I am ashamed to say that we have not been able to do much camping this past year. As a lot of you know, we usually take a 2-3 week long road trip in the pop up camper every summer. Buying that little pop up camper has been the best move ever, as we have really gotten to see and do so much as a family. If we were staying in hotels and eating out, we definitely would not have the money to travel as far and do as much as we can in the PUP.
Last year, we headed out for South Dakota, stopping along the way in New Mexico and Colorado to see the sights. You can read about that trip here. Unfortunately, midway through the trip, we had a family emergency and had to head to Stanford Medical Center in Palo Alto, CA. We never made it to Mount Rushmore, and our family medical situation wasn’t resolved until just this past May. That meant we didn’t get to do much camping, so we were absolutely determined to make sure this year’s road trip made up for lost time. 🙂
I was pretty ambitious with this year’s trip. Because Canada has so many great things to offer–and because admission to all the national parks was free for the 150th anniversary–we decided to head up North. That meant LOTS of drive time. Our first stop was scheduled for Lassen National Park. I’ve always wanted to visit, and Manzanita Lake seemed like a perfect place to try our hand at stand up paddleboarding. Because our drive was soooo long, we decided to stay our first night in a hotel.
Staying in a hotel when you are pulling a camper always presents a few problems, but we found a great hotel in Fallon, Nevada–just a few hours from Lassen. We called ahead to make sure they would have a place for us to park the camper, and it worked out beautifully. We binged watched American Pickers and went to bed early. The next morning, we checked the weather, and discovered that Lassen was getting snow… in June. 🙁 And it was scheduled to snow (with highs of 28 F) for our entire visit. We had packed a couple jackets–well, most of us… Mr. TypeTwoFun forgot all his warmer clothing–but we weren’t prepared for snow, so it was time for Plan B.
I’d like to say we knew exactly what Plan B was, but honestly, we just kind of winged it. We quickly cancelled our reservations (and yes, we lost most of the reservation fees) and started towards Oregon. We had stayed in Oregon’s state parks before and just love them. They are the best we’ve come across, and we knew we’d be able to find at least one night in a state park campground. When we stumbled on Collier Memorial State Park, we were tired and ready to find a place to settle down. Collier was calling to us. Luckily, we were able to find a few walk-up sites, and one was just perfect for our needs.
Collier Memorial State Park has an easy, convenient walk-up site system. If there is a green tag on the number post, the site is available for one night. You can pick the site and pay for it at the kiosk. Once the rangers come through the next day, they post the reserved spots on the bulletin board at the pay kiosk. If your site isn’t on there, you can go see a host and reserve it for another night. Trailer sites are on one side and tent sites on the other. We grabbed a site, paid for it, and started setting up camp.
By the time we started setting up camp, it was raining. We to set up in the rain, which was fun with teenagers. Did I mention that Mr. TypeTwoFun forgot his jackets? 😉 He had to wear mine for set up. There were more than a few grumbles, but we got all set up and started making dinner. It was too wet for a campfire, so we set up the camp stove to both cook and keep fingers warm until dinner was finished. We even made smores over the “fire,” and let me tell you, they were not as good as campfire smores, but we made it work. LOL. It was definitely not my idea of a perfect night, but we can laugh about it now.
Things looked considerably brighter the next morning. The sun had come out, and we discovered that Collier Memorial State Park was a great campground. There are two loops, an A Loop and a B Loop. Loop B (where we stayed) has 30 full hookup sites, and Loop A has 16 full hookup sites and 18 tent sites. Full hookup sites are $26/night and tent sites are $19/night. I am always amazed at how affordable full hookup sites in Oregon State Parks are. We paid $26 for the night, got full hookups, and free hot showers were included. Laundry facilities were also available within the campground. That is such a great deal!
The sites are moderately spaced. We definitely weren’t isolated, but we weren’t on top of our neighbor’s site either. There were a few trees and bushes to give a bit of privacy. A few of the sites were pull-thru, but most of the ones we saw were back-in sites. Each site obviously had water, electric, and sewer hookups, but there were also picnic tables and fire pits. The trailer sites were paved, and the camp host asked us at check-in to make sure our vehicles remained on the paved pad. It wasn’t a problem for us at all, as the pads are plenty big for a pop up camper.
