About this place
The Wild and Scenic North Fork Malheur River is close by, and people fish it for rainbow trout.
The North Fork Malheur Trailhead is within half a mile of the campsite.
This makes a good base for hunters, for walkers, and for anyone after a quiet few days.
The road in is rough. After rain it turns very muddy.
There is a vault toilet and no drinking water.
The facts
- Cost
- Free to camp
- Roads around it
- Quite rough, and very muddy after rain
- Drinking water
- No, bring your own
- Toilet
- Yes
- Type
- Specific campsite
- Managed by
- Malheur National Forest
The roads around this place are not maintained for a regular car. That comes from the US Forest Service, who grade every road by the kind of vehicle it is looked after for. Those records cover the roads nearby. They do not cover the last stretch in to the campsite, and nobody has checked that part. Treat this as a warning. We are not promising what you will find when you get there. If you have driven it, tell us what it was like and we will say so here.
Getting there
In Prairie City, take South Main Street to Bridge Street and turn left. Go past the cemetery, where the road becomes County Road 62. About 20 miles on, turn east onto Forest Road 16 and follow it for about 12 miles. After that, Forest Road 1675 goes off to the right. Take it, and the campground is about 2 miles along.
Coordinates 44.207920, -118.382000
Open in Google Maps Agency page
What is near here
Nothing nationally famous is close. These are the landmarks nearby.
- Strawberry Mountain Directions
- Mount Ireland Directions
Every distance on this page is the driving distance. A short distance can still take a long time. The road may be closed for the season, covered in snow, or washed out. Many of these roads are dirt. Plan your route before you leave home. Out here there is often no phone signal to look it up on the way.
Nearest town and supplies
- Unity, OR Directions
- John Day, OR Directions
John Day is big enough that you’d normally expect fuel and somewhere to buy food. Nobody from here has been to check, so don’t count on it if you’re running low.
Why the drive to town is usually twice what the map says — what we found measuring every campsite in this guide.
When it’s time to move on
On most public land you can camp for 14 days before you have to move on. Check this site’s own limit before you plan a long stay. This is Forest Service land, and each forest sets its own rule for how far you have to go, so check before you travel.
The nearest other free campsite in this guide is McClellan Trailhead, Oregon — 42 miles in a straight line, but a 58 mile drive. Three more sit closer than 25 miles, if the rule here allows them.
This guide covers five states and does not list every free campsite, so there may be something closer that we do not hold. Check this site’s own rule before you rely on it.
Have you been here?
Fees and access change, and the records do not always keep up. If you have been, tell us what you found.
Thank you, that is recorded. It helps the next person.
Add road notes for this site
The thing we cannot get from any government record is what the drive in is actually like. If you have done it, this is the most useful thing you can leave behind. We read everything before it appears, and we print a first name with it if you give one.
Thank you. A person will read it before it goes on the page.
Where this information comes from
The description on this page is ours. The facts in it, and the fee and facility details below it, come from the Forest Service’s own records, read in August 2026.