Forest Road 4610

I stayed here for a month with no issues. It was nice, quiet, and close to Bend. I was only 10-15 min away from Bend which was good so I can work. This area is right in the middle of a big trailhead for mountain bikers so you’ll see them quite often. It does get dusty which is my only complaint but manageable. I would camp here again!
*Reading past reviews, I believe they must have “cleaned up” the area from trash and homeless cause I didn’t see any of that.

We stayed here last year. There were a couple "Residents", but we introduced ourselves and they turned out to be nice. As for trash; We spent Earth Day Cleaning up. It was bad but manageable.

HOWEVER; We returned to scout it out for another visit to Bend. We were heartbroken to see what had become of the are. There are abandoned vehicles and tents. All (we do mean ALL) sites had garbage in them. This is not a place we would camp. It feels dangerous.

More details have been released to the media. The individual killed was a convicted felon with a long history of violent crime from Springfield, OR. Quotes from Bend Bulletin's website:

"Powell’s campsite included numerous items believed to have been stolen, including a U-Haul, a camper trailer, another trailer, a motorcycle and numerous items inside the trailers, Hummel said."

"Powell had an extensive state and federal criminal record, including four felony convictions, and spent 11 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm — a 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun — in 2004. He had the words “DIE PIGS” tattooed on the front of his neck."

Oh, and one answer is to put in a proper FS campground the mountain bikers and non-homeless could use safely. $15 per night with hosts and backup law enforcement would improve the problem.

06/20/18 Update
Sheriff-involved shooting resulting in a fatality.

This has been the best choice for visitors for years, but during the summer months it is crowded with "residents". The city doesn't quite know what to do except try to enforce the 14 days max limit. There was a disturbance last night where a camper was shot and killed by the sheriff's department. No further details have been released.

When you turn off of Skyliners road, you will likely see hoards of tents and barely mobile vehicles. These first spots are snatched up quickly because the road to get back further requires a high-clearance vehicle in some sections. There is more privacy the further you go back, but beware of the dust.

This area is known for its mtb trails(Phil's system) which is incredibly popular. 4610 is the underwear stain in an otherwise incredibly beautiful area.

As for alternatives, I can offer none. Bend recently instituted a 4hr parking max along Drake Park from Memorial Day-Labor Day, and this was another popular overnight spot in the city.

I really liked this spot. I took the first one on the right once you pass the bike trail.

The road is fine, a bit rutted, but I saw all kinds of vehicle going past my spot up the hill. If you are worried about it, hike up the road and check it out yourself.

I thought the area was clean, with no homeless in sight. There was one spot that had tents up for quite some time, but during the week I was there, US Forest people came and tore it all down and got rid of it. There were a few campers there past the 2 weeks, but they were all clean and very nice people.

My only complaint would be the dust! It got everywhere! It is all a fine sand flies around everytime someone drives by.

I did look at other spots in the area, and felt this was best suited to my needs.

For internet over cells - Verizon was very weak download and up, but with my jetpack attached to a MIMO antenna, it worked much better. Plan on boosting it somehow if you can. It will work without, but not the greatest! For Sprint, it says LTE, but don't plan on using it for any kind of streaming. It was very spotty and unpredictable.

Yes, this area is very close to the greater Bend area. Because of it's proximity it was also overrun with people camping in tents clearly past their 2 week stay. These folks where living out here, complete with all the trash that comes with them, including piles of human waste everywhere you look. They caused no issue during our stay, other than occupying much more ideal spots in violation of the normal etiquette/rules.

It is better further down the road (where there are some spaces for truck/trailer rigs) but it is worth dropping the trailer right at the beginning and driving in first. The road can be rough at in places.

Cell signal was great, dust was not so fun. We left early because of impending rain which would have turned the entire place into a massive mud-pit.

I was shocked to find this boondocking site so close to Bend proper, but here it is.

Pulled in Friday afternoon and there are vans / RVs parked very close to the main road. First night I didn't venture too far up and pulled into the first spot I could find. Unfortunately the bike path -- which has folks riding by every 20 mins or so -- was right outside my backdoor.

I'd strongly recommend not being shy and continuing up further down the route. You'll find some awesome, flat, off the bike path sites that are not really occupied. Probably less traffic up further as well.

Folks I ran into hiking were nice and respectful.

Need to get me a mountain bike and come back here ASAP!