Fall River Guard Station
1Heads up1 fire 49 mi away
We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 13 of the next 15 nights read 16:33 UTC
- Sites
- 1All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 13 notices
In the agency’s own words
Fall River Guard Station is situated beneath a canopy of lodgepole pine on the banks of the Fall River in Deschutes National Forest. Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930's, the cabin was originally used as an outpost to fight forest fires. The cabin is an ideal setting for relaxation and recreation, and is available for reservation from April to October. Keep reading
Recreation
Fall River Guard Station is a prime location for fishing, swimming and hiking in summer and early fall. Anglers will enjoy casting a line into Fall River, located just steps from the cabin. The river is open only to fly-fishing, is an outstanding contributor of brown trout to the Deschutes River and provides excellent winter habitat for numerous species. Brook, brown and rainbow trout inhabit the river, and native whitefish can be found below the falls. Access to Fall River Trail is available from the guard station, winding through lodgepole and ponderosa pine along the river.
Facilities
This rustic, 600-square-foot, single story cabin was constructed in the Cascadia style of the Pacific Northwest Region. It has two bedrooms, a kitchen and a living room. The cabin is furnished with one full bed, a twin bed and a two-person futon in the living room. Cabin amenities include a heater, refrigerator, lights and stove, all powered by propane. The kitchen is furnished with cooking utensils, pots and pans. A picnic table is provided for outdoor dining. Guests must bring several of their own amenities, including food, preferred cooking utensils, sleeping bags or preferred bedding, towels, dish soap, matches, a first aid kit, toilet paper and garbage bags. There is no water available at the site. Guests must bring water for drinking, cooking and washing. A vault toilet is located on the premises. RV camping is allowed on-site.
Natural Features
A forest of lodgepole pine provides the backdrop for this area, with the beautiful, spring-fed Fall River flowing adjacent to the cabin. Clear and cold, it originates two miles northwest of Pringle Falls and winds its way northeast to join the mighty Deschutes River. Towering nearby peaks, designated wilderness and remnants of volcanic activity in the area showcase ecosystems typical of central Oregon. Wildlife in the area abounds, including deer, native fish and migratory birds. These species, along with many others, depend on surrounding undeveloped wilderness, clean streams and diverse forests to live.
Nearby Attractions
Lava Lands Visitor Center in Bend, Oregon, and the unique geological landscape of Newberry National Volcanic Monument draw visitors to the region. Visitors may also enjoy traveling the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway. The 66-mile drive through the Cascade Mountain Range weaves through snow-capped peaks and alpine lakes, highlighting the beauty of central Oregon. Call the Bend Fort Rock district office to confirm road access and operating seasons.
What the agency tells you
For the 2026 season, there will be no kitchenware provided such as pots, pans and utensiles. Please plan ahead and prepare to bring your own.
Please contact the Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District at (541) 383-5300 prior to arriving at the cabin to check on any restrictions or conditions, such as fire or road closures, weather or storms that may affect the quality of your visit.
Check-in time is 3:00 p.m. and the check-out time is 11:00 a.m.
Everything else this campground posts · 10
Keep the building and grounds clean to deter squirrel, mice, rats, bears and other wildlife from area.
Pets are not allowed inside the building. Pets are allowed outside the building.
Pack out all food and garbage.
Doors and windows should be locked and all personal items removed upon departure.
The cabin is a non-smoking facility.
No utility hookups.
There is no water on site, please plan ahead and bring your own water supply.
Restroom facilities are provided outside of the guard station at the vault toilet on site.
Learn more about Deschutes National Forest
Don't Move Firewood: Please protect Pacific Northwest forests by preventing the spread of invasive species. Firewood can carry insects and diseases that can threaten the health of our western forests. You can make a difference by obtaining and burning your firewood near your camping destination. Visit Dontmovefirewood.org for further information.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 cabin
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 16 ft
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- VAULT TOILETS on 1 of 1 campsite records
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “…aid kit, toilet paper and garbage bags. There is no water available at the site. Guests must bring water for…”
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, River, Creek
- Fishing
- Historic site
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 529th darkest of 770 in OR
- Bortle 3
Full this Saturdayread 16:33 UTC
How full the weekend is nationally.
