Bureau of Land Management · Nw Oregon Tillamook Field Office · OR

Elk Bend Recreation Site

ReservableBookable through December 5; October 30 opens April 30.
Book on recreation.govWe make nothing when you book
Right now
Taking bookingsSites offered on 30 of the next 30 nights read 16:59 UTC
A night
$75From, per site
Sites
1All of them booked ahead
970 ftElevation
152 ftWater · Nestucca RiverEstuary · 18.7 mi · to Sand Lake
11.5 miNE of Grand Ronde, OR
57%Tree cover
Bortle 4Night sky · 740th darkest of 770 in OR

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there · 9 notices

In the agency’s own words

Want to camp? Camping season is generally May-September, with Alder Glen and Elk Bend remaining open through the weekend following General Western Oregon Coast 2nd Season for elk. During months with reduced sunlight, potable water may be turned off. Be prepared to bring your own wash and drinking water. Reserve a site at one of our four campgrounds on recreation.gov or pay when you arrive for non-reserved campsites using the Recreation.gov Mobile App . You must download before you reach the site since there is no cell reception in the drainage. A place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the electronic age. Keep reading

Elk Bend is the Bureau of Land Management’s group campground within the Nestucca River Recreation Area. The campground sits along the Nestucca River National Back Country Byway and newly designated Nestucca Wild and Scenic River . The Byway takes travelers on a slow, leisurely route that winds through Oregon's Coast Range. The Nestucca River is renowned for fishing opportunities and beauty.

Recreation

A small group campground offering 5 individual campsites in the Oregon Coast Range.

Facilities

Each campsite contains a picnic table and fire ring. A centralized paved parking area is centralized up on the Nestucca Back Country Byway. There is one vault toilet and seasonal potable drinking water.

Natural Features

Nestucca Wild and Scenic River Nearby Attractions The Nestucca Off-Highway Vehicle Area is located in the Nestucca Backcountry Byway, and includes Whipup Flat, Elk Flat, and Grassy Flat. Oregon ATV permits required .

Charges & Cancellations

Standard fees apply and are non-refundable. Visit https://www.recreation.gov/rules-reservation-policies for more information.

What the agency tells you

Rule

Campfires? Please see here for current campfire restrictions: Fire Closures and Restrictions (https://www.blm.gov/programs/public-safety-and-fire/fire-and-aviation/regional-info/oregon-washington/fire-restrictions). Typically, campfires are limited to the steel fire rings or BBQ grills provided within the recreation site. No building rock campfire rings.

Rule

Pack-it in, pack-it out.

Rule

Quiet hours are from 10:00 pm to 7:00 am.

Everything else this campground posts · 6
Rule

Firewood collection is NOT allowed at the developed campgrounds.

Rule

Pets are allowed but must be leashed (max. 6 feet). Please dispose all pet waste in trash receptacles.

Rule

A fee of $5 for extra vehicles will be collected at the facility through the on site fee station. Cash or check made payable to BLM is accepted. Place fee in the yellow fee envelope. Keep the receipt tab to display on your vehicle dash or campsite post.

Rule

No ATVs or ORVs allowed within the recreation site.

Rule

Caution: Log trucks may be encountered throughout the year. The Byway is open year-round but may become hazardous due to snow and ice.

Rule

The site is remote, there is no cell service or electrical connections. Sites are small and may have limitations.

Read them on the agency’s own page →

Tents and rigs

Sites
1 · 1 group
Hookups
None
Paved pads
All
Accessible sites
None listed
Pets
Allowed
Campfires
Allowed, barring fire bans
Shade
Every site
Source: Recreation.gov campsite records · Aug 23, 2026

Facilities

Toilets
Vault Toilets
“…Back Country Byway. There is one vault toilet and seasonal potable drinking water. Natural…”
Drinking water
Yes
“…Be prepared to bring your own wash and drinking water. Reserve a site at one of our four campgrounds on…”
Stay limit
13 nights
recreation.gov facility rule maxStay

Around the campground

On the water
River, Coast
Fishing
Water access
Wildlife viewing
Cell signal · Cell signal · BLM says
None
Source: Recreation.gov activity records · Aug 23, 2026
Cell signal: the BLM’s own campground description, read as text by CAMPANAC. None of this is a measurement. It’s what the land manager published about the place, and phones, carriers and weather all disagree with each other; treat it as a warning, not a promise. · Sep 8, 2026

2 of 2 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 16:59 UTC

Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.

