Bridge Creek Wildlife Area - primitive camping along the public access road

Free primitive camping on an Oregon state wildlife area in the Blue Mountains, about three miles south of Ukiah off Forest Road 52. No fee and no permit to camp here in season -- ODFW's own visitors' guide states plainly that no parking permit is required, and Bridge Creek is not one of the fifteen ODFW wildlife areas that charge the $8/day (or $28/year) parking permit. WHERE YOU MAY ACTUALLY CAMP -- READ THIS, IT IS NARROWER THAN IT LOOKS. The wildlife area is about 15,000 acres, but you may NOT camp anywhere in it. ODFW's 2021 management plan says primitive camping is allowed within 300 feet of the area's public access road, and that the area's other (administrative) roads are closed to public motor vehicles year-round. In practice that means one unimproved road -- old County Road 1479, which ODFW calls its single public access road and describes as about five miles long. Stay within 300 feet of it. THE RULES, PLAINLY: the area is only open April 15 through November 30 -- it closes December 1 through April 14 for wintering elk, and in that period you may only enter by permit from ODFW. Camping is allowed in the open season but no more than 14 days total in any 30-day period. Drive only on open roads and parking areas, and only up to 300 feet off an open road to reach a campsite. Campfires only at campsites, and no open fires at all during designated fire closures -- this is dry country in late summer, so expect restrictions. Note also that ODFW gates the southern part of the area after second rifle elk season each fall (the gate at Kennedy Springs), so late-season motor access can be shorter than the map suggests. WHAT IS ACTUALLY HERE: essentially nothing built. ODFW's facility list for the whole wildlife area is two administrative cabins, a survey shed, one interpretive trail with a picnic table, the unimproved access road, fencing, and stock ponds. There is no campground, no toilet, no drinking water and no hookups. Bring all your own water -- the ponds are stock and wildlife ponds, not a supply. ODFW warns the access road is unimproved and cautions passenger vehicles; high clearance is the sensible choice, and it will be worse when wet. HONEST CAVEATS: this pin is a point ON the public access road roughly midway through the wildlife area -- it is NOT a developed campsite and not a known pull-off, because no such site is mapped or described anywhere. Treat it as a starting point for finding your own legal spot within 300 feet of the road. We have not visited. Rules on wildlife areas change, and ODFW's own plan floats the idea of a self-service permit system some day, so confirm current rules and fire restrictions with ODFW before you go. This is remote country with no services; the nearest town is Ukiah.

USGS topo — contours & terrain

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

Nearby restrooms — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

• Vault / pit toiletTollbridge · ~2.3 mi S · USFS
• Vault / pit toiletDriftwood · ~3.4 mi E · USFS
• Vault / pit toiletDrift Fence · ~3.8 mi NE · USFS
• Vault / pit toiletGold Dredge · ~5.6 mi E · USFS

Open this spot elsewhere

Other camps nearby

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

• Tollbridge Campground~2.3 mi
• Drift Fence~3.8 mi
• Divide Well~11.7 mi
• Big Creek Meadows Campground & Trailhead~15.1 mi

How we know this

What we don’t know

A land record can put you within a few metres of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.

• Road surface & last-mile access
• How many rigs actually fit
• Cell coverage by carrier
• Seasonal & winter access
• Current fire restrictions
• Whether any water here is drinkable
• Shade & wind exposure
• Noise and who else shows up

Before you go