Madras, Ore. — While Central Oregon’s vacancy rates at hotels and state parks are reportedly at or near max capacity for the solar eclipse on August 21, Sunset Solar Campground in Madras recently released 3,000 RV and tent campsites to the public.
The site is Located on a grassy, 65-acre field, and is a family farm-turned-campground.
NASA has named Madras the best spot in the U.S. to view the Total Solar Eclipse, in part because the town has a 35 percent better chance of clear skies along the Path of Totality than anywhere else between the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. And, due to its high elevation and flat plateaus, Madras boasts many great viewing areas.
Amenities include 120 porta-potties cleaned daily, 24-hour security, ample pet areas, additional parking, access to potable water, bottled water available for purchase, a designated helipad, and panoramic Cascade Mountain views. Five-night campsite rentals will be available from Thursday, Aug. 17 through Tuesday, Aug. 22.
Sunset Solar Campground also launched its new website — sunsetsolarcampground.com — to make it easy for visitors to reserve a site.
“We’re very excited about this spectacular, rare event happening right in here our own backyard,” said farm owner Chad Smith. “We thought why not share some of our land with eclipse chasers to give them a nice, scenic place to camp for the weekend.” Smith’s partner in the endeavor, Tracy Owen of Madras added, “We’ve thought of every detail to give our guests a super clean, extremely organized, and safe place to spend the solar weekend.” “We’re smack in the path of totality, so it’s going to be just great,” said Owen.
