Oregon’s Collier Memorial State Park is said to have the state’s finest Logging Museum.
The Park also features a relocated pioneer village; great state campground with warm showers; and a new four-corral, primitive horse camp and trailhead.
Located on U.S. Route 97, north of Klamath Falls, RVers can choose to stop for the Day Use area only or camp overnight. (For more insight into staying at the campground click on RV Wheel Life’s posting on Collier Memorial State Park Campground. The campground is open May 1 through Oct. 1.)
Either way, visitors can see a first-class Logging Museum that contains “rare and antique logging equipment dating to the 1880s. Railroad buffs will enjoy learning about the role the railroad played in logging.”
It is easy to imagine the rugged loggers and “the immense task of moving raw timber with innovation and brute force.”
According to the logging museum, it “houses some of the most interesting, rare and representative logging artifacts in the world. The museum provides a window through time, demonstrating the evolution of (the state’s) Eastside logging practices and technology that played a major role in the development of this region and its culture.”
There is also a pioneer village that gives insight into how families once lived in this challenging environment. (We RVers know what it’s like to make a home in small spaces; however, raising children in these tiny communities would be a test of anyone’s resolve.)
The park and free museum are located just north of Chiloquin, Oregon, near the conjunction of Spring Creek and the Williamson River in a beautiful setting of towering Ponderosa pine trees.
For more information:
Collier Memorial State Park Logging Museum
46000 Hwy 97 N.
Chiloquin, OR 97624
(541)783-2471, (800) 551-6949
Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. June-August and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. September-May.
Collier Memorial State Park Day Use area is open all year.
— Julianne G. Crane
To read more articles about the RV lifestyle go to RVWheelLife.com.
Photos: Monster-sized pieces of equipment used in the early days of logging. (Julianne G. Crane). Museum sign (Oregon State Parks). Jimmy Smith reading about a homesteader’s cabin; and inside the cabin. (Julianne G. Crane)Click on images to enlarge.
