Picture this. After an unexpectedly chilly night spent sleeping on the hard, bumpy ground at a local state park, you skip your morning shower (too cold!) only to get rained on from the sky while eating instant oatmeal, shivering in your gortex.
It’s car camping in the Northwest! And if you’ve had an overnight experience like this one, you might just prefer a roof over your head, even when you’re “roughing it.”
Oregon State Parks knows this. That’s why they have so many darn cute cabins and yurts for rent all over the place. And, they’re cheap.
Craving a cabin getaway, we’ve just reserved a few nights at one of the Oregon State Parks’ “rustic cabins” for a September weekend at Silver Falls State Park southeast of Salem (most mid-summer dates were already booked up.) We reserved the cabin ($41 a night) the same way you reserve any Oregon State Park campsite, yurt or cabin – through the website Reserve America. The reservation process is straightforward and easy, and the reservation fee was a flat $8.
If you start searching for a summer cabin getaway, you might find that most of these cabins have very little availability until September. Yep, that’s why our getaway is in September! You can reserve these cabins up to nine months in advance. Now is a great time to plan for an autumn getaway to these cabins. If you want a weeklong vacation next August, the time to book that will be this November. Got it?
Oh, but maybe you really want to plan a weekend cabin getaway this summer. You can set up a notification alert to receive an email if your preferred cabin or yurt should suddenly become available on your desired dates. It won’t hold the site for you, but it will save you the time and inconvenience of repeatedly going online to check to see what’s open. People do cancel their reservations sometimes, so if you are determined to snag one of these cabins and have a specific weekend in mind, go set up an alert for a whole slew of them! And good luck.
View the brochure on Oregon State Parks’ rustic and deluxe cabin and yurt rentals.
Rustic Retreats in Washington State.
The Rustic Cabins
There are 1-room and 2-room rustic cabins for rent at a handful of Oregon State Parks. Rustic cabins are a step up from tent camping, and even if you adore your tent, these cabins are a nice option if you want to “camp” with friends or family that aren’t up for sleeping on the ground. They cost $40 – $44 a night, plus a one-time reservation fee of $8. Pet-friendly cabins, available in select parks, are an additional $10 per night optional contribution.
The typical rustic cabin sleeps 4-5 people and has a double bed and an additional bed, such as twin bunk beds or a futon couch. There’s a dining table and chairs, electricity, heat and lights. At the front is a covered porch with a bench. You won’t find a refrigerator or stove inside the cabin, though. No bathroom, either. Each cabin has bathroom facilities nearby, usually with a coin-op shower. Outside each cabin is an outdoor fire pit and a picnic table where you can set up your camp stove and do all of your cooking. That’s right – in these rustic cabins, you will be cooking outside. (We plan to bring our alcove shelter for over the picnic table in case it rains.) Each cabin has a locking front door; pick up the key to your cabin from the park info gate or campground host upon your arrival.
Wondering what stuff you need to bring with you to stay at one of these rustic cabins? Basically everything that you would bring car camping except for your tent and air mattress. See our car camping gear list here for our recommendations and our print-friendly checklist of gear to pack. For the beds, you could bring sheets, blankets and pillows or just use your sleeping bags to set atop the beds.
Locations
Oregon State Parks have rustic cabins available to rent at the following locations.
Cape Blanco State Park, south Oregon Coast
Reservations: online or 1-800-452-5687
Details: 3 standard cabins, 1 ADA accessible cabin. Pet-friendly available.
Loeb State Park, south Oregon Coast
Reservations: online or 1-800-452-5687
Details: 3 standard cabins
Umpqua Lighthouse State Park, central Oregon Coast
Reservations: online or 1-800-452-5687
Details: 2 standard cabins
Champoeg State Park, Willamette Valley
Reservations: online or 1-800-452-5687
Details: 6 ADA-accessible cabins, 1 is pet-friendly
Emigrant Springs State Park, Northeast Oregon
Reservations: online or 1-800-452-5687
Details: 4 standard cabins, 2 ADA-accessible cabins. One is pet-friendly. There are also 2 “totem cabins” with bunk beds only that are $24 a night.
Farewell Bend State Recreation Area, Eastern Oregon on the Snake River near Idaho border
Reservations: online or 1-800-452-5687
Details: 1 standard cabin, 1 ADA-accessible cabin
L.L. “Stub” Stewart State Park, west of Portland
Reservations: online or 1-800-452-5687
Details: 2 standard cabins, 10 ADA-accessible cabins, 1 is pet-friendly
LaPine State Park, Central Oregon
Reservations: online or 1-800-452-5687
Details: 4 standard cabins, 1 ADA-accessible cabin, 1 is pet-friendly
Silver Falls State Park, Willamette Valley
Reservations: online or 1-800-452-5687
Details: 2 standard cabins, 2 ADA-accessible cabins
Unity Lake State Park, Eastern Oregon
Reservations: online or 1-800-452-5687
Details: 2 ADA-accessible cabins
MORE INFO: Rustic cabins at Oregon State Parks
The Deluxe Cabins
Now this is sweet. Oregon State Parks added deluxe cabins to their offerings a few years back, but there were only five of them. Reservations for these sweet sleeps went through the roof, and so the parks department expanded their deluxe cabin pilot project. There are now a whopping 36 deluxe cabins at six state parks.
What’s the difference between a rustic cabin and a deluxe cabin? Well, indoor plumbing, for one. This means a private bathroom with shower. An indoor kitchen has a microwave and refrigerator, and just outside sits a gas bbq grill. With the wilderness out your doorstep, you might not use it much, but these deluxe cabins do come with a TV and DVD player. There’s heat of course, and lights and electricity.
Rates for deluxe cabins and deluxe yurts range from $85 – $90 a night.
Locations
Oregon State Parks have deluxe cabins available to rent at the following locations.
The Cape Lookout Cabin, north Oregon Coast
Reservations: online or 1-800-452-5687
Details: 5 standard cabins, 1 ADA accessible cabins. 1 pet-friendly available.
Prineville Reservoir State Park, Central Oregon
Reservations: online or 1-800-452-5687
Details: 3 standard cabins, 2 ADA accessible cabins. 1 pet-friendly available.
The Cove Palisades State Park, Central Oregon
Reservations: online or 1-800-452-5687
Details: 3 standard cabins
Fort Stevens State Park, north Oregon Coast
Reservations: online or 1-800-452-5687
Details: 3 standard cabins, 8 ADA accessible cabins. 1 pet-friendly available.
LaPine State Park, Central Oregon
Reservations: online or 1-800-452-5687
Details: 5 ADA accessible cabins. 1 pet-friendly available.
Umpqua Lighthouse State Park, central Oregon Coast
Reservations: online or 1-800-452-5687
Details: 4 deluxe yurts, 2 ADA accessible yurts. 1 pet-friendly available.
PHOTOS: Top photo courtesy of Oregon State Parks. Second photo by Serenity Rose. Deluxe cabin photo by CCCPxokkeu.
One Response
You might also look into Paulina lake or South Twin lake. I’ve spent a lot of time at both. Have had many wonderful and relaxing times at both. Always enjoyable. Love the cabins. If you feel like a nice walk around South Twin, there is a trail that goes all the way around the lake. A lot of people like to ride their mountain bikes on the trail too. There is room for both. Takes 45-60 min. You can also rent row boats by the Hr. or for the whole day. Paulina lake is for motor boats. I really loved the wood burning stoves, when it was chilly. Check it out!