Farewell Bend Campground on the Rogue River, Southern Oregon

LOCATION

Farewell Bend Campground is situated along Southern Oregon’s Rogue River, about a half hour east of Crater Lake National Park.

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WE STAYED HERE

• August, 2020, 3 nights

ABOUT THE SITES

• Farewell Bend offers 61 sites. Many are quite large and reasonably private. The first 15 to 20 sites are a little more compact, but still surrounded by beautiful forest.
• The campsite fee is $25 per night.
• The campground is open May through October, weather depending.
• Many sites are riverfront or just a few steps away from the Rogue. Check the campground map and site descriptions when reserving.
• We stayed at site #24, an exceptionally large site located right on the river above a large, deep fishing hole. This was probably the best spot in the campground for fishing. Elsewhere along the river, there were small to moderate rapids, or the water was quite shallow. Even if you don’t stay at site #24, you can access the fishing hole, just be considerate of those staying at the site. We didn’t fish, but enjoyed the beautiful view from our site, and sitting at the water’s edge.
• IMPORTANT NOTE: Be aware that there is a short, steep bank at the edge of site #24 above the fishing hole, and always keep an eye on young children.
• Even though 61 sites isn’t huge for a campground, this place is large and spread out. In the middle of the campground, trails crisscross through the woods, out of sight from any campsites. If you choose a site that isn’t located near a restroom, you may have a ways to walk.

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FUN STUFF

• The Rogue River flows behind many of the sites, and even if your site isn’t on the river, you can still access it. Once good way to get to the river is to walk south along the main campground loop past site #45. With site #45 at your right, go just past it to find an unmarked trail leading from the campground road to the Rogue. This section of the river is very rocky and shallow (at least in summer). It’s a great place for kids to explore, or just to enjoy a riverside picnic.
• If you like to fish, or just want to stare into its emerald depths, you’ll find a fishing hole on the river near site #24 (our campsite – see “about the sites” above). You can walk along the river from another entry point to get here (not directly through site #24, of course).
• The kids’ play area is awesome! It’s in the middle of the campground in the woods, hidden away from the campsites. Look for trails leading from the main campground loop road into the center of the loop, and you’ll find it.
• Do the Rogue Ramble! You can hike from Farewell Bend to the Rogue River Gorge interpretive trail and beyond to Union Creek Resort. At the resort, enjoy an ice cream cone from Cones and Company or a meal at Beckie’s Cafe. Heck, you can even hike from here to Natural Bridge, where the Rogue dives underground through an old lava tube. That’s a much longer hike, but you can also drive to the Natural Bridge trailhead if you prefer a short hike.

CURRENT INFO & RESERVATIONS

• General information about this campground can be found on the U.S. Forest Service website.
• Reservations can be made on the Recreation.gov website.
• Advance reservations are highly recommended for the summer season and weekends, especially if you want to stay at one of the riverfront sites.

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AMENITIES

• Flush toilets
• Drinkable water
• No showers
• Firewood may be available for purchase from the camp host ($12) or at nearby Union Creek ($10)
• No electrical, water, or sewage hookups

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NEARBY & NOTABLE

• Crater Lake is the biggie. It’s about a half hour’s drive to the Annie Springs entrance station, the southwest entrance to the park. Drive Rim Drive, do some short hikes, take a boat trip to Wizard Island, and more – it’s best to plan to spend at least one full day exploring the park. Note that there is a gas station near the entrance at Mazama Village. It’s not cheap, but there are few other gas stations in this region, so you may need it.
• Only a few minutes’ drive down the highway, you’ll find the trailhead for the Rogue River Gorge interpretive trail, a short paved walk along this thundering section of the river (or do the Rogue Ramble, as mentioned under “fun stuff”).
• Just beyond the Gorge is Union Creek Campground and Union Creek Resort, other options to consider if you’re staying in this area. Union Creek Resort offers Beckie’s Cafe, home to good, filling meals and even better pie, an ice cream shop serving Umpqua ice cream called Cones and Company, and the Union Creek Country Store, where you can stock up on basic camping needs like firewood, ice, and ring pops (that’s what my kids got).
• A couple of other scenic spots further south on Highway 62 include Natural Bridge and Mill and Barr Creek Falls. Located just off the highway, both spots offer short, scenic hikes and picnicking opportunities.
• Heading north from Farewell Bend on Highway 62, you’ll find National Creek Falls and Diamond Lake. National Falls is yet another short hike to a beautiful waterfall, whileDiamond Lake offers recreation opportunities including boating, swimming, fishing, camping, hiking, biking, and a public day use picnic area with beach access.

