Oregon Hiker/Biker Rates go up Nov 1, 2017

[adventurepdx]

Well, it was bound to happen. Oregon's cheap hiker/biker rates are going up. Come November 1st, it won't be as cheap as it used to be to bike camp at an Oregon State Park, but it still won't be expensive. The basic rate of $5 per person will go up to $7. There are a few coastal campgrounds with $6 rates like Cape Lookout, I don't know if they'll go up to just $7 or do the $2 hike to $8.

Here's a sheet with all the rate increases:
http://oregonstateparks.org/files/2017%20Rate%20Chart.pdf

[jamawani]

That is a 40% increase.

[adventurepdx]

That is a 40% increase.

It is. 

The issue is that they are raising certain fees $2 across the board. So raising the price from $79 to $81 for deluxe yurts and cabins is pretty inconsequential, but $5 to $7 on the hiker/biker is. Wish they did it a bit more proportionately. Though I doubt that they would do less than a $1 raise on a hiker/biker.

Still, $7 for a hiker/biker site is still a good deal, and the price hike isn't going to dissuade me from camping at an Oregon State Park.

[jamawani]

All the yurts and cabins and pull-thru, paved campsites, and water, sewer & elec hook-ups cost quite a lot to construct and maintain. I realize that if somebody drops a cool quarter million bucks on a tin trailer, they want the national and state parks to accommodate them. And accommodate them in style.

At Lewis Lake in Yellowstone, there are about a dozen nice sites where you park and have to walk 50 yards to the site. They are the last sites to fill in the park. I guess Americans don't want simple, basic camping - - but I hate that people who do like simple basic camping are pushed to the fringes and, often, have to pay for what they don't use. (Less so with h/b in Oregon than general sites elsewhere.)

[indyfabz]

there are about a dozen nice sites where you park and have to walk 50 years to the site.

That's a long walk, even by the standard of the Proclaimers. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbNlMtqrYS0

Seriously...I like what MT has done at some of their state parks. The new hiker/biker sites have very nice facilities, including tent pads, bike racks, sheltered picnic tables and electricity. All for $12 for non-residents. I used them at Whitefish Lake and Wayfarers back in June.  IIRC, there are three others with the same facilities. And I was told at both places that even if all sites are full, cyclists won't be turned away. (BTW...There are two unadvertised hiker/biker sites at Thompson Falls. They will put you at one of the two day use picnic sites looking right out onto the river. Best sites in the park, although they don't have modern amenities.) Wish they had something like that at PA state parks.

[jamawani]

there are about a dozen nice sites where you park and have to walk 50 years to the site.

That's a long walk, even by the standard of the Proclaimers. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbNlMtqrYS0

Yards. Yards! 
Boy. I am really losing it.

[indyfabz]

I know what you meant, and I know what you mean. Stayed at Bull Lake in the Cabinet Mountains in June. The sites with the farthest distance to walk from where you could park were empty. I snagged one. Nicest site in the place. Very close to the shore (which made for a great breeze at times) and offered a great view, especially on the solstice:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/105349603@N05/35666410012/in/album-72157682904463522/

[smorse97]

That is a 40% increase.

It is. 

The issue is that they are raising certain fees $2 across the board. So raising the price from $79 to $81 for deluxe yurts and cabins is pretty inconsequential, but $5 to $7 on the hiker/biker is. Wish they did it a bit more proportionately. Though I doubt that they would do less than a $1 raise on a hiker/biker.

Still, $7 for a hiker/biker site is still a good deal, and the price hike isn't going to dissuade me from camping at an Oregon State Park.

Its still a good deal when washington State is $12 the last time i stayed at one .

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[adventurepdx]

Its still a good deal when washington State is $12 the last time i stayed at one .

Depends on how you look at it, since the two states charge differently. Oregon charges its hiker/biker rate per person, Washington per site. So if you are a solo traveler, the $7 rate in Oregon is better. But if there's two (or more) of you? It works out better in Washington.

[canalligators]

What’s a buck or two? I have no objection to paying for goods and services I receive.

[Ty0604]

Well, it was bound to happen. Oregon's cheap hiker/biker rates are going up. Come November 1st, it won't be as cheap as it used to be to bike camp at an Oregon State Park, but it still won't be expensive. The basic rate of $5 per person will go up to $7. There are a few coastal campgrounds with $6 rates like Cape Lookout, I don't know if they'll go up to just $7 or do the $2 hike to $8.

Here's a sheet with all the rate increases:
http://oregonstateparks.org/files/2017%20Rate%20Chart.pdf

Devils Lake will increase $2 to $8 so I imagine Cape Lookout will as well.



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