Free Camp Guide
Aerial view of Fishermen's Bend Recreation Area

Oregon Bureau of Land Management

Fishermen's Bend Recreation Area

Camping fee unknownSet campsite14-day limit
Camping fee not confirmed Nobody has written down what it costs to camp here, so we can’t tell you. It might be free. It might not. We read through the Bureau of Land Management’s records in August 2026 and found nothing either way. Watch for a sign when you pull in, or ask them before you set off.

About this place

Fishermen’s Bend sits in a bend of the North Santiam River, and it is quiet there.

This is a full-service campground. Hot showers, fire pits, picnic tables, and water and electricity hook-ups for RVs.

There is walking, biking, fishing and swimming. There are courts for basketball and volleyball, and horseshoes.

You have to book. Turning up without one will not work.

The facts

Cost
Camping fee not confirmed
Stay limit
14 days
Type
Specific campsite
Managed by
Bureau of Land Management

Getting there

From Salem, go east on Oregon Highway 22, the Santiam Highway, for 27 miles. Watch for the signs and turn right onto River Road SE, 2 miles west of Mill City. From Bend, go west on Oregon Highway 22 for 102 miles. Either way the site is 2 miles west of Mill City.

Coordinates 44.757398, -122.510379

Open in Google Maps Agency page

What is near here

There is another spot of ours within reach, and some better-known places further out.

Every distance on this page is the driving distance. A short distance can still take a long time. The road may be closed for the season, covered in snow, or washed out. Many of these roads are dirt. Plan your route before you leave home. Out here there is often no phone signal to look it up on the way.

Nearest town and supplies

Mill City is big enough that you’d normally expect fuel and somewhere to buy food. Nobody from here has been to check, so don’t count on it if you’re running low.

Have you been here?

Fees and access change, and the records do not always keep up. If you have been, tell us what you found.

Add road notes for this site

The thing we cannot get from any government record is what the drive in is actually like. If you have done it, this is the most useful thing you can leave behind. We read everything before it appears, and we print a first name with it if you give one.

Where this information comes from

The description on this page is ours. The facts in it, and the fee and facility details below it, come from the Bureau of Land Management’s own records, read in August 2026.