Farewell Bend State Recreation Area

Stayed Oct 22-24 as they close after the last weekend in Oct. Fall rate $26/night for electric & water. Easy in/out dump station near checkin.
Loop A-tent loop called Antelope already closed. Loop B-Brownlee Loop has mature trees and bushes to screen sites arranged in a circle around the bathhouse. Loop C-Catfish Loop is closer to the river, but is very open between sites.

Less than a dozen sites in use, due to rainy, windy weather. We were snug. There is some road noise from I-84 just across the river & from trains east of campground. But with the rain…noise is noise.

Firewood available for a fee on a hand truck for easy transport to your site. No hosts at this late date.

Campsite Self-registration and they take Amex, MC or Visa in addition to cash.

This is one of several Oregon State Parks I’ve visited in the last year and again I’m, well, underwhelmed.

The location itself is not impressive and was merely a one night stopover. My site was level and adequately spaced from the neighboring sites to provide decent privacy. There’s little in the way of trees, but that’s simply the landscape. As my visit was during the summer, the biting flies, bees and mosquitoes were an annoyance.

My disappointment is with the lack of maintenance. To begin, someone had previously backed into both the electric pole and water faucet at my campsite, leaving both bent at an angle. Filling a water jug from the spigot was impossible, as the water was aimed at a 45 degree upward. I used a neighboring unoccupied site's spigot.

The bathroom and showers are nice buildings, but had obviously not been properly cleaned in a while. Black mildew, hair in the drains, etc. So much for Covid safety measures, huh? This was the same for other Oregon parks I’ve visited this year. I don't think the camp hosts are responsible for this task.

The doors to the bathrooms were propped open all night, allowing bugs to swarm the interior lights. The number of dead and live bugs in the bathroom sinks easily numbered in the hundreds. Dead/dying bugs covered the toilet seats and had to be wiped away before use.

The following morning I packed up and departed without even eating breakfast. I wouldn't choose this campground again.

Lotta birds and critters by the Snake River Farewell Bend SP: jackrabbits, turkeys, quail, lizards, an enormous river to cool off in. This park has hidden beauty and great history if you’re an Oregon Trail buff. There are ruts all over ard here. Lousy for AT&T, better for Verizon. The Jetpack performed well in A66. Great interactions with the rangers. Huge boat ramp. Ample shade. Truck stop is convenient to fill up yer rig. Better AT&T coverage here.

We camped on Brownlee Loop in mid-June during unseasonably hot weather and were happy for the hookups. Each site has a picnic table and fire pit. Most sites are fairly well spaced with some vegetation between for privacy. Sites are a combination of back-in and pull-through. A (Antelope) Loop has a combination of 30 tent sites and 10 electric sites. B (Brownlee) and C (Catfish) Loops all have water and electric, we had 50amp service. C loop is a little more open with fewer mature shade trees. Each loop has bathrooms/showers, we didn’t use those but took a peek and the restrooms were clean and the showers were free. The volunteers and park staff were very friendly and helpful and do a good job keeping the campsites clean.

It’s a large campground but it also appears to be very popular with the boating crowd. We took our kayaks out for a long paddle and were happy to find that the reservoir is large enough that we weren’t strafed by the power boats. We did experience both the wind and the mosquitoes so come prepared. Fishing must be good because the tent campers next us brought a small electric chest freezer (really!). Lol.

There is a dump station, a large day use area with historical markers, a boat ramp with fish cleaning station, and a huge fenced off-leash dog area.

Contrary to several other reviews we had 4 bars of Verizon 4G and had no speed issues.

Nicely maintained park, and we lucked into a spot, 11, within 20 ft of the river without advance reservation. We didn't need to do any leveling on our site. The bathrooms were clean and stocked, as was the rest of the park. Didn't see any trash when we walked around the park, and it was so quiet, we only ran our generator for a couple of hours after dark,

I was saddened on how this park has been let go. I'm not sure if it's due to time or the Election Infection called covid. It was 50 shades of brown, the trees and bushes looked terrible and stressed.

The site was fairly level, some shade trees but they didn't provide much shade. The cell was available but super slow, they had water, power and dump station but no sewer at site. It was quiet and plenty of open sites but I would still recommend making reservations. There is nothing really close (stores) so bring what you need & remember this is snake country. The river is really low this time of year too.

Plenty of room to move for all size rigs.

NOTE- Non residents pay close attention the Gov has raised the rate for up to 30%. She claims it's temporary but I doubt it.