Sunshine Guard Station, Prairie City, OR

Sunshine Guard Station is located in the Blue Mountain Ranger District, Malheur National Forest (3 hrs 31 min south of Walla Walla, WA) with an elevation of 3,796 feet. The site is open all year. There is a fee of $60.00 per night. Activities include biking, fishing, hiking trails.

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Campsite Reviews (34)

3.6 out of 5

5 star		38%
4 star		32%
3 star		3%
2 star		0%
1 star		26%

@KarlB3265073 · Camped on Nov 12, 2024 at Campsite #1

Great, special place.

@JAMESS8693241 · Camped on Apr 29, 2024 at Campsite #1

This was a great place to stay. I used it as home base while turkey hunting in the Malheur National Forest. The kitchen has a refrigerator/freezer, electric stove/oven, microwave oven, coffeemaker, and sink, but no water. It works well if you bring food to store in the fridge or freezer and either "cook" or microwave. the stove works great for heating water (for coffee) or cooking. Cabin has electric lights, and a couple built in wall heaters (it was 28 degrees or so at night when I was there and the heat was very adequate).The kitchen has a table and chairs. The main room/living room has a couch and a couple chairs, coffee table and side tables, and a bookshelf with various books and games. 2 bedrooms each with bed, (bring your own bedding and a tarp to cover the mattress it kind of dirty and buggy) ,and a large utility closet. There is a picnic table in the front yard with a fire pit /"grill" so if the weather is nice you can hang out outside. Also a large "vault" toilet next to the cabin. Issues: Bugs - It was still cool weather when I was there but Spring and Bugs were arriving. There were a dozens of large flies/spittle bugs in each bedroom on the beds and floor, and other parts of the cabin. So bring some bug spay / repellant if you're averse. Cleanliness It is an old cabin so I don't expect a lot, but it was pretty filthy when I got there. I spent 30 minutes sweeping the floor covered with bugs, dog hair, soil, pine needles, etc. Also in the utility closet there are a bunch of old used fly catcher /electric zapper devices covered with dead bugs. Needs some maintenance/upkeep: The windows have been sealed round the edges with duct tape, which is falling off peeling away. And parts of the floor tile are missing. The drain under kitchen sink is broken, so there is a plastic tray under the sink to catch any water which you then needed to empty each time you use the sink. Great view and location. But don't expect an AirBnB.

@ErinF6E4B3DEC9 · Camped on Dec 30, 2023 at Campsite #1

This is one of our favorite FS rentals and it almost always has availability! We have only visited in the winter because we like to xc ski on all the different roads around the area. There are literally miles and miles of roads accessible right from the cabin door. A short drive down the road offers even more! The cabin itself is well equipped with a fridge, oven/stove, dining table, coffee pot, toaster oven, microwave, couch, and cushioned chair. It has electricity so you could bring and use really anything that plugs in. It has an electric wall heater which keeps it plenty warm inside. We do wish it had a wood stove though. Mice haven't been an issue during our stays, but the flies are abundant!! It will take a bit of sweeping up on arrival to get it more liveable. The oven is a little weird to use, it only conducts heat either from the bottom elements, or the top elements, but not both at once. Cooking a pizza was a challenge as we had to cook the bottom first and then switch and cook the top ha. Same with biscuits we brought. All in all we love this place and this area and will keep returning every winter :)

@JamesG6676411 · Camped on Oct 26, 2023 at Campsite #1

This cabin was not in good hygienic order. Lots of dead flies and heavily soiled mattresses and seating surfaces. Had a good time regardless.

@JonathonM5BE7D · Camped on Sep 18, 2023 at Campsite #1

We have stayed here on and off for years. The location in a secluded eastern Oregon valley is beautiful. The cabin has never had as much charm as many we've used, but it is still fine. Very nice walks in the valley and hills. Saying that, this cabin does need a little TLC. It seldom is clean, even by FS cabin standards and this time it was even worse. Must be due to cooking smoke, but all three hard-wired smoke devices are pulled off the wall and the two battery powered ones are also not working. Side porch; look out. The wood is rotted and loose and a heavy person could go through. Fridge had old food in it and tons of dead flies. Couch had a meal's worth of food on it and several small "home" items, like lamps or utensils we have left over the years are gone now. As usual, we left things cleaner than when we arrived, but this needs at least a once-a-year deep clean. The price of this cabin has gone up greatly in the last decade, and I see none of the fee's reinvested into the cabin. Sad. Ending on a positive, thanks for the new stove.

@Frederick43582 · Camped on Jul 8, 2023 at Campsite #1

Cabin was clean and comfortable. Electicity! Not much to do in the area unless you drive some.

