We landed this afternoon at Ely KOA Journey, pretty much right in the middle of Nevada, elevation, 6500 ft. This is just a stop-over for a night, but it really is a nice campground. We plan to drive around this after and check out the town.
From here we're heading north to Idaho. Our first stop is a place called Anderson Camp. We plan to spend a couple of days there so we can check out Shoshone Falls and what's left of Twin Falls
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Our first visit to the park was just a quick drive through to check it out. There are three camping loops. The first one is the most rustic, dirt sites without full hook-ups, however, the sites are a bit more spread out and offer a bit more privacy.
The other two loops are similar to each other, both offering full hook-ups and paved sites, but they are smaller and the pull-thru sites are fairly short. The Park also offers some great hiking trails with scenic views of the Deschutes River. I'm told the fishing is good as well. Another feature of the park is the "Big Tree" It's a very large ponderosa pine.
A year or so after checking out the park we decided to camp there for a week (as our week out of the Bend/Sunriver Thousand Trails Park) It was $208 for the week and well worth it. We reserved a pull-thru site in the middle loop, which would have fit us, but just barely. To our good fortune, one of the park hosts was a friend we hosted with at Beverly Beach and she offered us an empty host site which was much bigger. From our campsite, we hiked through the other two loops and down to the river. It really is a nice park. I'm sure that we will revisit the park in the future, maybe even volunteer as hosts there. Like other parks that we have camped at nearby, its location offers the whole Central Oregon volcanic and lake scene.
Campground number One hundred thirty-six.
If you want to immerse yourself in a subalpine forest with that crisp high-Cascade air, then LaPine State Park is your destination. You'll stay in a clean, quiet campground alongside the twisting Upper Deschutes River brimming with trout and nearby a legendary fly fishing spot. Around you are miles of waiting-to-be-explored wilderness and dozens of high-mountain lakes.
In summer, you'll have hiking, mountain biking, fishing and floating to choose from. Come winter, cozy up in one of our 10 cabins (five are deluxe, with private bathrooms) after a day of cross-country skiing through the park. No matter the season, you won't want to miss a visit to Oregon's largest ponderosa pine, thought to be 500-plus years old.
You could spend your visit seeing the iconic sites of central Oregon, including Newberry Crater and Lava River Cave. Or you could just stay at camp to see eagles and red-tailed hawks grabbing breakfast in the river, right in front of you.
Campground info
Universal Access
All of the deluxe cabins and one rustic cabin are accessible to campers with disabilities (winter accessibility varies).