It’s a moment every eager camper dreads: rolling through a campground on a summer weekend, searching for an empty campsite only to find every spot filled.

Now imagine that happening after loading several dirt bikes or other all-terrain vehicles on a trailer and hauling those on the highway, possibly for hours.

It’s an experience that the Oregon Department of Forestry hopes to mitigate at Browns Camp, a popular off-highway vehicle campground located in the Tillamook State Forest.

The state agency announced the campground is moving to an online reservation system in February. It was previously a first-come, first-served site.

Easier and predictable access for OHV users is among the top reasons for the switch, said ODF recreation facilities manager Ben Burns.

“If you’re packing up a whole bunch of toys to go riding, you want to know you’ve got a spot when you get out there,” Burns said.

Oregon Parks and Recreation Department’s draft 2026 trails report found that more than 80% of OHV users travelled 20 miles or more to reach a riding area. The survey also found that when riders reach their destination, they often stay overnight.

“Sometimes folks are traveling a long way, and we’ve had, more often than not, people circle the campground and not find a spot,” he said.

Tillamook State Forest is home to one of Oregon’s most extensive OHV trail systems, with more than 250 miles of trails open to people recreating on ATVs, dirt bikes and other off-road vehicles.

The coast range forest, which is also popular among hikers and mountain bikers, is among the state’s most visited OHV riding areas. Nearly half of motorized trail respondents in the OPRD’s 2025 trail user survey rated Tillamook as among their top three riding destinations in the state.

Browns Camp, on the eastern edge of the state forest, serves as a primary gateway to the forest’s trails. The area sees about 6,000 individual users each season, according to ODF records. Burns said those individual visits equate to about 20,000 camper nights.

“Browns Camp is our most active OHV area, and it provides access to world-class OHV riding in the Tillamook State Forest,” Burns said. “Being able to ride in that rainforest setting is such a unique opportunity, and we really value what we have there.”

But the camp’s popularity has also meant that ODF rangers have increasingly been tied up in fee collection and other paperwork related to the outdoor facility.

Burns said moving the campground to an online reservation system will help free up staff to focus on trail maintenance, conservation work and other needed camp improvements in the forest.

Browns Camp is Tillamook State Forest’s largest developed campground dedicated to OHV users.

The forest has at least half a dozen other campgrounds and staging areas for riders that are still first-come, first-served. Another site, Diamond Mill, will move to a reservation system in the next year or two.

ODF also allows no-cost dispersed camping outside of designated campgrounds in the forest, though those spots may be located far from services, such as restrooms.

The state agency currently has no plans to charge day-use fees at any of Tillamook’s OHV staging sites.

Forward-thinking off-road campers can start reserving spots at Browns Camp now.

Same-day reservations will be permitted, but users will still have to use the online system. But be warned that cellular service in the OHV area is spotty, at best.

ODF anticipates the change will be difficult for some OHV users.

Burns said a similar move to switch Tillamook’s equestrian camps to a reservation-only system last year saw backlash at first, but it is now successful.

He’s hoping that the expansion to Browns Camp will eventually lead to better management of the forest overall.

“Our goal at ODF is not to control how people recreate, but to make public land easier to use and better cared for at the same time,” Burns said.

The campground at Browns Camp offers 28 drive-in campsites and is typically open from April through October, during the peak seasons for OHV use. A day-use area at the camp operates year-round.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/03/02/oregon-campsite-switches-to-reservation-only-system/