An oasis. A home. The center of the earth. This place has been a part of my life since 1978. I try…read moreto migrate to this place to revitalize my soul, every year. Every day and every night, a spiritual reawakening. Keep your eyes and mind open. The endless horizon will beckon you, not to mention the people and excellent food!

Yes, it's the only food and gas for miles. And yes, it is worth it. It isn't like the kind of place…read morewhere it's the only option and it isn't good. This place is good. And the staff are really nice and helpful. Very friendly people everywhere we went this weekend. It was pretty busy for 2 in the afternoon on a Friday but it really wasn't a long wait. We ordered a bacon cheeseburger and the chicken finger "burger" and two milkshakes (blackberry and marshmallow). Little did we know that we could have shared one milkshake, whoops! These came out first which was nice, since it was almost 90 out. There is only seating outside it seems (unless there was a closed indoor area I didn't know about) but there are quite a few tables. Nice to watch and see all the different travelers that make their way here. There's even a sign in book at the cash register, we saw names that day from Austria! The marshmallow was delicious but trying to eat it all myself was too much, became too sweet after awhile. The blackberry was actually pretty bland and the vanilla ice cream overpowered it. However, the burgers were good, juicy burgers. Just what I was looking for. Husband didn't enjoy his as much as I did mine. The ketchup dispenser inside was malfunctioning and I ended up with a lot of ketchup, but most of it wasn't on the burger haha! Also, I noticed later that technically my chips were expired since 12/2024. No, they didn't taste expired and no, I didn't get sick. They're pretty well preserved haha.

I've been back 5 times now and never have had a bad experience. Front desk has always been polite…read moreand communicative. If they are busy, they will let you know. People need to understand, this place isn't like Seattle, Portland, or a large city - it's a nice little hot spring in the middle of the desert. The amenities are as they come, and that's all you'll really need. They also have a good selection of beef from the local ranch. We always will buy some to cook there and then a couple to take home. Will definitely be back. Worth the drive.

If you're exploring all the unique Oregon places this place has to be on the list! The hot springs…read morewere magnificent. There were a few things I wish I had known before going. There is no cold water for cooling down from the hot springs or for drinking. I think there might be water for sale in the office there. Of course fill up on gas because there is none available Mind your step when you get into the pools it may be super slippery. There are rattlesnakes, scorpions and mice that might visit at night! Plus other critters probably. I originally wanted to just due a day soak but I'm glad I decided to camp. It was amazing getting to lay in the springs at night and driving the playa at sunset. I loved every second of it except for getting stalked by a rattlesnake. Very fun experience just make sure you're prepared to be in the Outback!

I so want to give this place a better rating, since everyone was so nice and the food was…read moredelicious. Unfortunately, I have to reduce my rating because I wasn't satisfied with our room. Our room had a small bed, a nightstand, one chair and a tiny table, but that was fine. We didn't expect luxury. The problem was with the noise at night. We could clearly hear our neighbors' conversation while they were speaking at a normal level. We could hear their VERY loud sink and toilet. We felt as though we knew them through personally after listening to a Skype chat between them and their elderly mother. But the worst part was that their heater was so loud that it made my brain shake. We didn't even use ours because it sounded like a freight train, but we could still hear our neighbor's heater. Also, housekeeping opened my hotel door without knocking, which was very uncool. I was still in bed. The pillows are just terrible. They're flat and hard. You might want to bring your own. The linens are thick and have the cheap linen crunch.

Peacefulness, serene, beautiful, and relaxing are just a few words to describe Drovers Inn in…read moreFrenchglen, OR. It's the perfect place for a long weekend of soaking up the beauty of Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Harney County Oregon. The bird watching is amazing. Wildlife is plentiful. The Steens Moutains are not far away along with the Alvord Desert, all of this in the Drovers Inn's "backyard". After a long day of exploring the landscape, sit down for a family style home cooked meal at Frenchglen Hotel. Be sure to go hungry because you will leave full & satified. A nice place to stay with wonderful owners.

Quiet. Lots of space between lots with long, staggered parking. Some lots are obviously slanted but…read morewith the long lot, you can adjust. Clean bathrooms & showers. Free DVD rentals. Incredible bird songs in the morning. At this June-2026 visit the public dump station was closed (state camping down the way has no utility) but each unit has sewer, water, electricity, unless you are in the grassy tent locations. Mosquitoes just starting to get busy but only bad towards dusk. Great hiking and site seeing area.

Our family had a very disappointing experience at Steens Mountain Wilderness Resort. We reserved…read morethree camping sites for a group of 13 people and planned a multi-day family trip, but the experience was far from welcoming. The owner, Mark, was not available during the posted office hours, making it difficult to address questions and concerns. When we were able to speak with him, he was rude, impatient, and particularly unfriendly toward our boys, ages 10 and 7, who were genuinely trying to follow the campground's many rules. The situation escalated when we decided to leave two days early, despite having paid for and reserved our campsites. This was extremely disruptive to our family's vacation and left us feeling unwelcome. Considering the high cost of staying here, we expected much better conditions. The campground was very dusty, and the restroom and shower facilities were dirty and unsanitary throughout our stay. Unfortunately, due to the poor customer service, lack of professionalism, and substandard facilities, we cannot recommend this resort.

The Alvord Desert has always been on my list to visit and I am glad I had the opportunity to do so…read moreover the 4th of July weekend. My husband and I drove in from Bend, OR and had to drive through the gravel road. My husband has been there in the past so he knew what he was doing. We stopped at the Hot Springs and paid for a day time entrance after we used their bathroom. However, a bit further down the road there is another entrance into the playa. The first day, my husband and I took photos of the playa and drove around. That night, we pitched up our tent and settled in to take pictures of the Milky Way. However, as the sun was getting ready to set below the Steens, I get a notification on my phone that the Northern Lights are visible. I turned North and started taking pictures of the skies and saw the lights! It was magnificent and amazing! We got into our tent around 1AM where we fully rested until the sun rise the next day. The playa was so peaceful and quiet! I've never experienced that type of quietness ever and it was so nice. I slept like a baby that night on the playa. Once the sun rise, it gets hot quickly. We got up and out our tent away and drove back to our motel to freshen up and get ready for the day.

Alvord desert is a unique experience that we knew we were never going to go unless we went on this…read moreroad trip. Coming from Idaho, we were required to go onto gravel roads (at least 30 miles I would say) which was a little concerning but we made it safely. We stay at the Alvord Hot Springs so had a direct access to desert (which is a dried up lake). On the first night we arrived around 6PM, the wind was absolutely wild. We went out on the playa and could barely see anything besides what was in front of us. We gave it another shot at sunrise the next morning and came to a much more pleasant experience. At Alvord, you can drive around the playa freely. There was cracks in the dried mud that makes for some cool photos and then you can see the outlines of the mountains, although on our visit was a little foggy from the California fires (August 2020) so not as easy to see. Besides that there isn't anything else to really do. All in all, the experience was cool experience to have (and to stay in a bunker -- see Alvord Hot Springs review), but I would not go out of my way to see this again because it really is kind of out of the way, especially on a cross-country road trip.