Introduction:
The RV park at Deschutes County Fairgrounds and Expo Center provide a well kept, reasonably priced, and functional home base just 20 minutes north of Bend.
Click here to read about our criteria for campground reviews.
The Basics:
Overall Rating: 3.8/5
Price per night / Discounts: $35.00 / Weekly and monthly rates are available during the winter. Otherwise, no discounts.
Campground website: Deschutes County Fairgrounds and Expo Center RV Park
Our Site #: D6 and A3
Privacy Rating (how spacious and private do the sites feel):
2.0/5: Privacy here is basically non-existent. This is simply not the type of park visitors stay at when looking for outdoor space. Rigs are parked right next to one another with just a minimal strip of gravel or grass between them. Some sites are also designed where your neighbor's vehicle is parked right behind your patio side, which makes no sense at all. This just isn't the place to go "camping" in any traditional sense.
Location Rating (accessibility to points of interest or to major highways):
4.0/5: The Expo Center is located right next to Highway 97 which runs from Redmond through Bend and on down toward Crater Lake. It's extraordinarily convenient for accessing Bend (15 minutes away), and you can find all of your necessities right in Redmond.
Site Quality and Big Rig Accessibility Rating (utilities and accessibility of campground hook ups):
5.0/5: Site quality is very good. Sites are concrete, level, and the utilities all worked well. There are pull through sites as well as back in sites and all are easily accessible.
Technology and Customer Service Rating (online resources, reservations, campground wifi, and staff):
3.0/5: You can make a reservation request online and they will call to confirm your reservation. They did not require an upfront deposit. Customer service was ok. They got the job done but weren't particularly friendly.
Overall Value Rating (the overall value of the campground; was it overpriced for what it was?):
5.0/5: Based on the campground's proximity to Bend, and the prices and availability of other nearby parks, we thought the value here was very good. For $35 per night, we got a decent site with good utilities and plenty of space to walk and run the dog.
Summary:
Deschutes County Fairgrounds and Expo Center offers a decent place to set up your RV just 15 minutes north of Bend. While it's not a destination park, nor is it a place to sit outside and relax, it offers good sites with solid utilities for a reasonable price. Would we want to stay here for months on end? No. But we'd definitely stay here for a couple days or a week if traveling in the region.
