A fee increase takes effect with the new year at Oregon’s state parks: Out-of-state visitors with RVs will now pay 25% more for their campsites.
The additional cost will apply to vehicles such as small pop-up trailers to Airstreams to motorhomes, but will not apply to tents, yurts or cabins. Roughly 60% of state park campsites are designed for RVs.
The spike won’t affect campsites on federal lands, such as U.S. Forest Service campgrounds.
In this undated photo, a truck and trailer are parked at a campsite at Devil's Lake State Recreation Area near Lincoln City, Ore.
Oregon State Parks
“As an Oregonian –and RVer - you pay twice to use the state park system,” explained Chris Havel of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.
“You pay when you get your RV and license it. Then you pay again when you rent a site. People from out of state are really only paying that one time when they rent a site, and this evens the scales a bit.”
“All of that money goes right back into the park system to pay for power and water and restroom service and the fine ranger staff who make sure you have a pleasurable time there in the park,” said Havel.
The increased fee is for all sites with hookups for RVs. An overnight stay with sewer and electrical hookups will cost $30-50 for non-Oregonians, and $24-40 for state residents.
The increase won’t apply to existing reservations. More information including campsite rate calculation can be found at stateparks.oregon.gov.