Customer Reviews

Foghorn Outdoors: Pacific Northwest Camping

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was very excited when I first purchased this book. It had listings for nearly every campground and RV park imaginable. It seemed to be quite detailed in the information it provided. It was also generally organized by geographic area.

As I began to use the book, however, I realized that it painted an incomplete picture of most campgrounds. In particular, one often gets little or no information about the beauty and amenities of the campground from reading the listing. This was especially true as to the RV Park listings. On several occasions, I planned to stay at a park, and then drove on after seeing it first-hand.

Let's face it. Some campgrounds and RV parks are cleaner, nicer, more beautiful, more private etc. than others. That's why Woodalls has a rating system that takes these amenities into account. Unfortunately, for most campgrounds, Pacific Northwest Camping gives little discussion of how pleasant the campground is to stay in. In particular, for RV parks, it is important to know whether you will find a glorified parking lot or a nicely landscaped park.

Don't get me wrong. The book is very complete and often very helpful. However, I only use it in conjunction with other reference sources.

A good basic guide book for campgrounds in the northwest. What this book lacks is a way to evaluate campgrounds before you get there. Ya, it gives you the facts but it is hard to distinguish the enviromental factors (road noise, etc.) until you pull in with your tent on a Friday night. It is best to supplement this book with guides such as:

"Camping! Washington : The Complete Guide to Public Campgrounds for Rvs and Tents"

which give a general feel for what public campgrounds are more desirable and why.

I bought this based on a number of the reviews below, and because it looks comprehensive. It is that, but I wonder how many of these campgrounds have ever been visited in person by the writer(s). Example: He describes Slate Peak, near Harts Pass Campground (about 7,500 feet) as "the highest point above sea level in Washington State." Somebody might want to introduce him to Mount Rainier. Example: Queets Campground in Olympic national Park : "Since it's so close to the highway, it gets a fair amount of use." Actually, it's 14 miles down one of the worst-maintained, potholed roads you'll ever find. Example: Daroga State Park, a major central washington campground, is nowhere to be found in this guide. Nor are a whole string of camprounds above Lake Chelan in the Wenatchee National Forest. Other things about the book make little sense. Like giving every boat-in state park its own full listing, as if it's a legit campground accessible to anyone other than a boater who enjoys sleeping on an exposed rock. Same goes for DNR camprounds, most of which are so primitive they barely rate a mention -- yet get just as much space (and sometimes praise) as real campgrounds. If you're new to the area and plan on setting itineraries using only this guide, good luck. You're going to learn the hard way.

I've used previous editions of Tom Stienstra's book in the past, and was very happy to have this latest one available to plan a trip with our tent trailer to southern and central Oregon, including a stop at Mount St. Helens on the way home. Like another reviewer here, I agree it would be nice to have a rating system and more complete descriptions of the amenities of each site, but then this 837 page tome would become too big to take along.

Since we were traveling at the peak season, we opted to camp at Collier State Park, about 30 miles from Crater Lake, our intended destination. While Collier was a nice, quiet place to stay, we could've camped closer to, or even within, Crater Lake Nation Park. Some of Stienstra's comments led me to make this decision.

At another point, we wanted to camp near Bend, but ended up at Prineville Reservoir State Park, about 30 miles east of Bend. The state parks near Bend were booked solid, and we wanted to be assured of some good fishing for our son. He caught a small-mouthed bass at Prineville, which made him happy. My wife and I were too hot, but I guess a book can't really give you a weather report.

And, near Mount St. Helens, we stayed at Mount St. Helens RV Park, which the book described as "cozy" and "secluded." But the book didn't say anything about the fact that if you get there after the office closes, you're not given a key to the locked bathroom. Fortunately, a neighboring camper loaned us his.

So, it sounds like I'm complaining about this book, which is not my intent. It's quite thorough, but can't account for changes in conditions such as popularity of a given site, weather, or new ownership. So, use this guide with flexibility, and with a few other guides nearby that contain better descriptions of the areas you're planning to visit, such as "Going Places: Family Getaways in the Pacific Northwest," by Ann Bergman, et al, or "Best Hikes With Children in Western & Central Oregon," by Bonnie Henderson, or "Pacific Northwest: Oregon and Washington," by Bill McRae, et al.

After reviewing many camping books for the northwest, this one is far and away the MOST complete, the MOST helpful, and the MOST fun! The organization has obviously been well thought out and tested, and the information is priceless. It's like having your own personal guide to ALL the campgrounds, primitive to RVparks. I found 30 campgrounds within an hour of my home, 20 of which I never knew existed! No review can do this book, or it's author, justice. It's undoubtedly best camping investment I've ever made, period. This also makes an EXCELLENT gift for anyone, beginner or expert, who does any camping at all in Oregon or Washington...bought one for my Mom just weeks after pre-ordering mine, who's had previous editions and sworn by them.

I had the pleasure of running into Tom on top of Mt St. Helens. He turned out to have a personality just like he writes! He was generous with his time and seemed happy to talk with me and find out how I like his work. I had been using an old edition of PNW Camping for a few years. He told me to get the new one because he and his staff did a ton of new research and a lot has changed and been improved. So I got one. Wow. My wife and I just finished a two week tour of Oregon: the coast, Cascades, and southestern high desert. The new book was right on, every time. It would be a total understatement to say it was useful. It was utterly indispensible. The text let us look at all the possibililties for each night, and make a really reasoned choice, then the directions got us right to the place we had chosen. I felt like the book was my co-pilot and trusted advisor. I also had the old version along, and found that things had indeed changed, and that the directions, style, and content of the new one to be quite a jump in quality and utility. Stienstra totally nailed it this time. I wont go anywhere in the PNW without this book. Bravo!

Just back from a long weekend camp at Sheep Creek. Thank you Mr. Stienstra! We moved from California about 2 years ago and always relied on his book California Camping to find cool, dog-friendly sites - and we were thrilled to see he wrote one for this region too. We were not surprised to find perfect directions and descriptions accompanying realistic ratings.

Just back from a major road and camping trip thru the PNW. Stienstra's book worked great. We found camping spots we NEVER would have known about. Directions and info all seem accurate. Nice guide!

I cannot imagine a more complete book for campers looking to find their own perfect spot. We like to get out at least 3 times a month in the summer, and this book has truly been our savior...we just decide the general area where we want to go, and have all these listings of campgrounds, rates, directions, ammenities right there. I would recommend this to anyone camping in this area this summer!!

This book worked well for me last weekend on a trek up the Oregon Coast. We stayed at serveral places that we would never knew existed or found if not for the book, so I figure it paid for itself already. I recommend this one if you on on the road in OR or WA.