Visitors make s’mores during a July 2019 camping trip at Silver Falls State Park (Courtesy/Oregon Department of Parks and Recreation)
Oregonians will be able to camp at more than two dozen state campgrounds beginning June 9, including Detroit Lake and Silver Falls in the Salem area.
It’s the next step in a gradual reopening of state parks and recreation areas, which closed to the public March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Selected parks reopened for day-use only May 6, with others added to the list in the weeks since.
People who made RV or tent camping reservations before the state suspended its online portal on April 28 will have their reservations honored, the Oregon Department of Parks and Recreation said in a news release, as long as the campground is open on the original reservation date.
Visitors can make new reservations using the state’s online system starting next week, though group camping, yurts and cabins will not be open due to distancing guidelines. Reservations can be made one day to two weeks in advance.
Seven first-come, first-served campgrounds in eastern Oregon are reopening earlier, on May 29.
By June 9, about 30 campgrounds across the state will be open, including many on the coast. A full list, with links to park websites, is available on the parks department’s news release.
First-come, first-served camping on the coast will not be available until further notice, the release said. Visitors should check a park’s website before visiting and expect services to be limited due to reduced staffing.
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Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she’s a skater and board member with Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be found with her nose buried in a book.