THE VERDICT

Farewell Bend is a great campground option for those who want to stay near Crater Lake, but are looking for a little more character than what you might find at Mazama Campground inside the national park. It’s an especially good option if you’d like to spend time relaxing at the campground or playing with the kids. Whether or not you visit Crater Lake, there are a number of other short hikes nearby explore. In fact, there’s no reason to save this campground for a trip to Crater Lake; it’s a worthy place to visit in its own right.

With its spacious sites and woodsy setting, Farewell Bend feels more private than many campgrounds. In our experience, it was very quiet, unless you happen to be near an RV running a generator. While there are no electrical or water hook-ups, the large sites easily accommodate and attract RVs. Since we were there Sunday through Tuesday, this may have also meant a quieter crowd.

I was a little surprised not to see more families. In fact, I don’t think we saw any other children close to my boys’ ages. One downside to the spread-out nature of the campground (or perhaps an upside during Coronavirus times) is that you’re less likely to meet fellow campers. We had the playground all to ourselves. Also, considering the location, it wasn’t very buggy, but perhaps our mid-August visit was outside of peak bug season (I would still bring the bug spray – better to be prepared).

Michael noted that the restrooms weren’t as sparkling clean as they had been at our previous campground, Susan Creek, but they were decent enough for camping, generally clean and in working order. I didn’t encounter too many others in the restrooms, either; perhaps many were using their RVs instead.

I would happily stay here again. Or, I might try nearby Union Creek Campground. But it’s not every day that you get a campsite right on the Rogue River. If you can get a good riverfront site, go for it!

When I beganplanning our trip to Crater Lake, my initial thought was to camp inside the national park. After all, that’s the most convenient option. But when I started looking into other choices close to Crater Lake, I rethought my original plan. There was nothing wrong with Mazama, the primary campground at Crater Lake, but I found myself intrigued by the campgrounds along the Rogue River to the west. Sure, staying on the Rogue meant a longer drive to Crater Lake, but it would also be a chance to explore this beautiful river. At Farewell Bend Campground in particular, the adventurous kids’ playground also caught my attention.

So, the decision was made to give Farewell Bend a go. Reservations were booked six months in advance. (We were staying three nights, and I was determined to reserve a riverfront site.) When we arrived half a year later, we were amazed by the size of our site. Large and sandy, it sat overlooking a beautiful emerald green pool along the river.

The only downside was that, as you can see in the photo below, it was a bit of a walk from the parking spot to the site. This wasn’t a problem, but meant we did have to lug our food and kitchen supplies back and forth between our trailer and picnic table. It also meant a good deal of separation between where our boys slept in the tent, and where my husband and I slept in our trailer. Fortunately, it all went smoothly. The one time the kids had to get up in the night, they navigated their way to the trailer without a hitch (ha ha).

We kicked off our first night there with a rambling hike along the Rogue. It took us from our campsite to nearby Union Creek Resort (I like to call it the Rogue Ramble – it’s a great introduction to the area). The next day was spent at Crater Lake. Evening thundershowers rolled in at Crater Lake, but back down at Farewell Bend, our site was dry and the sun still shone. We stashed a few drinks, including Rogue beer, in the river to chill. After dark, we gazed up at the sky, a dizzying myriad of stars, the likes of which we never see in Seattle.

After our busy day at Crater Lake, we were ready to sleep in and relax a bit. The next morning, after a leisurely breakfast, I went with the kids to check out the playground. Sure enough, it was awesome! The simple wooden and metal climbing structures and platforms kept them entertained for hours. Plus, there was the fun of riding bikes along the wooded trails.

As lunch time drew near, I headed back to the campsite to prepare a picnic lunch. We grabbed our beach bag, the picnic blanket, and our food, and headed downriver. Our destination was the rocky area we discovered doing the Rogue Ramble. The afternoon was spent wading in the frigid water, building rock dams, and lounging on the shore at our “chillax” spot, as the kids called it. My younger son, T, also started a pumice “factory”, where he sent little pumice stones floating on a complicated course downstream. Upon reaching the end of their journey, he fished them out of the river and started the cycle anew.

The boys would probably still be down by the river, but we lured them aware with the promise of ice cream cones at Union Creek. That night, once again, the stars were out in full force, and only the sound of the rushing river broke the silence.