This topic was moved to Trip Planning (with a link to here left in Lounge) as folks are planning -- or talking about planning -- now.
Steens is great -- the crown jewel of southeast Oregon, some say national park quality, but...
...two of the campgrounds are small and none are reservable (AFAIK), and since we'd likely plan this for a weekend (to make it easier for working folks) there easily could be not enough (or no) room for us (based on my experience). Would be a shame for someone to drive hundreds of miles and not have a place to camp, but...
Maybe if there wasn't a big WTW group we might get lucky and there'd be room at Page Springs -- the largest C.G. there with 36 campsites.
Southeast Oregon BLM Recreation
An option could be to stay on primitive BLM land nearby, around the base of Steens. Maybe on the Alvord Desert side -- the east side of Steens...
Not sure if Steens -- as much as I love it, would be my choice for a Rally, but maybe that's just because I've been in that area so many, many times that I'd rather Rally someplace less familiar.
I've been to the Black Rock Desert (in northwest Nevada) several times, too, but not as much, and though there was a WTW rally there in 2011, I could easily go back -- it's a really huge area. And a little more centrally located (that is, further south) than Steens. A visit to the Black Rock would be best in October -- too hot mid-summer, in my opinion.
Or...a rendezvous in the Sierras. Though I grew up in California and I camped there as a kid, in modern times I've mainly just visited the eastern Sierra, so a west-side visit (like the 2010 Pork Rally) would be OK with me, too.
Steens is great -- the crown jewel of southeast Oregon, some say national park quality, but...
...two of the campgrounds are small and none are reservable (AFAIK), and since we'd likely plan this for a weekend (to make it easier for working folks) there easily could be not enough (or no) room for us (based on my experience). Would be a shame for someone to drive hundreds of miles and not have a place to camp, but...
Maybe if there wasn't a big WTW group we might get lucky and there'd be room at Page Springs -- the largest C.G. there with 36 campsites.
Southeast Oregon BLM Recreation
An option could be to stay on primitive BLM land nearby, around the base of Steens. Maybe on the Alvord Desert side -- the east side of Steens...
Not sure if Steens -- as much as I love it, would be my choice for a Rally, but maybe that's just because I've been in that area so many, many times that I'd rather Rally someplace less familiar.
I've been to the Black Rock Desert (in northwest Nevada) several times, too, but not as much, and though there was a WTW rally there in 2011, I could easily go back -- it's a really huge area. And a little more centrally located (that is, further south) than Steens. A visit to the Black Rock would be best in October -- too hot mid-summer, in my opinion.
Or...a rendezvous in the Sierras. Though I grew up in California and I camped there as a kid, in modern times I've mainly just visited the eastern Sierra, so a west-side visit (like the 2010 Pork Rally) would be OK with me, too.