I found Green Peter Reservoir on the map and decided to drive out to see what it was like. The…read moredrive out to Sweet Home and then out to Green Peter is beautiful. You drive through expansive green farm lands, past cute farm houses and then into the trees on a windy road out to the reservoir. Sweet Home is the last town you hit before you drive about 15-20 minutes to the reservoir. Since there was recently a big storm, there was still a lot of debris in the pull off areas and some of the trails down to it. We ended up parking next to a big bridge that people were fishing off of and making our own trail down to an area by the water. It was at an incline so not the best spot for kids but it was just fine for us. It was so quiet out there besides the sounds of boats every so often and a couple cars here and there. The was was gorgeous but still very cold. The sun was shining and the air was nice and crisp! I'm not sure what parks are around here, we did see one campground on the way there but wanted a spot more private. We saw a lot of cars pulled over in random spots so there must be a few secret spots around this reservoir. We didn't drive around the whole thing but it was a fun adventure and an absolutely beautiful place to go.

We love Cascadia State Park and reserve a group side every year for my husband's birthday…read more The group sites are amazing and are situated close to the river. The river has plenty of shallow spots as well as some"rapids" which the kids enjoyed going down on their floaties with their parents. The group site is intended to have a maximum of 25 people six cars or two RVs and there is plenty of room for all of them. We had our main network of family members. and wanted to be far away from other sites to reduce risk of transmission of covid. We only had people we see regularly, family and neighbors who are in our everyday circle. But there was still plenty of room. Three people slept in hammocks, there were about 10 picnic tables, and there were seven other tents set up with so much room in between. There are only two group sites next to each other but still plenty of room. Those two sites share 2 pit toilets maintained twice a day throughout covid. And a short walk away are real toilets. We had plenty of space for a giant Jenga area, an area for all the floaties to live between water adventures, an area where we played Kubb, and an area for other tabletop games. There was also plenty of room for our dogs on their leads. there was enough space for three different camping stoves and the setup of food at each. The mosquitoes are brutal so I highly recommend a high-quality mosquito repellent. Also wear shoes because there are what I believe are Oregon banana slugs around the trees that you really don't want to step on barefoot. Highly recommend for a group outing where you can keep to yourselves and socially distance appropriately. The group rate is about $71 per night and we stayed two nights. We had so much fun on the river and there's so much space at this state park. The day use brought in a lot of people to the river that we didn't feel comfortable being around so we just waited until they left to enjoy the water. there is a large open field for off leash dog exercising and it is perfect for stargazing on a clear night. For those for whom this is important currently there is not signal unless you have Verizon. This will change within a few years. But you are only about 10 minutes drive to signal if there's some sort of emergency and the rangers make themselves available multiple times a day. We were warned that it had been about 10 days since there was a cougar sighting but we had no sightings ourselves.

Beautiful, quiet and well kept campground with very friendly hosts. Very reasonably priced. A few…read morepull through sites for RV's (dry camping only) Easy river access and a short drive to sweet home for supplies. Spent max allowable nights because we loved it so much. Picks up on the weekends but everyone seemed to mind the quiet hours. Only weird thing was the ranger lady with a leaf blower came though once. I suppose that's why it's so clean looking, but wasn't relaxing and left our vehicle needing a bath. Despite that we would definitely visit again.

This reservoir is located next to one of the most beautiful rivers in Central Oregon. The Mckenzie…read moreRiver flows into and out of this reservoir. I have hiked around this reservoir many times and it is always surrounded by fisherman, so I would imagine that there are plenty of fish in the reservoir. The water is super clear and blue. This makes it an amazing spot for photographers. There is a good amount of parking spaces at this lake making it great for large groups and gatherings. There are trails that pass this lake and both trails lead to some of the most beautiful locations. The trial towards the north will take you to Woosah Falls and Sahalie Falls. This is a short uphill trek that travels along the Mckenzie River. The trail toward the south will take you to the Blue Pool AKA Tamolitch Falls. This is a large deep blue colored pool that is fed by some underground springs. This Reservoir is a great base point for a day of exploring and even has a nice little campground. If you have a family who all have a different interest that all involve nature, then this is the right place for you!