We got a great night’s sleep, as the Williamson River was just behind our site, and it provided some awesome white noise. We ate a quick breakfast, and Mr. TypeTwoFun and I walked the campground loop while the kids got ready. We passed the kiosk and discovered that our site had already been reserved for that night, so we didn’t have much time to enjoy the area. We had planned to try to hit Crater Lake, since it is only a 30 minute drive from the campground, but we just didn’t have the time. We had visited it on our last trip through the Pacific Northwest, so we decided to see something new with our time. It is beautiful, though, and if you are in the area, you shouldn’t miss it.
Collier had quite a few hiking trails all around, and it is also a popular fishing spot. We spotted a few kayaks in the campground, and it seems like a good spot for that as well. We discovered a gorgeous hiking trail just behind our site that led to a museum, and since we had a few hours before checkout, we decided to give that a whirl.
The trail to the museum was short, but it ran along one of the most gorgeous little creeks we saw on our entire trip. The water from Spring Creek comes straight up from the ground just a little higher up on the mountain. A ranger told us that most of the water seeps through the ground from Crater Lake, so it is literally crystal clear. We were fascinated with how well we could see the bottom of the river.
The trail actually wound over and under a few bridges and ended up at the Collier Memorial State Park Logging Museum. This is a cute, quaint little outdoor museum full of old logging history. There were old logger’s cabins, antique logging equipment, and some really interesting railroad information as well. You could actually walk back through time to see how logging was done throughout history because the trail was on a timeline.
The museum tour is self-guided, and mostly outdoors. It was a great opportunity for us to stretch our legs and learn a little bit of history before we hit the road again. The rangers were super helpful, and there was even a small gift shop at the end of the tour. I believe the rangers hold programs at the museum during the summer, but we hit it very early in the season, so there wasn’t anything going on. There were only a few other people at the museum, so we got to take it at a leisurely pace and really enjoyed ourselves.
It ended up being a great detour, and we are so glad we didn’t cave in to the fatigue the night before and hit another hotel when Plan A didn’t work out. I’m usually a big planner, and I don’t like to take spontaneous trips. All aspects of our trips are usually pretty scheduled, but I discovered that sometimes, it is nice to deviate from the plan. You never know what little treasures you’ll find off the beaten path.
Helpful Tips for Visiting Collier Memorial State Park, Oregon
- Collier has two campground loops. There are 16 full hookup sites and 18 tent sites in Loop A. Loop B has 30 full hookup sites. Full hookup sites run $26/night and a tent site will set you back $19/night. There are flush toilets, hot showers available to campers (for free!), and laundry facilities on site. There is also a dump station available. The whole campground is fully ADA accessible, too.
- There are picnic tables and fire pits at each site. Firewood is available near the pay station kiosk for $8/bundle, but we didn’t see ice for sale anywhere, so make sure you’ve got plenty. There is not a camp store, but small little convenience stores are located within a 15 minute drive.
- Collier is open from mid-May to the end of September. Campsites are reservable online here from 1 day to 9 months in advance. Reservations are recommended but same day walk-up campers are also accepted. When we were there in early June, the campground was about 75% full, but I can see how it might fill up quickly in the later summer months.
- Collier Memorial State Park is about a 30 minute drive from Crater Lake, and could be a great alternative to camping with the crowds in the National Park. They’ve got some great hiking trails, beautiful streams and rivers, and the logging museum is a 15-minute walk away. There is really something for everyone.
We sure loved Collier and hope to make it back soon. Since our last visit, Oregon has had a special place in our hearts, and we were excited to see a little more of it. Been to Collier yourself? We’d love to hear about it! Feel free to comment below or visit our Facebook page and drop us a message. 🙂
New to The Pop Up Princess? Would you like to catch up on our road trip adventures from the past five years? You can find those links here:
POP UP ROAD TRIP 2018
POP UP ROAD TRIP 2017
POP UP ROAD TRIP 2016
POP UP ROAD TRIP 2015
POP UP ROAD TRIP 2014
Happy Camping!
