Morrow County Parks, true to its name, can be found in Morrow County, Oregon. The county is located in Eastern Oregon and is near the Columbia River and John Day River. Morrow County Parks is made up of four different parks that each offers a variety of staying conditions, like RV sites, tent spaces, and cabins, though a majority of them are RV sites. Between the four parks, there are upwards of 200 spots available for the public to rent. The parks owned by Morrow County Parks include Anson Wright Park, Cutsforth, OHV Park, and MC Fair Campsites. Camping at one of the sites at one of these locations allows guests the opportunity to explore the area and take part in activities like fishing, hiking, horseback riding, and off-roading.
The Morrow County Parks are comprised of four distinct properties and are grounded on over 12,000 combined acres of land that stretches across the city of Heppner. Each of the parks comes in a variety of sizes and offers varying types of sites, with the MC Fair campsites offering 7 sites, Anson Wright offering 48 sites, Cutsforth offering 52 locations, and OHV offering the most out of all of the parks at 70 sites total. Depending on the park, the sites vary between RV sites, tents, cabins, and group sites, but a majority of the sites are RV locations.
In the OHV park, the biggest park in the county system, amenities include a kid's track, lake, an OHV maintenance shop, and several OHV trails that visitors have the chance to experience. The Anson Wright location offers a playground and even has a river that runs through the park and into a lake where visitors can take the time to cast a line in the water and fish, swim, or take kayaks or paddleboats. Cutsforth's general amenities include a gazebo, a horse pen for guests to stable their horses, a picnic area, as well as a pond. Lastly, MC Fair campsites offer its campers an experience that is closer to town, near football fields and the local rodeo arena.
Each park has a barbeque area, a playground, restrooms and showers, and dump stations that are available for a fee. One thing that almost all of the parks share is a close approximation to the John Day River, which is the third-largest free-flowing river in the United States. Most of the parks offer quicker access to nature and the outdoors, which means it is much easier to get to some of the local canyons, like Cannon Canyon and Tree Root Canyon, as well as to several springs, such as Thomas Spring and Little Round Prairie Spring.
All of the campsites offer different outlets for scenic exploration, with Cutsforth offering horseback riding trails, Anson Wright Park allowing off-road vehicles, and all of them mentioning certain areas for scenic drives to see the Oregon countryside. On each of the main pages for the campgrounds, they say the Blue Mountain Scenic Byway, which is one of the stretches of highway that runs through Morrow County and Umatilla County. Hiking trails and equestrian trails can be found close to nearly all of the campgrounds.
Morrow County is known for its vast section of land and area that is usually sought out for hunting, ATV riding, and general escape from the larger towns and bustling cities. The fact that there are several campgrounds adds to the outdoor experience that potential visitors may be seeking. In order to maintain the quieter nature of the area, there are several regulations that are put in place that the managers ask visitors to uphold. One rule they enforce is quiet hours, which are from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. Pets are allowed, but they ask that guests keep them on leashes and clean up after them.
Morrow County owns the four Morrow County Parks, and they have received a number of reviews from those who have visited or stayed in the past. One person who left a review on the Morrow County OHV Park said, "We have been going here for 9 or 10 years, every summer for at least a week. The trails are great for novice riders as well as trails for experienced riders. Be sure to get a map of the area and if possible, hand held radios can be very helpful. Play ground for kids, a small area in camp for training kids on quads, a play area to gain some riding skills. Also, the lake is about 5 miles up the road." Many of the reviews regarding the county parks mention the environment that the parks create tends to be family-friendly, which goes along with the county parks' goal of creating an atmosphere that specializes in "family outdoor recreation."
Morrow County is known for its large number of agricultural land and farms, as well as for having a deep history that dates back to its original discovery, back in 1859. The MC Fair campsites allow guests the chance to experience some of the historical sites, such as the Morrow County Courthouse and the Gilliam Bisbee building, which can be found just off of Mainstreet in the city of Heppner.
The four Morrow County Parks are owned and operated by the Morrow County Parks system. A majority of the land was donated to the county to allow the residents, both permanent and temporary, to have access to the area to ride. The Morrow County Parks have been around for over 50 years. The first park to open was Anson Wright, which was donated by the Wright family approximately 54 years ago, back in 1967. Over time, more land got donated, and the county created more parks, with the most recent addition being Morrow County Fair Campsites, which was established just over a year ago.
365 West Highway 74
Lexington, Oregon 97839
United States
Campground
County System
County System
