RICHARDSON PARK, JUNCTION CITY, OREGON (LANE COUNTY)

Our Opinion: Recommend, though we might avoid it on summer weekends. This large county park has spacious sites and good walking around nearby Fern Ridge Lake.

Date of Stay: May 28th, 2009.

Weather During Stay: Sunny with a high around 80 and a slight breeze. Low around 50 degrees.

Site Description: This park has 94 sites in two loops (one of which closes after Labor Day). All sites have electricity and water, and each loop has a bathhouse with showers and two dumpsters. Of the 73 sites, 16 have 30 amps only - the remainder have both 30 and 50 amps. None have sewer, though a somewhat awkwardly placed dump station is available (easiest if your towed is unhooked).

All roads and sites are paved, with plenty of grass throughout the park. BBQ grill and large picnic table at each site. Most sites are reasonably level.

Our site (#37) is a large pullout along the side of the campground road, with 30/50 amp E and water. Approximately 25 of the sites are pull-outs (parking parallel to the road), the rest are back-ins. Many of the sites are heavily shaded (not suitable for rooftop satellite dishes); in general the pull-outs are larger and more open than the back-ins.

All sites can be reserved at the Lane County Parks website, but the $10 reservation fee makes that impractical for short stays. This park is often full on weekends. Maximum stay 14 days in 30.

Rate: $20 per night. Add $10 to the cost of your stay if you want a reservation!

Phone/radio/TV: Verizon phone service is good, but the cell card has ups and downs. Lots of trees mean you need to pay attention if your TV satellite is roof mounted. On the antenna, we have numerous digital stations. NPR on 89.7 and probably others.

Elevation/Landscape/Terrain: This is a flat park with lots of green grass and trees. Elevation is around 400 feet. Views are of trees and other campers. Some sites are very open and sunny, others much more private and shady.

Lighting/Noise: Lots of lawn mowing going on during the weekdays! A fair amount of traffic in some of the perimeter sites, especially those in Loop B close the Clear Lake Road. Night lighting appears minimal.

Favorite Sites: As usual, we prefer perimeter sites to the interior sites. In this park, we choose the pull-outs - they are larger and have fewer challenges for the rooftop satellite.

Hiking/Walking: Great. Walk the campground loops or head over to the lake and marina for a longer stroll.

Comments: This is our second stay here. The park is about 20 minutes from Eugene, a favorite town of ours. We used this park in conjunction with a couple nights dry camping at Valley River Center for a nice stay in the Eugene area (maybe dry-camp at the mall on Friday and Saturday nights, then head over here to dump and enjoy the weekdays without the weekend crowd?). It also is convenient to the wide variety of RV repair and renovation facilities in the Junction City area.