Prineville Reservoir Campground

This is a very nice park in which to spend a few days; it's clean, quiet and a perfect place for getting off of the road and relaxing. It's also ~18 miles up a winding country road, so be sure to get gas & do your grocery shopping as you pass through the city of Prineville. The park hosts sell bags of ice for $3 and small bundles of firewood for $5. There are no soda or vending machines.

At&t doesn't work out here--you're lucky to get 1/2 a bar. Verizon is said to be marginally better. If you absolutely must have cell service then you'll need a quality cellular booster matched with high quality antenna--and a mast to get the antenna at least 15 feet above the ground. My 12 year old Wilson Electronics 4G booster paired with an old trucker's antenna, zip-tied at the top of a 15 foot painter's pole worked exceptionally well. Without the booster SNR was -124db, with the booster it jumped to a very usable SNR -87db.

Starlink works but you have to get the antenna quite high as most of the sites are tree covered. With the antenna on the ground, the app reported loss of signal every 1-2 minutes and speeds were extremely low (1-3MB down). Raising the antenna 25 feet off of the ground improved the signal significantly--90MB/25MB down/up and zero drops. (The daily mid-afternoon rainstorms bring winds gusting above 20 mph--you'll definitely need a very stout mast, which must be guyed.)

We were there on May 5. This is a great park for some, but too closely packed for us, thus 3 stars. The showers and bathrooms are good, the park is well run. The A loop has no hookups but water is available, bathroom is close, a bit of a walk to the showers. There were quite a few sites available mid-week. There are lots of water sports, not much hiking. Very windy. After days of remote camping we wanted a hot shower, and it was fine for that.

Pros: Very clean. Mostly level sites. Fantastic views. Good boat ramp, fish cleaning station. Great docks and mooring. Lots of clean flush toilets. Nice hot showers. Quiet. Swimming at sandy beach with picnic tables, bathrooms, changing rooms, showers, dock, volleyball net. Lovely amphitheater. Junior ranger program in summer. Bike racks. Standard and deluxe cabins. Some full hookups, several with just electrical and water.
Cons: no cell or internet. Dump station at Jasper Point 1 mile away.
There is a boat ramp at Jasper point. We put in a canoe and headed up the crooked river away from Pineville reservoir which was quiet. It board a national wildlife reserve and we saw Eagles and Canadian geese. It is a no wake zone.Great paddle.
Best sites are C15,14, B 13 and along that region

This review is for the main Prineville Reservoir State Park campground. Nearby is Jasper Point campground that is part of the State Park. Also nearby is Prineville RV Resort. We thought that the main Prineville Reservoir State Park campground is the best of the three.

We stayed at site C19 and had an excellent view of the lake. All of the sites along the lake have a great view of the water, C16, C18, C19, B10, B12, B13, B14. Parking pads are paved and level. The B and C loops are for RV camping. The RV sites have water and electric hookups, but not all have a sewer hookup. The A loop is the tent loop. There are also rental cabins available.

The campground is on a hill above the lake with a nice paved walking trail down to the lake. There is a boat dock and very nice fishing/viewing pier. Even the fish cleaning building is a work of art. We also saw an amphitheater and even a small observatory for stargazing. We only saw one hiking trail that begins near the rental cabins.

Verizon cell serviced ranged from 1X to 4G depending on the time of day. We did get a consistent 4G signal with our external antenna and amplifier.

It was nice to see that the park ranger was routinely driving through the campground. The campground is very well maintained by the camp hosts. It's a great place to stay.

With no reservation, we managed a lovely lake view campsite with very fragrant cedar trees. Partial and full hookups available. Hot showers and very clean flush toilets. We were only there for one night and it was the first part of May which is too early for the boaters and bathers. I'm sure this is quite busy in the summer. It's a bit of a drive out to the park, but worth it. No cell service.