OpenBookedNot on the booking system
The one site on offer is taken this Saturday, and on three midweek nights after it as well. read 16:33 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t
Watch for a cancellation
Watch this campground
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.
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 make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 12
What you actually pay
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 · 5
recreation.gov availability, read 16:33 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
1 sites · the site map
All 1 sites
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.
| FALL RIVER GUARD STATION | Fall River Guard Station | cabin nonelectric | 16 ft | 326 ft | $90 |
OpenStreetMap has no toilet mapped within 1 km of this campground, so no site here carries a toilet distance. That’s a gap in the map, not a finding about the campground.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Fall River CampgroundDeschutes National Forest · 0.7 mi
Pringle Falls CampgroundDeschutes National Forest · 2.1 mi
Wyeth Campground - DeschutesDeschutes National Forest · 2.3 mi
Bull Bend CampgroundDeschutes National Forest · 3.0 mi
Crane Prairie CampgroundDeschutes National Forest · 6.7 mi
North Twin Lake CampgroundDeschutes National Forest · 7.0 miEntry to the cabin is by combination lock box. Please call the Forest Service office at 541-383-5300 if you are having difficulty with the combination provided. You can also stop by the office, located at 63095 Deschutes Market Rd. Bend, OR 97701.
From Bend, Oregon, take Highway 97 south. Exit at Sunriver and drive west. Go through the roundabout to Century Drive and turn left. Follow Century Drive south for 3 miles to the junction with South Century Drive (State Route 42). Turn right and head 11 miles west. Fall River Guard Station is on the left side of the road.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Three Rivers, OR
Typical weather
Typical October night 31°F, day 62°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical December night 21°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
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 Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
who answers for it · a letter you can send
Who answers for this land
Fall River Guard Station is in Oregon’s 2nd congressional district. Its representative, Cliff Bentz (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →
Who can change it · 3
Two offices, two different asks. The draft to the agency asks it to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up. The draft to Congress asks why that share is zero and presses for a published minimum at the campgrounds it funds.
- The member who votes the moneyCliff BentzU.S. Representative · Oregon’s 2nd district
- Your senator, on the same appropriationJeff MerkleyU.S. Senator · Oregon
- Your senator, on the same appropriationRon WydenU.S. Senator · Oregon
Read the draft, or change the wording
For the camper who turned up, or tried to book, and couldn’t get in. Every draft is written from this campground’s own record (its agency, its unit, its site count and its own weekend) and the buttons above copy whichever wording is selected here.
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Fall River Guard Station, Deschutes National Forest, Oregon
Dear Cliff Bentz, I’m a constituent in Oregon’s 2nd district. I tried to camp at Fall River Guard Station, Deschutes National Forest, Oregon, and couldn’t. All 1 sites at Fall River Guard Station are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, the one site recreation.gov was offering there was already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Fall River Guard Station keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Fall River Guard Station. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Fall River Guard Station (Deschutes National Forest, Oregon) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Fall River Guard Station, Deschutes National Forest, Oregon
Dear Jeff Merkley, I’m a constituent in Oregon. I tried to camp at Fall River Guard Station, Deschutes National Forest, Oregon, and couldn’t. All 1 sites at Fall River Guard Station are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, the one site recreation.gov was offering there was already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Fall River Guard Station keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Fall River Guard Station. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Fall River Guard Station (Deschutes National Forest, Oregon) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Fall River Guard Station, Deschutes National Forest, Oregon
Dear Ron Wyden, I’m a constituent in Oregon. I tried to camp at Fall River Guard Station, Deschutes National Forest, Oregon, and couldn’t. All 1 sites at Fall River Guard Station are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, the one site recreation.gov was offering there was already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Fall River Guard Station keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Fall River Guard Station. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Fall River Guard Station (Deschutes National Forest, Oregon) via campanac.com