Notes from the field
Almost every spot on TentSpots was mapped by a few of us, most of them in 2019 and 2020. We walked them, photographed them, often in 360°, and flew a drone over the campgrounds. These are some of the notes we left, as we wrote them.
“From here you can see both a field of lupines and Mt Adams. There are trees and a creek nearby if you want to hide your tent or hammock. There are some biting flies, but they are everywhere on the mountain.”
The south side of Mt Adams, WA
“Pity they had to cut the tree down :( Now it’s a sunny spot.”
In September 2020, the Beachie Creek Fire burned straight through this campground.
Site 11, North Santiam State Recreation Area, OR · photographed July 2019
“Great view, but not much else. Watching the sunrise over the gorge was wonderful. The site can handle multiple groups, though you need to leave the car at the gate and walk a quarter mile to the site.”
Above the Clackamas River near Estacada, OR · photographed July 2019
“This is our all-time favorite campground in the Olympics. You have to go around 20 minutes into the mountains, but we were always the only ones here.”
Slab Camp, Olympic National Forest, WA · photographed May 2019
“Spacious and well hidden under huge trees. The creek is close, but not too close to bother you at night. Though the access to the creek is a ninja walk over fallen trees. Follow the path for the best access.”
Lost Creek, on the McKenzie Pass highway, OR · photographed June 2020
“The best spot with a beautiful view, but accessible only in the end of summer as it is a creekbed.”
Scott Lake, on the McKenzie Pass, OR · photographed October 2022
Campground guides
Which site to take, from our photos and pins and the land manager's own page.
McNeil Campground
Slab Camp
Sunset Falls Campground
Scott Lake Campground
North Santiam State Recreation Area
Ripplebrook Campground
All 22 campground guides, by area · Tent sites by the water near Portland
Pitch a tent outside any campground: the Sandy River near McNeil (89 spots), the Clackamas River before the 2020 fire (15 spots) and the Nisqually River below Mt Rainier (9 spots)
Why we made this
It started with us and our friends struggling to find a place for the tent, on road trips and on summer weekends. So in 2019 we started writing it down: walking campground loops site by site, flying a drone over them, and pinning the places in the forest where you can pitch a tent outside any campground.
On two Fridays in July 2019 we photographed eight campgrounds up the Clackamas, one after another. Fourteen months later the Riverside Fire burned down that river, and the Beachie Creek Fire through North Santiam. We kept them all on the map, with the photos from before and a note on what has happened since. What reopened, and what did not.
- 1,695
- spots on the map
- 683
- photographed
- 350
- in 360°
- 34
- campgrounds, site by site
Earth is a big place, and there is always a tent spot for everyone.
Most of the map is within a few hours of Portland: Mt Hood and the Clackamas, the Santiam and the McKenzie, the Cascade lakes, Mt Adams and the Gifford Pinchot, and the Olympic Peninsula.
Open the map