L.L. "Stub" Stewart State Park
L.L. "Stub" Stewart State Park is the first new State of Oregon campground
to be opened in 35 years - but it was worth the wait for RVers. The park has all
the facilities we love - large campsites with full-service - plus the park isn't
too far from a major city and has miles of forest trails to hike and bike.
Stub Stewart State Park Headquarters
Stub Stewart State Park offers 92 full-hookup
pressed-gravel campsites. Most are back-in. Every site has 50 & 30 amp electric,
water, sewer, a picnic table and a ringed fire pit. The camp sites are divided
into three main areas, Dairy Creek West,
Dairy Creek East and the Hares Canyon Horse Camp. The
park also has 22 car camping tent sites at the East campground. Between the two
Dairy Creek campgrounds is a nice amphitheater with evening ranger programs in
season. ADA campsites, showers and toilet facilities are available.
RV camping areas have full bath facilities with flush toilets, hot showers (no
extra fee), soda vending machines, pay phones, firewood for sale and a camp
host. Most sites in the Dairy Creek campgrounds are in an open clearing. Sites
2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 & 14 have some shade. Dogs are permitted on
leash.
Typical campsite in Dairy Creek Camp East
The Hares Canyon Horse Camp is an excellent
facility for RVers and horses! Sixteen full-hook-up sites are set
among fir trees on the hill top, with beautiful views over the coast range. Each
site has a 6-stall corral, picnic table and fire ring. Firewood is available and
the park even provides a manure bin. Flush toilets, showers, vending and a pay
phones are also available at the horse camp. Adjacent to the horse camp is the
Clayhill Horse Staging Area with a massive parking area for horse
trailers - perfect for day use.
Campsite (and manure bin!) at the Hares Canyon Horse Camp
Six-stall paddock at each campsite
About one-half-mile from the Stub Stewart Visitor Center, the
Brooke Creek Hike-in Camp
has 22 tent sites with a community fire ring and vault toilets. No water is
available at the hike-in camp.
If you don't have a tent or RV, fifteen "cabins" (log-cabin-style park models)
for available rent in the
Mountain Dale Cabin Village. The cabins sleep up to five persons. No
cooking, smoking or pets are permitted in the cabins. The cabins share a
communal bathhouse with flush toilets and hot showers. There is a parking space,
picnic table and fire ring at each cabin. Most of the cabins are ADA accessible,
as are the bath facilities.
Wifi is planned for the campgrounds, but for now campers can obtain wireless
internet connections near the Visitor Center. There are no laundry facilities in
the park and no dump station (other than at each campsite). Other services
include a group camp area and a group day-use area in the park. Stub
Stewart State Park also has a great recycling center.
For fabulous views of the Coast Range to the west, stop at the Hilltop
Day Use Area. Here you will find picnic tables, toilet facilities and a
large flat lawn for lounging.
Hilltop Day Use Area at Stub Stewart State Park in Oregon
The view west from the day use area at Stub Stewart State Park
This is timber country. Evidence of timber growth and harvest
can be seen from park vistas. Stub Stewart State Park and the
surrounding forest have been logged many times over the years. Logging and
forestry played a large part in the history of the surrounding communities.
In fact, the largest draw to Stub Stewart State Park
is the hiking, biking and horse trails of the adjacent
Banks-Vernonia State Trail, built over a railway line that once carried logs
from local forests to the Oregon-American Lumber Mill in near-by Vernonia. The
mill is long-gone, the rails and track have been salvaged, but a 21-mile-long,
twelve-foot wide corridor through the forest remains. Called a "rails-to-trails"
rehabilitation, the path is shared by hikers, bikers, walkers and horses. The
highlight of the Banks-Vernonia Trail are two 600-foot-long trestle bridges
converted for pedestrian use (with guardrails and wooden decks). Over three
miles of the State Trail runs through Stub Stewart State Park.
Along with additional shorter trails inside the park, it is easy to map a route
of any length or ability. Dogs on leash are permitted on the Banks-Vernonia
State Trail.
Stub Steward State Park is 31 miles west of Portland (follow Highway 26 west to
Highway 47. Follow the signs north, up 4 slow uphill miles to the park.
L.L. "Stub" Stewart (1911-2005) was an Oregon lumberman and
legislator who served for nearly 40 years to help Oregon State Parks and
Recreation open over one hundred parks.
GPS: Lat: 45.739050 N, Long: -123.199461 W.
Elevation: (varies) approx. 1000'
Reserve a campsite
on-line (Reserve America)
Useful links:
L.L. "Stub"
Stewart State Park
Banks-Vernonia State Trail
World Forestry
Center (Portland)
Oregon State Parks
Vernonia, Oregon
About the
Oregon-American Lumber Mill
Rails to Trails
Conservancy
Portland Visitors
Bureau
Travel Oregon
Comment on this article
Thank you for letting us know about this park. We hope to visit Oregon this
summer.
E.P., California
Oregon is one of our favorite RV destination. We don't usually leave the coast,
but Stub Stewart looks like a good spot for a few days with the kids.
John, California
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