We recently took our first camping trip of the season to L.L. Stub Stewart State Park and our first camping trip as a family of five. After a year off from camping and regular nature exploring it feels so good to be back at it again. With it being early May we decided to snatch up the one cabin that we could find instead of tenting which just seemed a bit intimidating to do with three kids for our first trip of the year.
The cabins at L.L. Stub are all situated together up on top of the mountain which you can see from cabins 9-13. We booked our cabin too late so we ended up over in number 7 which had no view and honestly was one of my least favorite cabins for location, privacy and set up (the picnic table is across the path from the cabin). Basically the mountain view cabins are ideal but if you want a bit more privacy cabin 8 is off in the corner and has a ton of privacy as well as cabin 15. That being said if you don’t mind a lack of privacy and want to have a bedroom and living room set up cabins 4-6 offer you two rooms.
Cabins aside there is a ton of camping including full hook-up sites, walk-in tent sites and primitive camp sites.
In addition to great spots for camping L.L. Stubb offers a variety of activities including hiking paths, mountain biking paths, a disc golf course and a welcome center where you can find items that you may have forgotten like water bottles and helmets, maps and much more.
We arrived late to camp and were only able to get a cabin for one night so we didn’t get to enjoy the amenities to the full extent but we did get out for a short hike. I will say this although this was our second visit to L.L. Stub as a family and third for Neil and the bigger kids we that we knew what to expect but hiking these days is totally different than two years ago. Neil and I both had expected hiking to be a breeze with all three kids but as soon as we started to hit some steeper hills Alder just wasn’t having it and wanted to head back to camp.
So note to all you parents out there hiking with two kids in carriers two years ago is not the same as hiking with two kids not in carriers and a baby. If you have small children you may want to seek out alternative hiking opportunities in the area because the trails near the cabins are fairly steep. That being said there is a great path over to the day use area that leads you to some nice open spots perfect for running, playing and tossing a frisbee.
While things didn’t go seamlessly on this first trip it was still a fun trip and we have learned so much about ourselves and ways that we can better prepare for our next trip.
Where are your favorite places to camp? What are you camping tips?
What I Eat In A Day | Camping Edition
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I’ve never been there but it’s so close I really should! I’ve also never had success booking a cabin in an Oregon state park, but should try harder! Makes sense to try for the ones with views!
We tent camped at Stub Stewart 2 years ago, and we got to see the cabins firsthand last summer during a friend’s wedding there. The cabins looked quite nice! I’m sorry your trip was challenging—but I can say it gets so much easier as the kiddos get older. In case you’re interested, here’s my post about tent camping there: http://tenthousandhourmama.com/2016/07/13/family-camping-stub-stewart-park-oregon/
Wow – you are brave for even attempting to hike with three kiddos! It will definitely get easier as they get a little older 🙂 I will definitely check out these cabins for a little weekend getaway!
How fun! I didn’t realize there were cabins there. They look like great options for families!
We love the cabins at Stubb Stewart! It’s a great campground and very family-friendly, too.