Free Camping Collection with

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Free Camping Collection

Established Camping

Barnhouse Campground

8 Reviews

About

National Forest

Ochoco National Forest and Crooked River National Grassland

This campground is surprisingly quiet and serene as it sits nestled among some large ponderosa pine trees just a few miles from the main highway. It also hosts the trailhead for Barnhouse Trail (#813) located in the northwest corner of the campground.

Coyotes and owls can be heard most summer evenings and occasionally local ranchers will graze their cattle nearby, which can make for some interesting serenades in the evening hours.

Size & number of trailer sites are limited (no dump station). No RV's over 25 feet. There is a 14 day stay limit on all National Grassland and US Forest Service land including but not limited to campgrounds and other developed facilities.

This campground has 6 campsites that each have a picnic table and combination fire pit/grill. Parking spurs vary in size so any site can accommodate tent camping, but some may not be able to accommodate RV camping.

Reservation Info

This is a First Come, First Served facility.

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Location

Barnhouse Campground is located in Oregon

Directions

From Prineville, Oregon: Take Highway 380 east 55 miles to Paulina, Oregon. From Paulina, head east on County Road 112 for 3.5 miles to Beaver Creek Road (County Road 113), turning north to Forest Service Road 42. Follow Forest Service Road 42 north for 8 miles to Forest Service Road 12. Follow Forest Service Road 12 north for 17 miles to the campground. From John Day, Oregon: Take Highway 26 west to Dayville, Oregon. Travel 25 miles west from Dayville to Forest Service Road 12, then head south for 5 miles to the campground. From Mitchell, Oregon: Take Highway 26 east for 13 miles to Forest Service Road 12. Take Forest Service Road 12 south for 5 miles to the campground.

Coordinates

44.47300041 N
119.93600018 W

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Access

Drive-In
Park next to your site

Stay Connected

WiFi
Unknown
Verizon
Unknown
AT&T
Unknown
T-Mobile
Unknown

Site Types

Tent Sites
RV Sites
Standard (Tent/RV)
Group

Features

For Campers

Picnic Table
Phone Service
Toilets
Alcohol
Pets
Fires

Enjoy camping on government land. Limited or no services at this camping area.

For information regarding reservations, contact this campground directly.

First Come - First Served

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Contact

General Info

Cindy S.

Scout

Reviewed Sep. 20, 2021

Nice little campground

Nice little Forest Campground. Had no trouble getting our 30 ft Class A in there. Was surprisingly full on a Wednesday when we arrived but was empty on Friday. Was being used by bow hunters in the area and folks visiting the Painted Hills.

Sitesites were not numbered

Month of VisitOctober

Stephen

Traveler

Reviewed Aug. 11, 2021

Quiet dry campground

This campground is 6mi (paved) off the main road. It was a quiet wooded site with small number of sites. We did get woken by noisy cows each morning.

Site4

Month of VisitSeptember

Kevin R.

Guide

Reviewed Sep. 30, 2019

Secluded

Nice free camp ground.

Have to becafreful and not pass the road you need to take off 26.

The road to the campground goes through private ranch lands then up into the forest.

The road is paved but has a few cattle grids and often times cattle laying on the road, but they move .

This place is never really busy even in the summer, but there is often a couple of sites taken.

Some nice trails lead off from the back of the site.

This is a nice place just to get away and miraculously i get a couple of bars on my AT&T cel.

Keltik S.

Traveler

Reviewed Jul. 18, 2019

Secluded, shady camping near painted hills/fossil beds

Came through the area planning to camp before exploring the fossil beds and painted hills nearby. Campsite is secluded from the main road, and only had one other camper while we were there (we stayed Monday night through Tuesday morning). There was a single Vault toilet that was fairly clean minus some Archaeology Today magazines, and someone came by in the morning to restock toilet paper.

Be forewarned that the right hand entrance of the road loop that goes to each site is pretty rough! Deep potholes and tree branches leaning into the road which scratched our vehicle. Next time we will only drive through the left side which was smoother and branch-free.

Each site had a basic fire ring(made with stones with a small metal grate that flips over the top) as well as a picnic table. Our site was next to a trail entrance, which crosses a cute little bridge/creek and heads up into the hills where a beautiful sunset over the valley could be seen. Lots of evidence of cows on the road leading up to the campground as well as on the hiking trail, but none in the actual campsites. Deer and chipmunks aplenty though! Some sites had better flat spots for tents while others seemed better suited to campers. Our spot was without large lumps or rocks in the ground but slightly slanted on a hill. We made it work okay though!

We have Verizon and had zero cell service both in the campground as well as the surrounding areas, took a good 15 minute drive or more down the highway to get even a bar of service to show up again, so be warned!

Would definitely stay here again if in the area: beautiful, clean, and private!

Month of VisitAugust

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Kristina J.

Traveler

Reviewed Jul. 14, 2019

Simplicity

As other reviewers stated, this campground is free, and secluded, but maintained. We were looking for a spot around Painted Hills/John Day Fossil Beds/John Day, and this worked out as we pulled into the last spot available (6 total). There were a couple RVs and trailers and a few tents. Road to get to the campground was paved, but watch out for free roaming cows! There was a trail and creek nearby with a trough to fill up water - I’d recommend filtering before drinking. There are picnic tables and rock fire rings, and one vault toilet. Not much else to it, but like I said, FREE and relatively clean.

Barbi T.

Traveler

Reviewed Jun. 27, 2019

Quiet Retreat from the Everyday

We loved staying at this gorgeous campground. It’s close to John Day fissile beds and pretty remote. It was the perfect get away! We stayed 3 nights the first 2 no one else was camping there. Beautiful trail and clean site. Vault toilet and 6-7 spaces. Loved it. We will be back.

Kayla T.

Traveler

Reviewed Jul. 8, 2018

Quit and shady.

Only one vault toilet, it wasn't very clean. The location was great, not too far away from the painted hills about 20 minutes away. It was nice be around trees which made it cooler. Flat and spacious campgrounds. No mosquitoes so that was big plus. It was free camping too.

Site1

Month of VisitAugust

Katy T.

Traveler

Reviewed Jun. 16, 2016

Secluded and Free!

This is truly a great little campground! It is a bit hard to get too, so follow the directions carefully. Once you get to the end of the road you will see the campground. It is first come first serve as they require no fee. Tucked away in the hills and the woods, with numerous hiking trails from the campground to explore the surrounding areas. There is only a hole in the ground outhouse, so be prepared, they do not come clean it often. It is quiet and a great way to see the Painted Hills that are close by.