Cottonwood Canyon State Park is a true gem and a wonderful place to go stargazing! There are areas for telescopes and cameras, but camping space is limited, so make sure to reserve your spot early!

Cottonwood Canyon has a limited number of camping spots and can be a bit isolated from other lodging areas, so make sure to book early. This remoteness also makes the park a great place for astronomy since it is so dark. Cottonwood Canyon is almost 1/2 way between Portland, OR and the John Day Fossil Bed Monuments, with the drive being about 2 hours to each location.

The Cottonwood Canyon State Park has a Bortle light pollution scale color of Black, which means great seeing! It is open to the public, but is in incredibly hard to get a cabin as there are only 4 cabins. Make sure to reserve the spots early! One can bring any astronomical gear available.

Location

• How far outside of Portland? ~130 miles, so about 2 hours and 15 minutes without traffic
• Google Maps Location

Parking

• # of spots: 30+
• Cost For Parking: $5 Day Day Use Fee–>Camping Costs if Staying the night
• Parking Permit(s) Required: Oregon State Parks Payment for entry
• Where Permit(s) Can Be Obtained: Park Entrance

Overnight Accommodations

• Lone Tree Campground info:
  • 21 primitive sites for tents and self-contained RVs (max site size is 75 feet). Available first-come, first-served
  • 4 rustic cabins (reservable; Bighorn and Rattlesnake cabins pet friendly; see our Pets in Parks FAQ for more info)
• All information comes from Oregon State Parks
• Reservations via Reserve America
  

  Rate Type	Cost
  Extra vehicle	$7
  Group Tent	$71
  Hiker-biker per person	$7
  Pet Friendly Rustic Cabin	$58
  Primitive site	$10
  Rustic cabin	$48

Upcoming Weather

WASCO WEATHER

Current Seeing Conditions/Forecast Charts

The chart above is courtesy of ClearDarkSky.com and the chart below is courtesy of Clearoutside.com