OpenBooked

Booking windowThrough December 5Bookable now through December 5, 2026, the end of the reservable season. On October 30, 2026 at 10 AM ET, availability opens through April 30, 2027.recreation.govAdd to calendar (.ics)
Max stay13 nightsthe facility record
A night$75plus $8 to reserve, once per bookingthe agency’s fee record
A weekend$158DerivedFriday and Saturday, everything includedours, from the lines above
If plans change$10 to cancel$10 to change a reservation; this campground publishes its own terms toorecreation.gov’s schedule
Runs itBureau of Land ManagementBooked through recreation.govthe agency’s record
Watch for a cancellation

Full? Watch it.

One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.

We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.

Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.
Tell me when the season opens

Watch for the season to open

One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.

We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.

Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.

We’ll write once, when the season that starts Fri, Apr 30 2027 is open for booking.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.
Book on recreation.gov

We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.

Every line of the receipt · 16

What you actually pay

The sign priceBureau of Land Management
A night, from$75
Group area, a night$75
Rates for the season the campground is in now, May 1, 2026 to Dec 5, 2026.
Campground fee of $75 per night up to 25 people.
Each additional person is $2.50 per night.
Additional service fees apply and are non-refundable.
The booking feerecreation.gov
Reservation fee, booked online$8
One fee per reservation, however many nights you book, and it’s non-refundable. $9 if you book by phone, $3 in person.
Pass discounts only apply to the recreation (or use) fee for the facility. Other charges such as electricity or water hookups, reservation or other fees are not eligible for a discount.
What this campground addsits own record
Extra vehicle$5

“A fee of $5 for extra vehicles will be collected at the facility through the on site fee station.” · the Bureau of Land Management’s own agency notice

What a stay costs
One night, fromDerived$83
A weekend, Friday and Saturday, fromDerived$158

Derived by CAMPANAC: the lowest per-night amount the agency’s fee record states ($75), plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.

If your plans changerecreation.gov
Change fee, moving to dates outside your booking$10
Cancellation fee$10
Cancelling the day before, or the day of$10 + your first night
No-show$20 + your first night

“Standard fees apply and are non-refundable. Visit https://www.recreation.gov/rules-reservation-policies for more information.” · this campground’s own terms

Who keeps the booking fee

The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →

How we know this receipt · 7

recreation.gov availability, read 16:59 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

The sites

1 sites

All 1 sites

SleepsUp to

The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 1 of the 1 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.

Getting there

the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Coordinate45.28287, -123.54032
The phone503-375-5646
The agency’s pageOfficial page ↗

Where it is

Getting there

From Coastal Hwy 101 at Beaver: Turn right onto Blaine Road. Drive 7 miles to reach the Nestucca Byway. 

From Willamina: Take Willamina Creek Road, to Coast Creek Road, to Gilbert Creek Road, to Bald Mountain Access Road , to Bible Creek Road to the Nestucca Byway.

From Carlton: Take Meadow Lake Road west 12 miles, continue onto the Nestucca Byway.

The weather

the next four days · the thirty-year normal

Next four days, and the thirty-year normal

Forecast

Today77°Mostly Sunny
Tonight52°Partly Cloudy then Slight Chance Light Rain22% rain
Saturday64°Slight Chance Light Rain then Mostly Cloudy15% rain
Saturday Night40°Patchy Fog then Partly Cloudy

NWS forecast for Grand Ronde, OR

Typical weather

Typical October night 46°F, day 63°F.

Coldest month of the year: typical February night 40°F. Bring the bag rated for it.

80°30°

Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more

A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Augusts are colder than the August line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.

Measured at: CLOVERDALE, OR (USC00351682), 18 miles away and 958 ft lower

The land, and who answers for it

what threatens it · who answers for it

What threatens this place

Watch
Roadless
Hebo 1a13,930 acres · 10 mi · inventoried roadless area

You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.

Source: MTJP Threatened Lands map · Oct 3, 2026

Who answers for this land

Suzanne Bonamici, official portrait

Elk Bend Recreation Site is in Oregon’s 1st congressional district. Its representative, Suzanne Bonamici (D), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: A+. See every public-lands vote →

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

How we know

every fact on this page, and where it came from
Right now: recreation.gov is offering sites on 30 of the next 30 nights, which isn’t something a closed campground does.
Cell signal: the BLM’s own campground description, read as text by CAMPANAC. None of this is a measurement. It’s what the land manager published about the place, and phones, carriers and weather all disagree with each other; treat it as a warning, not a promise. · Sep 8, 2026

“…download before you reach the site since there is no cell reception in the drainage. A place to get away from the hustle and…”