★ Field-verified · Dave's ownPublic land · dispersedFree
Tillamook State Forest
Drive-up · public land · Tillamook County, OR · 45.64700, -123.81995
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →Dave's been here. A spot from Dave's own travels on public land — free to camp. Conditions still change, so confirm access, stay limits and fire rules before you go.
This is a superb, high-elevation, primitive campsite, at the top of a ridge offering gorgeous views both to the east and to the west. Located in Tillamook State Forest, area is worthy of exploration. Four-wheel drive or high-clearance AWD recommended. Fire circle, although fire might not be permitted depending on season. Very remote. Only a dozen miles from the Oregon coast. Sufficient space for a few overland vehicles. Highly recommended. Some cell service.
A night on record
Dave slept here on 9 August 2017. No agency publishes a season for this site, so that night is the only season evidence we have — what the site was then, not a forecast for this year.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Tillamook State Forest
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 2,109 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Tillamook State ForestNIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.
Everything you need — measured from Tillamook State Forest · public land · OR
▲ your camp. Rings are 15, 30 and 60 straight-line miles; bearings are approximate and roads run longer.
Nearest of each
- @Mail4 mi
- GGrocery6 mi
- ShShower6 mi
- FFuel7 mi
- DDump7 mi
- WWater7 mi
- HHardware7 mi
- MMechanic11 mi
- EVEV fast charger12 mi
- RxPharmacy12 mi
- AAir-up12 mi
- +Urgent care19 mi
- LLaundry24 mi
- OOutfitter24 mi
- PPropane34 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 6 mi out.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — Tillamook State Forest
Access
Drive-up
Land
public land · dispersed
Elevation
2,109 ft
Ground slope
40.4% · steep
Nearest rail line
~4.3 mi · passing siding
County
Tillamook County, OR
Coordinates
45.64700, -123.81995
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Tillamook State Forest · public land · OR (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureDry Creek · ~0.2 mi · USGS: perennial stream
- Also mapped (OSM)Crystal Creek (stream) · mapped within 1.6 mi
- Nearest townBarnesdale · ~1.8 mi
- Nearest rail line~4.3 mi · passing siding
- Nearest highwayno interstate or US route within 10 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~6.9 mi
- FuelChevron · ~6.7 mi
- Propane / LPGSuburban Propane · ~20.9 mi
- Dump station~6.8 mi
- GroceriesNehelem Food Mart · ~6.0 mi
- PharmacyNelahem Bay Health And Wellness Pharmacy · ~4.2 mi
- Hospital / clinicAdventist Health · ~7.0 mi
- HardwareManzanita Lumber Co. · ~7.2 mi
From the field — what Dave saw, in person
Cell service
Had a signal
Getting there
High clearance / 4×4
Fire ring
Yes
Toilet on site
No
Tent friendly
Yes
Verdict
Highly recommended
EV charging — from Tillamook State Forest · public land · OR — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger11.5 mi straight-line S — Tillamook, OR - Tesla Supercharger (at an other entertainment) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 12 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. NACS partner enabled. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach6 within 25 mi · 47 within 50 · 246 within 100 · 423 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS12.0 mi — WCEH Tillamook, Tillamook
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO12.0 mi — WCEH Tillamook, Tillamook
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)4.2 mi — NEHALEM BAY HEA #8, Wheeler, OR · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Pricing at the fast chargernot listed
- Power (kW)not listed by AFDC — “DC fast” spans roughly 24 to 350 kW, so ask the network.
- Read this honestlyStraight-line miles, like every distance on this site. Roads run longer than this, and you have to get back. We know where a charger is listed. We don’t know if it works today, how fast it is, or the road miles. Check the network before you commit.
Snapshot 2026-09-16 · AFDC record 229093 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Tillamook State Forest · public land · OR — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletBear Camp Viewpoint · ~1.6 mi SW · USFS
- RestroomFederal restroom · ~13.4 mi SW · FWS
- RestroomFederal restroom · ~14.8 mi SW · FWS
- Highway rest areaSunset · ~20.2 mi NE
Coming out here — Tillamook State Forest · public land · OR
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Dry Creek as a perennial stream, ~0.2 mi from the pin (National Hydrography Dataset, data refreshed October 2022). Mapped as perennial is not the same as flowing today. Nobody has checked it for you. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Ground slope around the pin: about 40.4% — steep. Measured on USGS's 3DEP elevation model (1 m data here), sampled every 10 metres around the point. That is the hillside, not the ground under your wheels — a graded pullout or a bench a few metres across is too small to show up at that spacing, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- Rail line mapped ~4.3 mi from the pin — the national rail atlas classes it as a passing siding. That is the FRA/BTS North American Rail Network (data updated Jul 21, 2026), which records that a line is there and what class of track it is. Whether anything runs on it, how often, and at what hour, it does not say, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- No interstate or US route is mapped within 10 mi of the pin in the Census's TIGER/Line primary roads (TIGER/Line 2025, released Oct 2025). That file holds the divided, limited-access highways only — a state expressway or a two-lane US route near this camp would not be in it.
- Assume no services at all. Most dispersed camping in a national forest has none: no tap, no power, no dump, often no toilet. Everything you need, you bring.
- Power: Dave carries his own — batteries or solar. A generator will run your rig and it is also the thing everybody camped near you can hear.
- Getting online: Dave recommends Starlink. He has had it since SpaceX introduced it, used it for four years living on the road, and it delivers as promised — several hundred nights out, and he can count on one hand the places he could not connect. The cable on his unit runs 150 feet, which is usually all it takes to find enough sky. Starlink → Referral link — Starlink pays Dave $100 in cash if you sign up through it, and that money funds this site and the next trip. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open Tillamook State Forest elsewhere
Other camps near Tillamook State Forest
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Tillamook County~6.8 mi
Who holds the land at Tillamook State Forest
USGS’s Protected Areas Database (PAD-US 4.1, queried 2026-09-23) lists the ground at this pin as Forest Development Fund (Board Of Forestry), manager on record: Oregon Department of Forestry (state). That names who holds the land — it is not a statement that camping is permitted here.
How we know this — Tillamook State Forest
Source
Dave's own travels
Confidence
Researched — The record is detailed and internally consistent, and the coordinates land where the managing agency says this site is.
How it was placed
FIELD VERIFIED by Dave Lalande -- he has stood on this site. Coordinates are his own GPX track point, not a geocode. County and state confirmed against the FCC Census Block API (Tillamook County, OR). Everything under 'From the field' is a direct observation; nothing here is inferred from a land record.
A night on record
Dave's own GPS diary, 2017–2020: the date of the waypoint he saved here. The timestamp is UTC, so an entry saved in the evening carries the next morning's date. An observation of one night, never a forecast.
EV chargers
US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.
Field check
Verified on the ground. Dave has stood on this one. He camped here on 9 August 2017. Conditions still change — confirm before you commit.
What we don’t know about Tillamook State Forest
A land record can put you within a few meters of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.
- How many rigs actually fit
- Seasonal & winter access
- Current fire restrictions
- Whether any water here is drinkable
- Shade & wind exposure
- Noise and who else shows up
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it
Before you go — Tillamook State Forest
Finding water out here →Stay limits →Your first dispersed night →Gear & rig loadout →All field notes →