Despite cold weather conditions, camping season is right around the corner. To rent a campsite in the Deschutes National Forest this year, you will spend a bit more money than normal.
“For the 2023 camping season, we have authorized a three dollar increase for single campsites and about a $17 increase for group sites,” said Public affairs specialist for the Deschutes National Forest, Jaimie Olle. “These fee increases are to help our concessionaire visitor recreation keep up with increasing costs in terms of labor and materials.”
Campsite prices are different depending on the area, according to DNF.
A single site costs around $15-30, and a group site can be up to a few hundred bucks.
“Prices do vary depending on the campground and depending on the amenities that you’ll find at that campground, whether it has, you know, very primitive offerings or whether there are some additional services like water and things like that,” Olle said. “So depending on where you’re going, you’ll want to visit recreation.gov and check out the campground prices for each individual campground.”
Located on the eastern slopes of the Cascades, the Deschutes National Forest offers year-round recreation opportunities and is home to more than 1.6 million acres. The forest spans a variety of landscapes.
“The Deschutes National Forest has around 90 developed campgrounds across the forest, and that spans all the way from Crescent into Bend Up to Sisters and also constitutes the Newberry National Volcanic Monument,” Olle said.
With snow still on the ground, Olle tells us, you’ll have to wait a little longer to go camping.
“Our campgrounds haven’t currently opened for the season,” said Olle. “Obviously, with this winter weather, maybe there will be some delays come spring to get those open. Just depends on access to things like that. But if you stay tuned to our forest website and recreation dot gov, we’ll have our opening season dates listed there.”
Overnight permit reservations for Central Cascades Wilderness open next week
