Family Camping Activities for All Ages: Games, Hiking, and Campfire Fun
Explore family camping activities that bring all ages together, from outdoor games and scenic hikes to memorable campfire fun that creates lasting memories.
Rujada Campground offers a unique camping experience nestled in the serene landscape of Dorena, Oregon. Known for its commitment to nature enthusiasts and families, this campground provides a mix of privacy and accessibility, making it an ideal destination for outdoor adventures.
Located at 40730 Layng Creek Rd, Rujada Campground is surrounded by lush forests and offers easy access to the Layng Creek. The campground features a variety of sites suitable for tents, RVs, and other camping needs, allowing visitors to enjoy nature while staying connected with modern amenities.
Visitors appreciate the private camp sites separated by dense foliage, ensuring a quiet stay. The facilities include vault toilets and flush toilets with running water, enhancing convenience without compromising on wilderness. A well-maintained day use area offers a playground for children and a small hiking trail, perfect for families seeking outdoor activities.
Some of the standout features at Rujada Campground include fire pits and picnic tables for outdoor meals, making it easy to enjoy nature with family and friends. The affordability per night adds value, allowing more people to experience this beautiful location.
Rujada Campground's environment is a haven for nature lovers. The lush trees provide shade and shelter, while the nearby river offers soothing sounds. Birdwatchers will find this spot particularly rewarding due to its rich avian diversity.
Some areas are more exposed, especially near the loop road, so selecting a site based on personal preferences regarding noise and privacy is advisable. During peak times, the campground can be quite busy, leading to some noise from neighboring sites or passing vehicles.
Campground visitors often highlight the affordability and availability of sites as major positives. However, some reviews note issues like trash management and the need for more consistent maintenance. Despite these minor drawbacks, Rujada Campground remains a preferred spot for many.
Customer feedback also mentions the importance of checking site availability in advance due to varying reservation system reliability. While not always perfect, planning ahead ensures a smooth stay.
Rujada Campground's proximity to other natural attractions adds to its appeal. Visitors can explore nearby parks or enjoy fishing in local streams, making it a great base for multi-day excursions.
Onsite services
Picnics
Wheelchair accessible entrance
Wheelchair accessible parking lot
Hiking
Picnic tables
Public restroom
Restroom
Running water
Tent sites
Camping fee
Good for kids
Kid-friendly hikes
On-site parking
Dogs allowed
Almost all the camp sites here are fairly private with lots of foilage between sites. They have a vault toilet and flush toilets with running water, a nice large day use area with what looks like a brand new children's playground consisting of a tire swing, teeter totter, monkey bars and pull up bars. There's a 1-2 mile hiking trail, which is currently classified as hazardous, but in my opinion should be closed. We hiked it this last weekend and there were approximately 75-100 trees down covering about 75-80% of the trail making it fairly dangerous to hike in my opinion. It took us over two hours to complete due to all the hazards.
Highlights: Fire pits, lots of spots (and you can reserve online!), picnic tables, cheap per night Pro: Good camp sites with vegetation between for privacy Con: Usually crowded, sound travels fairly easily between sites I had a great time camping here. The sites are mostly private, though some of them are really close together (ideal if you're camping as a group!). I enjoyed walking the small trails at all the camp sites that wind between other sites and to amenities along the paved loop. Lots of potable water access and big fire pits. The tent areas are nice and flat, I wanted mine to catch some more sunlight so I scooted over a little and opted to not use the designated area. Currently there seems to be no camp host, and I had to clear a lot of trash from my fire pit before setting up camp. It was unfortunately crowded when I was here, so lots of dad rock from the RV down the way and a few groups of screaming children (and parents who don't know how to parent other than screaming at their children, yikes). When it was quiet, I could still hear the river even though I was in the far side of the camping sites. The plethora of birds in the trees alone made the trip worth the while. Watch out for the large slugs! They're beautiful and a part of nature that needs to be respected. Some road noise from logging trucks and other vehicles, but once the sun went down it was fairly peaceful Highly recommend coming out this way for a weekend camp. Site 11 is nice and isolated and well insulated by vegetation. Site 12 is very exposed to the loop. Make sure you check the campground map before you pick a spot! The reservation system seems to be lackluster, but nice to know you can snag a site for your specific time.
This is a nice campground with good flat tent sites. There's minimal car traffic on the road. The swordfern trail is a two mile loop that starts along the creek then climbs to an old logging road - it's a nice walk in the woods with just enough steep bits and logs across to keep it interesting. Lots of birds in the morning. The creek is perfect! With plenty of shallow spots for wading, a few swift spots to dip toes in, and an idyllic swimming hole complete with a rock to jump in from (at your own risk, of course). The cons were that while there's a fair amount of separations between sites, it's not entirely private. There were other campers with loud music playing and lots of merrymaking until around 10 every night we were there. Also, the pit toilet is a pit toilet.
I couldn't be happier with this place. We arrived without a reservation on a Thursday evening in late July and had 4 spots to choose from, all of which looked great. We stayed in number 10 which had more than enough room for our 3 person tent, and you could easily park a big truck or van out front. It's a beautiful place with many trails to explore and it was well maintained.
Currently gate is closed and the campground and trails do not look like they have been maintained in quite some time. Looks like it would be a beautiful place to spend a day or a weekend. Sad to see this place in this state. Still pretty but needs some work.