Page Springs Campground

We had trouble with our truck on the way to South Steens CG so we detoured to Page Springs in case we needed a tow. A week later, we are regretfully leaving for home. Sites are spacious, and include something for everyone- shade, views, creek side, full sun, partial sun. Very well maintained, super quiet. Only downside is the 3 mile bone-jarring washboard road from Frenchglen.

We had intended to bike a lot more this week but all the gravel roads here are so washboard-y that it’s downright unpleasant. And that’s with full suspension mountain bikes with 2.25 inch knobby tires. We cycled from Jackman Park up to the top along the rim about 10 miles which was fabulous. Be prepared for much different weather up there.

The internet connectivity is surprisingly excellent here, and it seems to rain a bit every day which has been a pleasant surprise, coming from central Oregon where there’s not been a drop of rain in well over a hundred days.

This is a great campground that I will come to again and again, our last visit being early October 2022. There is fun for everyone--fishing, birding, hiking, geologic beauty, wild horses, and the beautiful Steens Mountain loop road (in the summer). Yes there are hot springs but they are quite a drive, Crane hot springs is 60 miles, Willow creek hot springs is 85 miles. Decent cell connection on US Cellular. The fee is $8, $4 for our senior pass.

This is a beautiful campground and a great base for exploring the Steens, Malheur wildlife refuge and Diamond Craters.

We were in spot number 5 and it was big enough to be three camping spots.

This is really an oasis in the desert!

The camp host did a great job. The campground was spotless!

We stayed 3 nights in September.

I was surprised how busy it was, so get in early to get a spot!

This was one of the most beautiful campgrounds we have stayed at. It was also the buggiest. Early June is a bad time for mosquitoes and other biting insects.

The road in from the main highway is a little rough. Still, it is worth the drive.

The host was very friendly and knowledgeable. The sites are well-maintained and spaced farther apart than most campgrounds. Freshwater near the sites.

Surprisingly great cell phone service. 24.5 MB down and 1.5 up on Verizon.

If you have the time, visit Frenchglen, Fields Station, and the Alvord desert.

We are definitely here in the off-season. There has been 1-2 campers here besides the host our entire visit and it has been snowing on and off for 4 days. The sites are spaced generously. It is a dreamy view from the campsite with ducks/birds frolicking in the river and rolling hills all around. There is a tall hill backing the campground, so wind was no issue. We are situated between a river and its offshoot. There is a gravel/dirt road that is well maintained to get here. The Verizon signal is awesome, 5 bars LTE with consistent 35 mbps down and 5 mbps up. No T-mobile signal AT ALL. Several hiking trails around. I bet the fishing would be great too. The host, Gary and his dog Dotty are very friendly. This was a perfect peaceful retreat and worth the detour. FYI the water is currently running (April) and there are dishwater drains positioned through the campground, that helped us save gray tanks filling with dishwater. There is diesel and gasoline in Frenchglen at the Mercantile. No real grocery stores for miles so stock up before heading to camp.

it’s a beautiful setting - lots of trees, a creek, deer walking through, clear skies. There’s lots of space between cabin sites. Very clean pit toilets, fire rings, picnic tables. You’ll be close enough to Frenchglen for services while in the front edge of the Steens Mountains Wilderness. $8 night, great cell coverage. The 3 miles of gravel road to get here wasn’t bad.

The washboard road to get here is about 3 miles(?) long and took us around 25 minutes to navigate. That is literally the only negative, and perhaps it's even a positive as the campsite is off the beaten track and therefore so quiet. Jeez, this place is REALLY nice. Huge space between each site, and most of them either back on to the small river or the flowing spring. It's green, grassy and very pleasant. Dry camping, although there are water faucets within reach of most sites if you have a long hose. There is a small herd of deer that wander through the campground with minimal fear. Verizon coverage was amazing as there's a cell tower nearby. Almost zero pull through sites, but we did get our 40' 5th wheel around the entry road very easily, although there was a bit of angst at the end hairpin. The sites are huge; once we'd backed in (easy-peasy) it felt like the whole place was ours, despite there being other campers in the area. $8 a night only, so $4 with Senior National Park Pass. We absolutely loved it here and will be back for sure.

This campground was a planned stop on our way up to Washington from the northern California valley and Don Pedro Lake. We arrived early on Sunday after spending the night at Denio Junction, where they allow boondocking. After the 100-105 degree temps of the previous week, this place was pretty pleasant. I think it reached 95, but only stayed there briefly and started cooling by 5 pm. A nice breeze - that didn't feel like an OVEN - helped a lot, and in the shade it was pretty nice. Our site, #10, is huge and grassy. We were able to easily back in, and when we leave we're going back out the same way. The roads are marked as one-way, but the turns at the south end are too challenging for our length and height. We're 68' long, and 13'6" tall, and have enough scratches, thank you very much! Cement picnic tables and fire pits with grates at each site, several pit toilets and water spigots around the loops. Most everyone left by noon, and a couple more came in. Very quiet except for our generator (sorry, but these temps...!). We're hoping it will cool off enough by evening that we can shut it off for the night. The 3.5 mile maintained gravel road in from OR 205 was washboarded, but we went slow and it was fine.

We came north on 205, and the 14% grade coming down into Frenchglen was a surprise. Take it slow!

Our fee was actually $4 with the senior pass. Our stay was 4/30-5/1/21. We lucked out getting the last spot on Friday late morning. Several spots opened up the next morning which were taken by early afternoon. There are 2 nice trails going out from the campground and the spring migrant birds were arriving so we kept binocular and camera close at hand. The sites have no hookups but there is a picnic table and fire pit, water spigots and clean vault toilets. Our site was very level and grassy with a lovely big cottonwood tree. There were no mosquitoes. The weather was great, with sunshine and not much wind. We were too early to drive the Steens mountain loop (snow), but we enjoyed driving to Peter French round barn and the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

This BLM campground is at the south end of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge. We saw lots of birds in the campground and even heard an owl during the night. Expect to see birders walking through the campground with binoculars and cameras.

There are 32 campsites, all first come first serve with plenty of space between sites. Some sites are big enough for any size rig and others will only accommodate a tent. There are no hookups at the campsites but water faucets and gray water dumps are located throughout the campground. There are also pit toilets in good condition. Sites range from full shade to full sun. Many, including our site 32, are a combination of shade and sun. We were able to keep cool in the shade and had plenty of sun for the solar panels. The normal rate is $8.00 per night or $4.00 with a senior pass.

Mosquito season is late May through the middle of August. We had no mosquitoes during the second week of September.

The gravel road off of highway 205 to the campsite is a bit bumpy in places, but not bad if you watch your speed. It's three miles of gravel road from the paved highway 205 to the campground.

We had an excellent Verizon signal in the campground.

Be sure to visit Steens Mountain. The view of Kiger Gorge is really impressive! We did the entire Steens Mountain loop gravel road. The road from the campground going up the mountain is a very gradual climb. The road going down on the second half of the loop has been improved but the road is a little more bumpy with some interesting and sometimes scary canyon views. The second half of the loop is a bit longer to get back to highway 205. If we were doing the trip again we would drive to the summit from the campground and then backtrack on the same road to the campground. The second half of the loop gets a bit long on the bumpy gravel road.