Sand Prairie Campground
- Right now
- Closed for the seasonOut of the season the agency publishes
- A night
- $7–$14Across the site types the agency prices
- Sites
- 2522 on recreation.gov
- Season
- May 1 – September 30Open May 1 through September 30
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 5 notices
In the agency’s own words
This 21-site campground is located in a mixed stand of Douglas-fir, Western hemlock, cedar, dogwood and hazelnut. The nearby Middle Fork River provides for scenic views and excellent recreation opportunities. Hikers, equestrians, and mountain bikers can access the 27-mile Middle Fork Willamette Trail at the south end of the site. Keep reading
Recreation
With Hills Creek Reservoir and the Middle Fork River so nearby, Sand Prairie is a wonderful place to stay for kayakers, paddle boarders, and fishers alike. It also serves as a gateway to the Middle Fork National Recreation Trail, making it a great place for mountain bikers, hikers, and equestrians. Other nearby trails help continue the adventure, with trails to Young's Rock, Larrison Rock, and Chuckle Springs all only a short drive away.
Facilities
The campground has a restroom and trash service. All sites have a picnic table and fire ring. There is no potable water and no gas or electric hookups available. Pull-through sites are limited in number and can fill up quickly.
Natural Features
Nestled in a grove of Douglas-fir, Western hemlock, cedar, dogwood and hazelnut trees, this campground has easy access to Hills Creek Reservoir, Middle Fork River, and several wonderful hiking trails. The foothills for the Cascades and the rushing water of the Middle Fork provide an excellent backdrop for your stay.
Nearby Attractions
Hills Creek Reservoir, Middle Fork River, Young's Rock, Larrison Rock, Chuckle Springs, Indigo Springs
What the agency tells you
Campsites are first-come-first-served unless identified as otherwise by a "Reserved" placard. Sites that have not been reserved can be used first-come-first-served. Please refer to the reservation dates listed on the placards to know if a site has an upcoming reservation or is available.
The day use area at the far end of the campground is free to use both for guests staying in the campground and those who are not.
There is no potable water available in this campground. Guests are recommended to bring their own water or water filtration system.
Everything else this campground posts · 2
Fire restrictions may be in place depending on season and recent weather conditions. Guests are expected to know any restrictions that may impact their stay before arriving at the cmapground.
Road construction and closures my impact travel routes to the site. Guests should look for any closures that may impact their travel before beginning their trip.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 25
- Hookups
- None
- Paved pads
- 5 of 25
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “…sites have a picnic table and fire ring. There is no potable water and no gas or electric hookups available.…”
Around the campground
- On the water
- Reservoir, River, Creek
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
recreation.gov lists 22 of the 25 campsites the agency files here. The rest aren’t on its booking system, so a reservation won’t get you one.
No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.
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.
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 · 13
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $7–$14 a night, 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.
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
rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
25 sites · the site map
All 25 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 1 of the 25 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 22 of the 25 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
Measured shade is NLCD Tree Canopy Cover 2024 (USDA Forest Service / MRLC) read at the site’s own coordinate, 27% canopy or more, and only for the sites the agency gave no Shade value. It never changes the agency’s own shaded count beside it.
| Sand Prairie | 001 | standard nonelectric | $7–$14 | ||
| Sand Prairie | 002 | standard nonelectric | $7–$14 | ||
| Sand Prairie | 003 | standard nonelectric | $7–$14 | ||
| Sand Prairie | 004 | standard nonelectric | $7–$14 | ||
| Sand Prairie | 005 | standard nonelectric | $7–$14 | ||
| Sand Prairie | 006 | standard nonelectric | $7–$14 | ||
| Sand Prairie | 007 | standard nonelectric | $7–$14 | ||
| Sand Prairie | 008 | standard nonelectric | $7–$14 | ||
| Sand Prairie | 009 | standard nonelectric | $7–$14 | ||
| Sand Prairie | 010 | standard nonelectric | $7–$14 | ||
| Sand Prairie | 011 | standard nonelectric | $7–$14 | ||
| Sand Prairie | 012 | standard nonelectric | $7–$14 | ||
| Sand Prairie | 013 | standard nonelectric | $7–$14 | ||
| Sand Prairie | 014 | standard nonelectric | $7–$14 | ||
| Sand Prairie | 015 | standard nonelectric | $7–$14 | ||
| Sand Prairie | 016 | standard nonelectric | $7–$14 | ||
| Sand Prairie | 017 | standard nonelectric | $7–$14 | ||
| Sand Prairie | 018 | standard nonelectric | $7–$14 | ||
| Sand Prairie | 019 | standard nonelectric | $7–$14 | ||
| Sand Prairie | 020 | standard nonelectric | $7–$14 | ||
| Sand Prairie | 021 | standard nonelectric | $7–$14 | ||
| Scan and Pay | ScanPay 2 | type not stated | |||
| Scan and Pay | ScanPay 3 | type not stated | |||
| Scan and Pay | ScanPay 4 | type not stated | |||
| Scan and Pay | Standard | standard nonelectric | 875 ft | 810 ft | $7–$14 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Warner Mountain LookoutWillamette National Forest · 5.8 miSecret Group CampgroundWillamette National Forest · 5.9 mi
SecretWillamette National Forest · 6.0 mi
Packard CreekWillamette National Forest · 6.9 miExit I-5 heading east on Highway 58 towards Oakridge, OR. On the east side of Oakridge, just past mile marker 37, take a right onto Kitson Springs Road. In approximately half a mile take a right onto Forest Service Road 21. Just past mile marker 11 the entrance to the campground will be on the right.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Oakridge, OR
Typical weather
Typical May night 43°F, day 66°F.
Coldest night of the open season: typical May night 43°F. Bring the bag rated for it.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or moreOutside the published season
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.
The land, and who answers for it
who answers for it
Who answers for this land
Sand Prairie Campground is in Oregon’s 4th congressional district. Its representative, Val Hoyle (D), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: A+. See every public-lands vote →