Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area, Meacham, Oregon

A beautiful drive along Interstate 84 in Oregon leads you to this wooded campground. We pulled in with high hopes after reading their website and carefully choosing this park over others. Unfortunately, we were disappointed by several factors: Road noise, lack of amenities, and poor communication of amenities between the park and campers. The website claims this state park, which is wooded, beautiful, historical, and easily accessed from the interstate,
has a full basketball court and baseball field. Neither were found during our stay. We also were surprised when we asked camp hosts about hiking trails that the park ranger has, "blurry maps" and to just "start walking over there." Are the trails loops? Are there trails that lead to springs which help name the park? We had several unanswered questions. The website also indicates that there are living history exhibits, but those are only available on the weekends. The most disappointing feature here, however, is the constant noise from the interstate. Nearly a quarter of the sites back up to the interstate, which really takes away from the beautiful scenery that this park offers. There are tall, old growth forest trees here and every site offers beautiful, wooded scenes (some get a bonus view of the interstate), but the noise of the interstate is prevalent. This camp is located along the Oregon Trail and a meager, outdoor exhibit is available to visitors. There are also several day use picnic sites. Another plus: there is a lovely loop of horse campsites which feature horse corrals and scenic sites for those camping with their four legged friends!  Despite the noise, the park is popular during summer months and reservations are recommended, especially weekends.

Location
Best Sites: None
Worst Sites: A1, A4, A6-A7, A9-A10, B3, B5, B7, B9, B1
Hookups: Water, Electric, & Sewer at some sites
Potable Water: At some sites
Dump Within Facility: No

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