Packed trailhead in Southern Oregon on July 31 — U.S. Forest Service photo
By: Woodall’s Campground Management
Source: woodallscm.com, August 2020
Folks trying to beat the heat and get out of cities amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Oregon are turning to the outdoors in droves, according to News 10.
Jam-packed campgrounds and hiking trails have become the norm this summer, and forest managers say people need to be prepared.
“I think with COVID, everyone is trying to just do something safe with friends and family,” said Eric Smith, an Oregon camper.
Thanks to coronavirus travel restrictions, there’s not much to do this summer except enjoy some short distance camping. But everyone else has the same idea.
Parking at local trailheads spilled onto nearby road shoulders, creating hazards that could slow down response times in cases of emergencies, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office said.
“If your trailhead has parking spilling out onto the highway like this, it’s time for that Trail Plan B. Please #RecreateResponsibly!” the Forest Service said.
“Coldwater Cove, Paradise, Delta Campground, they are near full occupancy at those sites most days of the week,” said Jon Erickson, the recreation manager at Willamette National Forest.
Erickson says for his 26 campgrounds in the McKenzie Ranger District, it’s packed. People are flooding to campsites and popular trails in unprecedented numbers. And where people can’t find an improved campsite — many are improvising.
“Because it’s so busy out on the landscape we’re actually observing visitors making brand new campsites that have never been used before,” Erickson said.
Which Erickson says is not illegal, but “pioneering” campsites become a big headache if people don’t pack out their trash or leave behind, human waste.
There’s no getting around it, the great outdoors has become the cramped outdoors in 2020. Especially at super popular campgrounds like here at clear lake. Smith says he slipped into Coldwater Cove campground Tuesday morning and grabbed this last available first come, first served spot.
“I’ve never seen campgrounds so full as they have been this year. It’s been amazing, so you have to be creative and flexible,” said Smith.
It’s just a case of supply and demand at Oregon campgrounds, and right now, demand is the big winner. Erickson said that parking is another big concern, leading in some cases to illegal parking outside of trailheads.
Last weekend, he says crews counted 200 vehicles lined up near the Blue Pool recreation area.
