The guide to the top 50 tent campsites in Oregon. The new, full-color edition of Best Tent Camping: Oregon, by Becky Ohlsen, guides campers to the state's quietest and most scenic campsites. It's the perfect resource for those who blanch at the thought of pitching a tent on a concrete slab, trying to sleep through the blare of another camper's boom box, or waking up to find your tent surrounded by RVs. The book contains detailed campground layout maps; key information such as fees, restrictions, and dates of operation; and candid ratings for beauty, privacy, quiet, security, spaciousness, and cleanliness. Becky Ohlsen is a freelance writer and critic living in Portland, Oregon. She has written Lonely Planet guidebooks about Sweden, Seattle, the Pacific Northwest, the Great Plains, and parts of England and Wales. She also reviews books, film, food, and drink for various local and national publications. A recovering copy editor, she will debate points of grammar with anyone, anytime. Becky is an avid hiker and enthusiastic camper; her favorite trails and campsites are in the Swedish countryside. She has a master’s degree in journalism from NYU’s Cultural Reporting and Criticism program. It is said she sincerely believes in trolls. Cascadia State Park Campground Most people speed right on past this little cove of peace and tranquility. Beauty: 4 stars Privacy: 3 stars Spaciousness: 3 stars Quiet: 4 stars Security: 4 stars Cleanliness: 5 stars KEY INFORMATION CONTACT: 541-937-1173, oregonstateparks.org OPEN: May 1–September 30 SITES: 25 WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Restrooms, showers EACH SITE HAS: Picnic table, fire ring ASSIGNMENT: First come, first served REGISTRATION: With camp host AMENITIES: Restrooms, drinking water, showers, firewood PARKING: At campsites; $7/additional vehicle FEE: $17 ELEVATION: 850' RESTRICTIONS: PETS: On leash only QUIET HOURS: 10 p.m.-6 a.m. FIRES: In fire rings only ALCOHOL: Permitted OTHER: RVs and trailers up to 35'; no generators allowed Driving east on US 20 out of Sweet Home, you first pass Foster Lake, a large and decidedly unscenic reservoir created by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Then the road gets a little curvy, the trees get taller and thicker, and you can feel the draw of the high country. You start to speed up, dreaming of what’s to come, and . . . what was that? Some kind of a park or something? Yes, that sign on the left said Cascadia State Park, and it is one of the little-known gems of the Oregon State Park system. It doesn’t have the magical attractions of Silver Falls (see page 54) or as much dramatic mountain scenery as Tumalo (see page 94), and the location―so near to the I-5 corridor―might not seem inspiring. But drive down the short access road off US 20 and you’ll find yourself in a little cove of peace and tranquility that most people speed right on past. Cascadia has a manicured feel to it―in a good way, as if somebody designed it to be peaceful and inviting. Turns out, somebody did: The park is a former resort, built to entice visitors to Soda Creek. In the early 20th century, the mineral-filled waters brought enough people here to support a large hotel called the Geisendorfer, which had tennis courts, a garden, and a croquet course. Spend some time in the big mowed meadow by the group camping area, tossing a Frisbee or just soaking up the summer sun, pondering a short saunter down to the river for a swim and some fishing, and you can easily imagine that somebody did a good job putting this place together. Cascadia spreads out beneath tall firs and hemlocks. In September and October, it’s bathed in fall colors from maples, and in spring and summer it’s awash in wildflowers. Somehow, even when it’s full, the park is nice and quiet. As a camp host once said, “We’re just a quiet little family park.” Another comment overheard about Cascadia: “There’s nothing there, really, but campsites and forest and some trails and the river.” To which we say, exactly! (For the literalists, there are also showers, ADA-accessible restrooms, firewood for sale, drinking water, and recycling facilities―but no RV dump station!) The South Santiam River is, in these parts, a little wonder of Cascade scenery. It isn’t awesome by any means, though in late spring there’s often a ton of water in it. By late summer, it’s basically a series of deep clear pools surrounded by cliffs and beautiful rock formations, separated by tiny rapids and waterfalls―perfect, in other words, for swimming or skipping around on the rocks, or even some fishing. You’ll be lucky to catch anything bigger than 6 inches; the real fishing is below Foster Dam, where overlapping runs of Chinook salmon and steelhead bring folks from all over. On top of the fishing, swimming, and lounging, Cascadia has two hiking trails that start right in the park: the River Trail runs 1 mile along the South Santiam, with several side trails leading down to the river. Th