Highway 26 from Madras to Fossil Beds info ?

Bend is a good base for touring the area. To the SW is the Mt Bachelor and Cascade Lakes area. To the south is La Pine State Park, and Newberry Crater. Near Sisters is Camp Sherman and the source of the Metolius. I already mentioned Cove Palisades. On US97 is Smith Rock.

thank you paulj, yes, hubby has an atlas/which shows grades ... think we have decided to site in Bend as we want to see the Lava Caves also. (or I have the trip spreadsheet done, only haven't passed it by hubby/driver yet). This trip is to see as much as we can see in 3 weeks ...

Camping around the Nat Mon.

On the Fossil Beds website there is a good map of the area, with info of available camping.

When we visited the area several years ago we camped at Cove Palisades State Park west of Madras. That's a popular park on a reservoir with an SW canyon flavor. But access roads do involve a grade.

Then I took minor roads east, and made a brief stop at the Clarno Unit on OR216. We spent that night a minor county park SE of Fossil, #3 on the map. On some maps that may still be marked as a state park or wayside. I left the area on 207 north to Hempner.

I like to use a map atlas like DeLourme or Benchmark when traveling in areas like this. They give a lot more information on the terrain than single sheet maps or GPS units.

Thank you Paul .. wasn't sure if we should even consider pulling our 32 ft. travel trailer across 26 or if siting in either Redmond or Bend would be best, then drive the vehicle out to the Fossil areas.

Thank you ..

Yes - we have pulled our 32 ft. fiver (and now a 30"MH) across 26 several times in our trips between Newport OR and Mesa AZ. It is a good road all the way. Their is a great State park at t. Vernon (East of the Fossil Beds ( Clyde Mitchell S.P.) that we have stopped at a couple of times. A good place to stop ,IMHO. Enjoy.

When I drove through those hills I use lesser roads like OR19 and 207. My impression from topographic maps is that while 207 north bound crosses a descent ridge, most everything else stays in the river valleys.

There have been various threads about crossing Oregon from Ontario to Bend. US26 gets as many votes as US20. Both are, after all, US# highways.

OK, "old guy" - you have had your chuckle ... now anyone know anything about that durn Road/Highway 26 ?

the painted hills are wonderful. How wonderful you ask? well when I was there I went around the back side and lo and behold I was standing there admiring the beauty when a naked lady stood up from the middle of the sage brush. yes in deed, the painted hill are wonderful.

I was born in Oregon, and believe it or not, I saw the Painted Hills for the very first time only last year! Fabulous place...

We spent four or five days in that vicinity last year- there's free boondocking along Bridge Creek Road near Mitchell. That's the access road off 26 to the Painted Hills unit of the monument. No camping allowed inside the "unit" boundaries....

Can't help with hookup/park type places except to say that Mitchell has a sort of teeny tiny "RV Park" that's really just the parking lot of the City Park there. It's pretty small...you might not even fit into the lot if there's more than one other rig there. Electricity is the only amenity...$17.00 a night.