North Fork John Day Campground (OR)

Umatilla National Forest · Oregon · Recreation.gov

North Fork John Day Campground (OR) cancellation alerts

North Fork John Day Campground (OR) is usually sold out. Get a free email when a cancellation opens: pick your dates and we check Recreation.gov every 30 minutes.

★ 4.3 (26 ratings) · 20 sites · $8–$25/night · Tent · RV

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View of east part of campground including gravel road, campsite, toilet, fee station and white truck

Horses carrying loaded packs on the NFJD River Trail

About

This campground sits along the Wild and Scenic North Fork John Day River at the junction of the Blue Mountain and Elkhorn Scenic Byways. It features 20 campsites, 3 accessible toilet facilities, and stock handling facilities. There is no potable water or garbage service, so please pack your garbage home. This campground serves as the eastern access point to the North Fork John Day Wilderness via North Fork John Day River Trail #3022. The area offers hunting, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, berry and mushroom picking, sight-seeing, and photography opportunities. In spring and fall you can see the salmon spawning. Special state fishing regulations apply.

If you like to drive, you can pick up the Ukiah-Granite Roadside Geology auto tour brochure from the camp host or the Ranger District. This campground features 14 tent/rv campsites, 5 tent only campsites, 1 group campsite, 3 accessible vault toilets, and stock handling/holding facilities (stock is only permitted in the north half of the campground from sites 10-16). There is no potable water or garbage service, so please pack your garbage home. The campground is set amidst a lodgepole pine forest, with over half of the sites in the shade. The perennial North Fork John Day River runs adjacent to the campground where you can see spawning steelhead and chinook salmon in spring and fall. In the surrounding forests live coyotes, deer, elk, wolves, bear, and cougar, plus a myriad of small animal species. The historic mining town of Granite is 9 miles south. State of Oregon Parks has a restored dredge that can be toured in the town of Sumpter, 22 miles south. Olive Lake is 21 miles south and west of the campground, and offers fishing , crawfishing, swimming, motorized boating (no wake allowed) and nearby trails for hiking/horseback riding (horses are not allowed in the campground). The lake-turned-reservior was constructed as part of a hydroelectric system to support gold mining activities in the northern Blue Mountain Region in the early 1900's. Historically, water from the lake flowed through a wooden pipeline for 9 miles to the Fremont Powerhouse, where it was used to produce electricity for mines and towns. The Powerhouse is approximately 14 miles south and west of the NFJD Campground on the same road that accesses Olive Lake. This campground serves as the eastern portal into the North Fork John Day Wilderness and offers hunting, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, sight-seeing, and photography. Berries and mushrooms can be found in season. If you like to drive, you can pick up the Ukiah-Granite Roadside Geology auto tour brochure from the camp host or the Ranger District office. if you are interested in history, there are numerous remnants of mining left from the turn of the century, Remember, historic objects, even if they look like trash, are protected by law and may not be removed.

Amenities

Toilets (vault)
Pets allowed

Availability at North Fork John Day Campground (OR)

CampFinder checks Recreation.gov every 30 minutes, around the clock, and emails you when a booked-up night opens back up. That catches most cancellations, which sit open for hours; at the few campgrounds that refill in seconds it can miss the race. Set up a free availability alert for North Fork John Day Campground (OR).