Metolius River Camping

I love the Metolius River near Sisters. In my opinion, it is one of the most beautiful rivers around. It reflects a beautiful aquamarine color in the sunshine which contrasts nicely with the greens, reds, golds and browns of the surrounding landscape – especially in the fall.

We camped a couple of weeks ago with some friends of ours on the Metolius. There are about 8 different campgrounds up and down the river in the Deschutes National Forest. The campgrounds are not luxurious, even by camping standards, but what they lack in amenities, they more than make up for in natural beauty. Camping in central Oregon never presents the same kinds of problems that staying overnight in the western part of the state does. The rain is far less frequent – therefore even camping in October like we did, doesn’t require the addition of rain gear. On the Metolius there are hiking trails to cruise up & down the river banks and fly fishing for those with a bent towards angling. Surprisingly, the roads throughout this part of the Deschutes NF are relatively flat and provide a good opportunity for bike riding, for those who tend toward the “kitchen sink” style of camping (bringing every amenity you can think of – including the kitchen sink). Many of the campgrounds have RV spaces available, although no hook-ups. There is drinking water available during the main camping season, but the taps had been turned off for the winter when we were there.

That being said, camping on the Metolius in October does require additional layers of clothing. We knew it was going to be colder than Portland had been of late, but we didn’t realize until I talked to my mom on the way home that we had endured record overnight low temps (overnight lows in the 20’s both nights we were there). Needless to say, a fire was required most of the time, especially after the sun went down and the temperatures dropped. Despite this, we all had a great time. The sun came out during the days and we went hiking a bit. Our friend Mark tried his hand at fishing, and we spent plenty of time just relaxing.