to Baker City, where you can find actual supermarkets, so do your shopping before you get here!

Have stayed at Bates several times. It's super clean, easy access, and never full (or even half full). Nice easy hiking around the pond with some strenuous hiking spurs too. Locals fish the pond, but no swimming (leaches, etc). Deer and waterfowl are common in the area. A popular spring drinking water access point is on hwy20 1 mile away and the closest Verizon cell is at a turnout 5-6 miles north on Hwy20. No big trees (you'll see why on their history signs), but many sights allow RVs to create their own patio shade and the nights are generally cool. A really nice place for an overnight or a week. Any size rig will fit here.

This is a beautiful facility that will be even better in a few years. We drove through three years ago when it was just opened, and the seedling trees newly planted. We checked in again last week to see how it's going. One bicyclist camped overnight in the hiker/biker section, and the sprinklers were on, giving the slightly larger trees and well-established grass a thorough soaking. Road are paved, the flat gravel pads are flat, and each site is nicely outfitted with fire rings and tables.

There's a single double-sided restroom with flush toilets but it's a bit remote from most of the sites. Plan your spot accordingly.

We were looking for more shade on this very unseasonably hot summer day, so we continued on five miles further down Hwy 20 to Deerhorn Forest Camp where the Ponderosa pines provide terrific shade.

There's no internet/cell service anywhere in this neck of the woods. Bates is right off the road (Hwy 20) and with the current diminutive tree size, privacy will be a bit scarce for some years hence.