The water definitely is amazing , however the hike itself not that much . The route we took was…read moremostly further away from the water and hence not a whole lot to watch on the way but there were multiple waterfalls and creeks etc that you can take a break at and enjoy the cold water and the Sun.Part of the hike was closed which was disappointing but we did the whole 7 mile through a different route .Wished we could have seen the mining villages .It took us approx 1.5 hours to get there from Portland .Parking is limited however since we went on a Weekday it wasn't a problem for us . Also , the crowds were thin , so we really had a great time.

OMG What a great place to hike and swim…read more We went with a big group so we had to break up into two groups. The parking lot is small and they will turn people away if it is full. Luck we made it before they hit maximum. Three miles and a half makes for a long hike but well worth it. The trail follows the creek and is actually the service road for Jawbone Flats. It's an easy hike up and down both ways. You are rewarded with beautiful cool dip in the crystal clear pools. Alternatively there are two hiking trails, one on each side of the creek, you can venture on through this beautiful forest. Afterward we went to the local restaurant at the highway. They had good food and beer.

So I was very disappointed when me and my wife took a day trip and tried to find these caves. It…read moreled us to the small town of Detroit dead center of the town no one there or anywhere around had a clue or have ever heard of this place. There's no direction of where to go how to find it or anything else. This was a complete waste of time and we ended up try to go to Brighton Bush we made it, but it was 30 mile detour a huge pain in the ass and then they were completely full when we got there so ended up taking a trip to Bagby instead and we were glad we could soak in a tub because bagby it's pretty much falling apart

A well-known secret among landscape photographers, Boca Cave is a pretty spectacular place…read more The hike is short. The cave is enormous, but not "spooky". The mouth of the cave almost perfectly-aligns with a view of Oregon's second-tallest peak: Mt Jefferson. Proof of intelligent design?! You access the cave by taking a slight detour on the way up to Triangulation Peak. Enough babbling, just go there. It's not close to any major metro, but it's worth the drive.

This is a nice little park and I do mean little…read more Had a picnic lunch here. Nice, pleasant, serene views. Close to town but still out of the way. It's mostly used as a boat launch and there is an RV park adjacent. I like it better than the county park just a bit further down the road. No shade to speak of so if it's a hot sunny day out you may find it uncomfortable.

This time of year one must assume the area is not at its peak of entertainment value. But every…read moretime we are passing through I've been inclined to stop for a night. So we decided to do just that a couple weeks ago, and as I expected, even though half the campground is closed at this time there were plenty of available sites. We chose the last water side site, although currently the water is nowhere near the park. We ran into the ranger on duty who was very helpful and friendly, letting us know that since the tent sites are closed and we weren't using any (hookup) amenities we could pay the tent site fee for the night. I would say since the grounds run right along the highway that the sites nearest to it could probably be quite loud...hence our choice to grab the one furthest away. We took a walk down to the water just before dark. I found there to be an eerie, calm beauty about it at sunset. There wasn't much to the brief stop besides our walk and a quiet night of sleep, heading off first thing in the morning. But I can see where during peak season there'd be more adventures to partake in here. Again, a highway setting, but there are some lovely trees within the grounds. While not my favorite campground, it was nice to finally check things out here, even if during the off season. Sure would be nice to see the water level back up where it clearly used to be!

The campground was well kept and my kids enjoyed our stay. HOWEVER.. the staff are extremely rude!!…read moreThe volunteers addressed my kids in the most inappropriate manner regarding our dog. She was just plain nasty!! She chose to address my 11 year old instead of speaking to as adult. We were late in checking out and the employee named Greg was beyond rude about it!! As we were setting up our RV to leave, Greg decided to park his golf cart right in front of the site. When we asked if we could help him, he said he was going to sit there until we were gone and charge us if we were not out by 3pm. It was only 1:50 at this time. When I asked for the employees name I was asked why I needed to know?? We will never stay here again just based on the staff alone!!

Sahalie Falls was a quick stop on our way back to Bend from Clear Lake. We were able to find a…read moresmall parking stall right at the waterfall without having to run across the road with the kids. The walk to the lookout viewing area from the parking lot was very short. We walked a few yards down the trail past it to take pictures of the river. We then took a side trail down to the waterfall to get some pictures. This was a fun quick stop to see a beautiful waterfall.

Such a magical spot to learn about waterfalls and experience nature. There was a rainbow and snow…read moresimultaneously during our visit and it created the most magical wonderland. Must see and well worth the drive out.