Oregon
Oregon State Parks seeks approval for new, improved campsite reservation system
The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department wants to create a new website where visitors reserve state park campsites. The cost? $13.35 million for five years.
If approved, the website could go live as early as late 2024 or early 2025, officials said.
“Visitors (would) notice a new website specific to Oregon State Parks with a new look, improved search functions, more visuals, greater accessibility and improved mobile compatibility,” OPRD spokeswoman Stefanie Knowlton said.
The state agency’s contract with website vendor ReserveAmerica.com expires in 2025 and could not be renewed. That opened up a competitive bidding process in 2023.
For the next website, parks officials decided on a platform called Recreation Hub, designed to “modernize and simplify campground management,” according to the department.
The platform is owned and run by Conduent and Booz Allen Hamilton, a multinational corporation that also runs Recreation.gov, the federal government’s website for booking campsites and permits across the nation’s public lands.
OPRD will ask the Oregon State Parks and Recreation Commission for approval of the contract at a meeting April 23-24 in Cannon Beach. Public comments are open for the decision.
Knowlton said parks officials and visitors tested different platforms over a 10 month period and decided Recreation Hub “was the most intuitive and accessible option.”
“Beyond improving tools available for visitors to make state park reservations, it will also offer agency staff reservation management, volunteer management, website content management, retail operations and visitor support features,” Knowlton said in an email.
Knowlton said the fee for booking a campsite — which currently sits at $8 per transaction — would not change in the short term.
However, she laid out that could be a possibility in the future.
“The $8 reservation fee has not changed in 15 years,” she said. “There is not a specific plan to change the fee, but leadership is discussing what amount makes sense for the future.”
The new website would cost $2.67 million per year. OPRD will ask to sign a five-year contract for $13.35 million.
The previous website, ReserveAmerica, cost $2.1 million per year, Knowlton said, “but it did not include all the functions that the new site will.”
Knowlton said the cost of the website would be paid by reservation fees. If the reservation fees don’t cover the full cost of the website, additional funds would come from the agency’s budget.
Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 15 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. Urness is the author of “Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon” and “Hiking Southern Oregon.” He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on X at @ZachsORoutdoors.
Oregon
Visit Delicious Oregon
Editor’s note: In 2016, WW expanded its Cheap Eats guide to include a road trip. We identified nine diners, food trucks and one boat worth a pit stop when journeying through Oregon. Since then, a few things have changed: Two of our picks have closed, as noted below, and you don’t need to travel to Medford to find an In-N-Out Burger. But maybe you should!
This list first appeared in the March 23, 1016, edition of WW.
TAQUERIA GUERRERO
508 E 1ST ST., NEWBERG.
Half tienda, half taco spot, Guerrero serves its street tacos and huge mojado burrito ($8.95) with handmade tortillas that shame almost anything in Portland.
JOE’S DONUT SHOP
39230 PIONEER BLVD., SANDY.
This 40-year-old candy-striped dough den offers a ridiculously rich cronut—that’s a fried croissant—fast service, and always-fresh doughnuts. It’s arguably the best doughnut shop in the state.
THE DINER
2580 SE STRATUS AVE., MCMINNVILLE.
The Diner makes one of the state’s greatest sandwiches—a fried-chicken club in which each layer is seasoned and housemade, and the middle slice of bread is replaced by the satisfying crunch of fried chicken.
EASTWIND DRIVE IN
395 WANAPA ST., CASCADE LOCKS.
The Eastwind is where Cheryl Strayed first tasted civilization after ending her long, long walk. The soft-serve ice cream is good enough for you, too, motherfucker.
BOWPICKER FISH & CHIPS
1634 DUANE ST., ASTORIA.
At this 28-foot converted gillnet boat, there are always 12 old men waiting in line for beautifully fresh-caught, hand-battered albacore tuna served with a raft of fries. Join them.
LOCAL BOYZ HAWAIIAN CAFE
1425 NW MONROE AVE., CORVALLIS.
A sweet shoyu chicken plate lunch will fill you up until dinner tomorrow. But broke high-school kids will buy rice for $1.50 just so they can douse it in the magical ginger-garlic-shoyu sauce.
IN-N-OUT
1970 CRATER LAKE HIGHWAY, MEDFORD.
With an address that already sounds like a road trip, the magnificent double-double has punctured the state line. Even from as far away as Portland, it beckons.
NOW CLOSED:
FAT FREDDY’S
6320 PACIFIC AVE., PACIFIC CITY.
After a brief hiatus best forgotten, Pacific City’s beachfront home of towering burgers and equally towering Tillamook ice-cream milkshakes returned two years ago to the sound of hardening arteries.
CORNBREAD CAFE
1290 W 7TH AVE., EUGENE.
It’s arguably Eugene’s best restaurant, and it’s also a perfect fit for the town—a vegan version of an old-school diner, complete with barbecued seitan and outrageously good greens.
Willamette Week’s reporting has real-life impact that changes laws, forces action by civic leaders, and drives compromised politicians from public office.
