Tumalo State Park

I wanted to keep hanging out in Bend and I saw a sign for Tumalo State Park on the highway so I thought I’d check it out. Got lucky with a walk up site and remained for 3 nights. The campground is very clean and well maintained, hot showers and clean restrooms. No trash in the sites. I love Oregon State Parks! They really should teach all the other states how to do it.
Tumalo has a day use area across the road and it may be possible to take a boat down the river from here though I couldn’t get detailed info on it. Ended up floating the Deschutes in Bend many times anyway. So fun!!!
Friendly folks at the campground including rangers and camp hosts. I’d definitely stay at this campground again when I’m back in lovely Bend next year.

I'm not quite in agreement with all of the love that I see the other reviewers have for Tumalo State Park. It is the best option if you're looking for convenience to Bend without being stuck in an RV Park in town, of which there is only one (with another set to open this summer). But the State Park and campground were just fine, not extraordinary. Showers were clean, sites were close together, and campground hosts were unusually friendly and helpful.

What a great campground! Super close to Bend, very clean, and friendly rangers and camp hosts. I arrived a day early and was able to grab a spot— the camp host let me know that the spot (C72) is often not listed online but kept aside as an “emergency” campground for drop ins. It is a really great spot with a lot of space and more privacy than most— your only real neighbors are to the back—and close to bathroom facilities without being too close.

Showers and bathrooms were super well maintained and clean.

There was a big, sudden rainstorm while I was there and many of the sites flooded (especially in the “A” area, which is lower), but I was lucky that my site stayed clear.

The only downside for me was minimal cell coverage. It was pretty consistently one bar but occasionally something would still come through.

Tumalo State Park offers 23 full hookup sites, 54 tent sites, 7 yurts, 2 seasonal group camping/picnic areas and a seasonal hiker/biker camp. We lucked out getting reservations for Memorial Day and the day after – the campground is frequently full and without reservations the best you can get is a day at a time.

Roads and sites are paved, each with a picnic table and firepit. Loop A has restrooms, the other two loops have restrooms and showers. The dish washing station outside the restroom/shower building is a nice feature. If you are in a smaller rig and don’t need hookups, the sites in A loop are lovely – close to the river and they seemed a little more spacious.

The sites are adequately spaced with vegetation between some sites. A lot of the dry camping sites are at a 90˚ angle to the road and we watched several folks struggle to back in. Strategically placed boulders along the roadway ensure you stay on the pavement, but also complicate access to some of the sites.

The day use area along the river is beautiful and we enjoyed the Deschutes River Trail. Another plus is the short drive to Bend and all the shopping and amenities there. We hit the sundowner hour at Crux Brewery both evenings of our stay. 😊

We showed 2 bars of Verizon 4G, but it was very slow and unreliable.

This is a nice state park right next to the Deschutes River and very close to Bend. Our site in Loop A was right on the river. We could hear the lovely rushing river all night long. We also stayed in the Loop B one night. Loop A is tent sites or dry camping for smaller RVs. Loop B has both hook-up sites and tent sites.

Oregon does state parks well! We continue to be impressed every time we visit another one. This one is extremely well kept up. The bathrooms and showers are some of the best (in Loop B). The staff is helpful and easily accessible.

Cell reception:
AT&T ~ three bars of 4G LTE 9.5 Mb down 1.5 Mb
Sprint ~ one bar of 1x unusable
Verizon ~ one bar of 4G LTE but only 1.75 Mb download and .06 Mb upload

Best spot close to Bend without being in an expensive, overcrowded RV Park. We also visited the small town of Sisters nearby (the drive is gorgeous). Stop at Three Creeks Brewery on the way back from a hike in Three Sisters Wilderness. Highly recommend the 5mi hike on Tam McArthur Rim Trail for views of Three Sisters Mountains + Mt. Bachelor.

It was full during our stay – highly recommend advanced reservations; very popular for access to Sisters, Redmond, Bend in high desert of Central Oregon. We’ve camped here regularly over several years and never disappointed

Most recent stay was 6/13/16 - I'm "late" in posting my review ~ We camp in a "Tear Drop” style RV only 15' long w/o toilet or shower ~ plus we like to eat outdoors using the picnic table and set up our dining canopy for sun and weather protection and thus rely on condition of campgrounds facilities and being nearby our site ~ so our critique is focused in that area.

We did get close to restroom/hot shower building w/dishwashing station – this campground is well laid out with restrooms placed in middle of loops and sites circle all around for easy access. Showers are unisex private individual rooms + changing area with lockable door. Showers were clean full on tiled walls and floors w/hooks + shelves for your stuff and wall bench for seating. Not cramped at all and good water pressure and spray. Community restrooms and sinks are in another part of building.

Just awesome park for smaller RV’s up to 35’?, and tents with sturdy picnic table + fire pit + paved roadways + asphalt RV pads. Both full hook-ups and dry-camp. Some sites could be problem for the Big Rigs be sure to check site lengths.

Only 1 CON: No rv dump or potable water fill station. Find one at Creekside Municipal Campground in Sisters for a small fee $10.00