Dexter Shores RV Park

Located in the unincorporated town of Dexter, this smaller, quiet park is ~25 minutes outside of Eugene. It is a short drive to nearby Elijah Bristow State Park (or you could walk/run there from access trails located across the street in Dexter Reservoir Park. That being said, Dexter Lake (reservoir) is across the (heavily trafficked) road from the RV park. Nearish (drive to) good hiking trails in the Willamette forest. Dexter Lake Club, a dingy bar which was used in the filming of the 'raodtrip' scene of Animal House sits directly outside of the RV Park. 'Town' of Dexter has a small convenience store, post office, and library. Covered bridges dot the backroads of the area.

Full hook ups & cable, as well as on site laundry room. Decently spaced gravel sites, with grassy lawns and a small cement pad with picnic table. Some road noise, and the occasional train can be heard in the distance. Allowed us to wash our rig (woohoo!) on site.

Not much directly nearby, but a nice reprieve from hustle and bustle.

The sites are pretty primitive...mostly full timers...there was a nest of osprey right above...which i thought was cool...but they would not shut up!!

I needed a place to stop on the way to eastern Oregon. I liked the big trees (there’s even an orchard of fruit trees). There’s a tent camping area and a nice clean restroom. I didn’t hook up to sewer, but if I had, I would have needed a sidewinder and a screw in fitting for my hose. Sites are narrow—not a lot of space for awning or spreading out. Depending on where you park there is more or less traffic noise. I had very little. The office was all decked out for Halloween. Paid $38 after taxes and with my Good Sam membership. I was traveling alone and felt very safe here.

The manager of this place is one of the most unpleasant people that we have encountered in over 2 years of full-time RVing. We arrived around 12:30pm and the office was closed. I called and the manager (Karen) sternly explained that check-in isn't until 1:00pm. I had called the day prior to request an early check-in as the weather forecast called for high temperatures. An employee named Sherry said this would be fine as our assigned site was unoccupied. Oh well, no big deal. So I patiently wait outside on the deck and sure enough about 30 minutes later, an older woman comes driving up in her golf cart. She walks up the stairs onto the deck, proceeds to unlock the office door and then goes inside without even looking at me. I'm standing about 5 feet away and there is no hello or any acknowledgement of my immediate physical presence whatsoever. Zero friendliness, zero customer service skills and absolutely no kindness coupled with a terrible attitude. YIKES! I am forced to conclude that this individual hates her life. The campground itself has an unkempt appearance with lots of long term residents. We stayed in pull-through full hookup site #44. The sites are very close together so you will get to know your neighbors whether you want to or not. And there is no tree shade. Sprinklers run every night so the sites get muddy. My AT&T phone had 2 strong bars and the hotspot worked great. My wife's Verizon phone had 3 bars. The bathrooms are awful but laundry area was pretty good. On a much more positive note, the campground is located right across the highway from scenic Dexter Lake. The lake is gorgeous and definitely worth checking out. Great hiking can be found at nearby Dexter State Recreation Area and Elijah Bristow State Park. We enjoyed both of them but the latter has a lot more shaded paths. Also don't miss the Lowell covered bridge just down the road. Excellent historical signs and displays help to explain its significance to the local area.

The pull-thru spaces were just long enough for our 42' rig and tow'd. The power was stable but the water pressure fluctuated greatly and was never particularly strong... had to use our internal pump most of the time, which is not big deal. The views are so so, lots of what looked like residential rigs kind of cluttered up the place, but not the worst we've seen. Bathrooms, showers, laundry and rec room all looked immaculately maintained.

The real story is Shelly. She was awesome; when we needed help, she went out of her way to be there for us. She alone makes it worth the stay.

NOTE: Our GPS tried to get us to make a turn into the park that no longer exists. It looks like the park used to have it's own driveway off the main road but that's been blocked off by a guard rail for a long time. You now have to turn onto Lost Creek Road and make a left onto Dexter Road to get into the park. Not a big deal, it's pretty obvious when you see it, but just FYI...

A nice park, near the reservoir, but no view from any of the sites available for short term use. Most of the sites are permanent or semipermanent rentals. The women's shower was out of order so we were instructed that my husband could "stand guard " while I used the men's. Really?? The sprinklers come on at any time so beware!