John Day Fossil Beds NM

[rvshrinker]

Want to be spend a long weekend there with the family in April. Hiking, etc. Would like a quiet safe campground kind of in the middle of the different park units. Are there bugs on the river itself this time of year?

[rvshrinker]

Clyde Holliday was great! It's farther East from the park units than I realized but it's a lovely park. We had a site right next to the River. And the park is very nice, lots to see and many short hikes under 3 miles. It's far from home and there are long stretches without fuel.

[garmp]

Got me on the NM trick!

[Roy_Lynne]

I love the John Day area. I second visiting Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site as it is very interesting. The tour ticket office will be on the right as you enter. We almost missed it
I must say, whenever I think about my trip to the Fossil beds I remember my first (and hopefully my last) encounter with a rattle snake. We went to visit the ranch across from the visitors center and there is a nice walk to the river below. An inviting bench under a large shade tree beckoned and we sat to rest. I heard the rattle almost immediately and you never saw an old lady jump so fast and so far in your life.
Fish House Inn and RV Park if you can get reservations.

[vermilye]

I stayed at the Clyde Holliday State Park, water & electric with bathrooms & showers. Be sure to stop at the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site in John Day, although it is a bit east of the 3 parts of the National Monument. Some photos from my visit.

I've also stayed at the Wheeler County RV Park in Fossil. Closer to the Clarno unit of the park, but a typical city campground - water & electric, bathrooms with showers. An interesting very small town - check out the museum - the only place I've see a gasoline powered iron!

If you do a Google custom search from my home page (scroll down) for John Day, you can find links to a couple of visits to the area.

And, while the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is in Oregon, I'll second a visit to the City of Rocks State Park in New Mexico. Camping among the rocks is neat!

[SteveAE]

Hi. I can't help with the camping (unless you are rafting), but may be able to help with the bug question.

It is doubtful that there will be flying bugs (if any, they would be the pesky little black flies). But there will probably be ticks in the grass. So if you bring a dog, I suggest treating him/her with Frontline or similar a week or two prior.

Have fun.

[padredw]

eubank wrote:
Ha! I got fooled again

So did I, since New Mexico is one of our favorite destinations. NM always means the official state abbreviation to me.;)

[agesilaus]

A great family camping place in NM is City of Rocks SP. Kids love it.

[eubank]

Ha! I got fooled again. Being from New Mexico, I often mistake anything like John Day Fossil Beds NM for, well, not-south-of-the-border New Mexico. And then go scrambling around trying to think up where that place is in our fair state -- before realizing that I screwed up again.

IT does look like a pretty neat place! Too bad we weren't aware of it last summer when we were in Oregon. But, then, Oregaon has sooo many cool places!

🙂
Lynn

[DarthMuffin]

I haven't camped that far south, we usually like Bull Prairie Lake campground as it's in the forest, by a lake, small, quiet and a little higher altitude than John Day so cooler in the summer. Facilities like your normal forest service campground, no reservations but never had a problem. It's maybe 45 minutes north of there and we make day trips down. April won't be an issue for heat. Shelton County Wayside may be another one to consider. It's also no hookups and is by a lightly used highway but down in a little valley beside it so not much road noise. There may be mosquitoes out by then, and there are ticks through mid summer, but no more than anywhere else.