@GAILK1318806 · Camped on Apr 20, 2023 at Campsite #1

Lovely location, easy to access but the road it is on is very quiet, hardly any traffic. Enjoy walking the forest roads around the cabin.

@AshtonB9851102 · Camped on Mar 14, 2023 at Campsite #1

Mouse feces and dead flies EVERYWHERE.

@BrandynS839770 · Camped on May 20, 2022 at Campsite #1

The cabin was very nice

@ChrisS8694045 · Camped on May 9, 2022 at Campsite #1

Nice clean cabin and cold temperatures kept bugs away. The road next to the cabin leads up to the large meadows where deer and elk can be seen early and late in the day. I hiked about 4 1/2 miles into backcountry behind cabin until I reached snow. Nice hike with very nice views. Also visited nearby Bates State Park and Arch Rock. Too much snow due to late storms so couldn't go as high in the backcountry as I originally intended, but an excellent visit anyway.

@KimA9943387 · Camped on Jan 14, 2022 at Campsite #1

We enjoyed a great long weekend in January at this station. There was a significant amount of snow, so we were glad to have driven a truck with good clearance and 4-wheel drive to get into the "driveway". Spots of ice on the roads leading in, but since it had been sunny most of the week, they were mostly dry pavement. The heaters kept the inside very warm and cozy as temperatures fell below freezing each night. Great wildlife watching- we saw many white tailed deer, bald eagles, elk tracks, and even a raccoon wandered around one night. The view from the top of the hill just behind the cabin is outstanding and the forest service road made for a nice snowshoe trail. The padlock needed a firm yank each time we unlocked it, but we got in. We truly enjoyed disconnecting from the outside world in this getaway.

@KimA502 · Camped on Jan 14, 2022 at Campsite #1

@SaraB723 · Camped on Jan 4, 2022 at Campsite #1

Fantastic location and nice cabin. The cabin could use a deep clean & some dishes & cookware are missing so come prepared. We were lucky that Jan Temps during our stay weren't too cold during a power outage. A gas or wood stove for alternate heat would be a great addition.

@SaraB8044081 · Camped on Jan 4, 2022 at Campsite #1

@JonathanE40733 · Camped on Nov 19, 2021 at Campsite #1

The cabin has a bad fly problem. It needs to be cleaned and the flies dealt with.

@JonathanE208 · Camped on Nov 19, 2021 at Campsite #1

The cabin has a bad fly problem. It needs to be cleaned and the flies dealt with.

@TG552 · Camped on Oct 23, 2021 at Campsite #1

Filthy, dead flies everywhere, place stank, mattresses filthy with dead flies. We wound up sleeping in our tent in the yard.

@TG5854492 · Camped on Oct 23, 2021 at Campsite #1

Filthy, dead flies everywhere, place stank, mattresses filthy with dead flies. We wound up sleeping in our tent in the yard.

@LisaA1883621 · Camped on Oct 3, 2021 at Campsite #1

Lovely setting, comfortable space. Great for hikes and walks and awesome starwatching. A little decadent to have an automatic coffee maker and a toaster oven... but it sure is nice. Yep, the flies were annoying (but a few minutes work with a swatter dealt with them); and without water cleaning wasn't as easy.

@LisaA663 · Camped on Oct 3, 2021 at Campsite #1

@KrisP625 · Camped on Jun 24, 2021 at Campsite #1

great place to go unwind and unplug. my happy place

@KrisP4642855 · Camped on Jun 24, 2021 at Campsite #1

great place to go unwind and unplug. my happy place

@PatriciaY92645 · Camped on Jun 13, 2021 at Campsite #1

This cabin was so filthy that it was barely habitable. The cushions for the couch and chair are just plain nasty, had to cover before we could sit on them. The floor tiles came off when I tried to vacuum. Grass grown high around the cabin and ticks in the grassy area because of the high grass. I couldn’t move the beds to clean so there was tons of filth and dirt under and around the bed. We spent the first night in town because of the filth. Also had to drive 20 plus miles one way, with a carsick child, to call the Forest Service because I couldn’t get the combination to work to get back into the cabin. I was told that the lock was tricky and I needed to “manhandle” it. There was a fan in the cabin that clearly hadn’t worked in years. The description says all the rental money collected for the cabins was put into maintain the cabins…I’d like to know where that money is used! Very, very disappointing!

@PatriciaY349 · Camped on Jun 13, 2021 at Campsite #1

@SusanR658 · Camped on Apr 29, 2021 at Campsite #1

Beautiful setting. Beware of ticks!

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