Oregon State Parks announces first list of campgrounds to reopen this spring

Cape Lookout Campground

Campers walk through the campground at Cape Lookout State Park on the Oregon coast.Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Oregon state parks has reopened a few campgrounds to the public amid the coronavirus pandemic, with more coming at the start of June.

A total of 33 campgrounds will reopen to the public, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department announced Friday. Most will reopen by reservation June 9, while seven opened Friday on a first-come, first-served basis.

“I am cautiously delighted," state parks Director Lisa Sumption said in a news release. "We are working hard to welcome campers wherever we can safely do so, as soon as we can.”

In order to reopen, each campground needs to meet several criteria, including having enough staff and cleaning supplies, and gaining consent from public health officials and the local community, park officials said.

READ MORE: What outdoor spaces have reopened in Oregon? What’s still closed?

Reservations for campgrounds, which have been suspended since April 28, will reopen sometime next week, the parks department said. Reservations will be taken two weeks in advance, instead of the typical nine-month window.

Existing reservations at campgrounds will be honored starting June 9, though not all campsites will be reopened. Campers without reservations will be able to claim campsites upon arrival as space allows, though walk-in reservations will not be allowed at campgrounds on the Oregon coast.

Yurts and cabins will be open only at select campgrounds, most of which are already fully reserved, state parks spokesman Chris Havel said following the initial reopening announcement.

“We’ll be able to serve a few of the people with existing yurt and cabin reservations, but cancellations are still likely for most of then for the time being,” Havel said.

Here’s the initial list of state park campgrounds that will reopen to the public:

FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED (OPEN MAY 29)

CAMPGROUNDS TAKING RESERVATIONS (OPEN JUNE 9)

Oregon coast

Willamette Valley and Columbia River Gorge

Southern, central and eastern Oregon

--Jamie Hale; jhale@oregonian.com; 503-294-4077; @HaleJamesB

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