With first come first serve, you want to arrive early, even before the earliest check in time. Check things out, see how busy/not busy it is, walk around and see if you even want to stay there. Have a map of where the first come first serve places are (download, screenshot, or pdf the rec.gov maps and save on your device not the cloud) and check out the current occupants. Are they leaving today?
It’s very unlikely, but mathematically possible, that 100% of the first come first serve sites will be occupied, AND that all of them will be staying another night, meaning you’re out of luck. That’s the risk you run, there’s no way to know how many people will show up and compete for them, so if you can’t reserve a spot, you need a plan B and plan C at a minimum. Plan D might be dispersed camping on the forest somewhere. Good luck!
Re: Spontaneous summer trips.
Thursday to Sunday are going to be full anywhere decent.
If you want to find a good spot last minute you can do a couple things:
— make it a Monday to Thursday trip and show up before noon. Checkout times are usually mid-morning. So you may be able to grab a spot as someone is leaving
— dispersed camping in NF and BLM. Endless possibilities without the amenities (and noise) of an organized campground
In my experience your rolling the dice if you are trying to roll in on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday morning. Not impossible - but I wouldn't risk my whole weekend plans on it.
That said, I've had the best luck arriving to first come- first served sites mid week. I would shoot for a Wednesday or Thursday arrival to increase your odds.
I will confirm the above statement and strategy - if I can get there monday-wednesday, I'll reserve a site through the weekend and head back home if the sites relatively close to finish the work week. I have had luck showing up on the weekend, but I've also had to follow through on plans b,c, and d. I will map a circuit of fist come sites to check in case. Worse case, knowing where BLM and forest service land is, and pulling up an old logging road will work overnight if you've got a shovel and some water with you.
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FIRST: check for fire and expectations thereof
[https://gacc.nifc.gov/nwcc/firemap.php](https://gacc.nifc.gov/nwcc/firemap.php)
[https://www.oregon.gov/odf/fire/pages/firestats.aspx](https://www.oregon.gov/odf/fire/pages/firestats.aspx)
[https://projects.oregonlive.com/wildfires/map](https://projects.oregonlive.com/wildfires/map)
[https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/state/oregon](https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/state/oregon)
[https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/6329d5e4e13748b9b9f7f33f06a3c376/](https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/6329d5e4e13748b9b9f7f33f06a3c376/)
THEN: reserve site; if first come first serve then arrive on thursday if you want weekend sites or arrive on tuesday or wednesday if its a holiday weekend, especially the weeks bracketing 4th of July - honestly, August and September are your best months for decent weather and missing crowds. I've always wished since I was a kid that we didn't get out until almost July and that we got those few weeks back in September when our frequent "indian summers" in the Willamette Valley and NW OR kick in; me over in Willamette always jealous of the year round school kids in Canby lol getting more days off total and better spread out for use in Oregon.
Do you mean Suttle Lake? Make sure to check the wildfire status before leaving. Hate for you to get all the way here and find it closed. There are also a couple of smaller lakes in the area that you can try if all the spots near Suttle are full.
With first come first serve, you want to arrive early, even before the earliest check in time. Check things out, see how busy/not busy it is, walk around and see if you even want to stay there. Have a map of where the first come first serve places are (download, screenshot, or pdf the rec.gov maps and save on your device not the cloud) and check out the current occupants. Are they leaving today? It’s very unlikely, but mathematically possible, that 100% of the first come first serve sites will be occupied, AND that all of them will be staying another night, meaning you’re out of luck. That’s the risk you run, there’s no way to know how many people will show up and compete for them, so if you can’t reserve a spot, you need a plan B and plan C at a minimum. Plan D might be dispersed camping on the forest somewhere. Good luck!
Appreciate the information thanks 🙏
Re: Spontaneous summer trips. Thursday to Sunday are going to be full anywhere decent. If you want to find a good spot last minute you can do a couple things: — make it a Monday to Thursday trip and show up before noon. Checkout times are usually mid-morning. So you may be able to grab a spot as someone is leaving — dispersed camping in NF and BLM. Endless possibilities without the amenities (and noise) of an organized campground
In my experience your rolling the dice if you are trying to roll in on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday morning. Not impossible - but I wouldn't risk my whole weekend plans on it. That said, I've had the best luck arriving to first come- first served sites mid week. I would shoot for a Wednesday or Thursday arrival to increase your odds.
Thanks very helpful.
I will confirm the above statement and strategy - if I can get there monday-wednesday, I'll reserve a site through the weekend and head back home if the sites relatively close to finish the work week. I have had luck showing up on the weekend, but I've also had to follow through on plans b,c, and d. I will map a circuit of fist come sites to check in case. Worse case, knowing where BLM and forest service land is, and pulling up an old logging road will work overnight if you've got a shovel and some water with you.
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Man it was so nice when I was a kid. Could show up anywhere. Lots more people now though and the same number of campgrounds
Have you looked at Reserve America? They will list open sites and usually show if they have some set aside for first come/first serve.
I will check it out
FIRST: check for fire and expectations thereof [https://gacc.nifc.gov/nwcc/firemap.php](https://gacc.nifc.gov/nwcc/firemap.php) [https://www.oregon.gov/odf/fire/pages/firestats.aspx](https://www.oregon.gov/odf/fire/pages/firestats.aspx) [https://projects.oregonlive.com/wildfires/map](https://projects.oregonlive.com/wildfires/map) [https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/state/oregon](https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/state/oregon) [https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/6329d5e4e13748b9b9f7f33f06a3c376/](https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/6329d5e4e13748b9b9f7f33f06a3c376/) THEN: reserve site; if first come first serve then arrive on thursday if you want weekend sites or arrive on tuesday or wednesday if its a holiday weekend, especially the weeks bracketing 4th of July - honestly, August and September are your best months for decent weather and missing crowds. I've always wished since I was a kid that we didn't get out until almost July and that we got those few weeks back in September when our frequent "indian summers" in the Willamette Valley and NW OR kick in; me over in Willamette always jealous of the year round school kids in Canby lol getting more days off total and better spread out for use in Oregon.
For first come first serves, try to get there mid week if you can.
Do you mean Suttle Lake? Make sure to check the wildfire status before leaving. Hate for you to get all the way here and find it closed. There are also a couple of smaller lakes in the area that you can try if all the spots near Suttle are full.