Sorry for our crazy June weather in Northern California! I’m a teacher and never thought it would be raining during the last week of school. On the flip side, we did get a delay in our usual super hot 100° weather. Hopefully you’ll get a chance to camp in Lassen Park next summer. Subway caves is a neat experience as are the sulfur works. Lassen Peak is quite the hike, so pack a lunch and lots of water.
We were really excited to see Lassen, Julie. It has been on my list forever, but we weren’t crazy enough to brave three days of snow in summer gear. Haha. I guess it just means we have to go back again really soon. 😉
I love reading about your travels! Looking forward to more posts!
I’m so glad you found this little gem, Collier is my all-time favorite campground! This was the first campground I remember going to as a child and we camped there almost every year. About 5 years ago my husband and I bought a pop up trailer and took a trip to Collier with my parents and my sister and her family. We all had a wonderful ! We are updating our trailer and I am excited to have found your blog. I hope you go back to Collier, I’m eagerly waiting for our next trip there!
I love reading about your trips. The kids and I went to Mt. Lassen the summer of 2015. I hope you are able to go back sometime. It was spectacular. I was told we were very lucky as the drought had made the entire loop of the park accessible and we were able to drive “Highway 30” (the road up to the volcano and back around) through the park several times, stopping at the various lakes and hiking around. We also were able to visit the caves. We wanted to go back this year but there is still snow! Now I really know what they meant. The campground at Manzanita is great as well. Loops A, B, C & D. A & B are reserve ahead only but we were able to roll up on a Friday morning and find a site in either C or D and pay for our nights at the keyosk, like you mentioned. I think we paid 22 a night? Great general store, hot showers, laundry facilities, Jr. Ranger program, it was great. Of course, my pup was in it’s 1995 form, not the transition it is now! (Thanks to you!) Even though it was July and only snow at the tippy top of the volcano, it was very chilly at night and the 3 of us huddled together under everything we had on one side of the Pup.
On a side note, I hope you and the family are all well again. Sorry to hear about your emergency. Hugs!
A good friend of mine once said, “If Plan A always works out you’d never get a chance to experience Plan B.” That saying has helped us reframe the situation so many times and stay positive when plans go awry. I’m glad your Plan B was enjoyable. 🙂
So enjoy your blog. Thought you might be travelling again this summer. Hope the health concerns are behind your family now. We have never been far out west so love your tour info and campground reviews. We too feel that state parks are usually a great choice. Can’t wait to see your next post. We are leaving on Saturday for our camping journey thru Colorado and New Mexico.
Happy trails to you!!
We were just there a few weeks ago! Oregon state parks are so cheap and so nice….I love our Georgia state parks, but we pay more like $45-50/night for the few that have full hook-ups. We went to Lassen after Collier Memorial and even though the actual snow was over, we couldn’t access most of the park because the roads were still blocked. ah well–another time!
Since you are seasoned pop-up-ers, i’m curious how long it takes you to set up and tear down. i know you have teens who are probably helping, so that speeds it up. but if it were just you and your husband, how long would it take?
Hi Megan. Usually between a half hour to an hour, depending on how much leveling work I have to do. I have done it by myself lots of times and I just don’t push my self. I take my time. I find if I rush, I forget something, then I have to push beds back in or some such thing. I learned her from Larissa just how important leveling is, for everything to work properly. The more you do it, the faster it gets. Another thing I will share, every trip some little thing goes, a screw, a hinge, a curtain tab. Always little things, but something. I just roll with it, part of the deal. I make a list after each trip with the kids to remind me what I need to restock or fix. I also keep staples in the camper, rice, pasta, tuna, soup, things like that, just in case. When we were in Lassen, they came in handy one night!! Happy Trails!!!
Amazing road trip again, I’m really want to read your next trip.
Thanks for sharing 😉
Have you ever done a post about what/how you pack/prepare for an extended trip? My husband and I recently bought a 1999 Viking and did a complete remodel (I’ll be sending you pics when I get her cleaned up from our last adventure). We have 3 small kids and we’re wanting to take our PUP on a two week trip. I am a bit apprehensive being that we are newbies. Any tips would be great!!
We definitely have this on our to-do list, Amy. Keep an eye out for that really soon.
Your blog is amazing! We are planning a Montana/WA/OR/CA trip next summer, and I’m loving all your tips!