Support WW.
Oregon
OPB’s First Look: Town hall follows power outages
“),r.close()),!r)throw Error(“base not supported”);var a=r.createElement(“base”);a.href=n,r.getElementsByTagName(“head”)[0].appendChild(a);var i=r.createElement(“a”);return i.href=t,i.href}finally{e&&e.parentNode.removeChild(e)}}());var l=i(t||””),f=function(){if(!(“defineProperties”in Object))return!1;try{var e={};return Object.defineProperties(e,{prop:{get:function(){return!0}}}),e.prop}catch(t){return!1}}(),h=f?this:document.createElement(“a”),m=new o(l.search?l.search.substring(1):null);return m._url_object=h,Object.defineProperties(h,{href:{get:function(){return l.href},set:function(e){l.href=e,r(),u()},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},origin:{get:function(){return”origin”in l?l.origin:this.protocol+”//”+this.host},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},protocol:{get:function(){return l.protocol},set:function(e){l.protocol=e},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},username:{get:function(){return l.username},set:function(e){l.username=e},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},password:{get:function(){return l.password},set:function(e){l.password=e},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},host:{get:function(){var e={“http:”:/:80$/,”https:”:/:443$/,”ftp:”:/:21$/}[l.protocol];return e?l.host.replace(e,””):l.host},set:function(e){l.host=e},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},hostname:{get:function(){return l.hostname},set:function(e){l.hostname=e},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},port:{get:function(){return l.port},set:function(e){l.port=e},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},pathname:{get:function(){return”https://www.opb.org/”!==l.pathname.charAt(0)?”https://www.opb.org/”+l.pathname:l.pathname},set:function(e){l.pathname=e},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},search:{get:function(){return l.search},set:function(e){l.search!==e&&(l.search=e,r(),u())},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},searchParams:{get:function(){return m},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},hash:{get:function(){return l.hash},set:function(e){l.hash=e,r()},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},toString:{value:function(){return l.toString()},enumerable:!1,configurable:!0},valueOf:{value:function(){return l.valueOf()},enumerable:!1,configurable:!0}}),h}var c,s=e.URL;try{if(s){if(“searchParams”in(c=new e.URL(“http://example.com”))){var f=new l(“http://example.com”);if(f.search=”a=1&b=2″,”http://example.com/?a=1&b=2″===f.href&&(f.search=””,”http://example.com/”===f.href))return}”href”in c||(c=undefined),c=undefined}}catch(m){}if(Object.defineProperties(o.prototype,{append:{value:function(e,t){this._list.push({name:e,value:t}),this._update_steps()},writable:!0,enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},”delete”:{value:function(e){for(var t=0;t document.createElement(“picture”);
Oregon
Public asked to help find missing 2-year-old Armani Andrews in Portland
PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — Oregon officials asked the public to help find a two-year-old boy who went missing from Portland last Wednesday, June 17.
The Oregon Department of Human Services, Child Welfare Division, is asking the public to help find Armani Andrews and call 911 or local law enforcement if they believe they saw him.
Armani is believed to be in danger and is suspected to be in Portland, around any of the following areas: Rose Haven, Multnomah County Central Library, or Southeast Portland around 82nd-103rd.
Armani is a two-year-old Black/mixed race baby. He is about 24 inches tall, he has brown hair, brown eyes, and his weight is unknown.
If contacting Portland Police Bureau about Armani, reference the case number: #PP185430
The report number for Armani with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Report is: 2093182
ODHS said in a statement when a child is missing, they may be in significant danger and the department “may need to locate them to assess and support their safety.”
KATU News reached out to ODHS to clarify whether there is a custody aspect to the missing child’s case. The department said they are unable to provide that information.
Armani Andrews with Mother Rashonda Andrews/ODHS photos
You can report suspected child abuse to the Oregon Child Abuse Hotline by calling 1-855-503-SAFE (7233). The toll-free number allows anyone to report abuse of any child or adult to the Oregon Department of Human Services, 24 hours a day, seven days a week and every day of the year.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (12)
KATU News included photographs of Armani to help the public identify and find him.
-
Los Angeles, Ca1 hour ago6 members of suspected South American burglary crew arrested by Irvine police
-
Detroit, MI2 hours agoDetroit Tigers seek split in home series vs Houston Astros on Sunday
-
San Francisco, CA2 hours agoPeople’s Budget Coalition Claims Victory After San Francisco Budget Restores Most Proposed Service Cuts – Davis Vanguard
-
Dallas, TX2 hours agoDallas weather: June 28 morning forecast
-
Miami, FL2 hours agoWhere to watch Miami Marlins vs St. Louis Cardinals: TV channel, start time, streaming for June 28
-
Boston, MA2 hours agoPolice: Man killed in crash caused by wrong-way driver on I-93 in Boston – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News
-
Denver, CO2 hours ago
Even without extension talks, Nikola Jokic has reiterated his desire to stay long-term in Denver
-
Seattle, WA2 hours agoWEST. SEATTLE COYOTES: Three sightings