Guest Cottages
Our rustic guest cottages are arranged to provide a homey environment during your stay in western Oregon. These are camper cabins furnished to be cozy cottage-style overnights. Each cottage (with the exception of Blue Heron and Pines East) has a fully equipped kitchen, one to four bedrooms, one to two bathrooms and an inviting living room. By design, they do not have televisions or phones. It is our goal to maximize your awareness of the music of the woods, and to draw you outdoors to explore, fish (bring your own gear), or play.
Four cottages with king or queen bedrooms are available. The additional bedrooms are all equipped with single beds and/or bunk beds, accommodating a total of 40 guests. Larger cottages rent for $195, additional nights $55. Our honeymoon cottage (The Pines) and Pines East rent for $150; additional nights $45. Blue Heron cottage can be rented as a whole for $250; additional nights $75, for 15 ppl, or as five individual rooms for $60/night. (Seventh night free; two-week stay discounted 20%) See complete rates. All rates are subject to a 7% room tax.
Though our guest cottages are busiest in summer and fall (most readers are familiar with our rather infamously protracted rainy season in western Oregon), we don't think we've ever seen a day that the out of doors was not thrillingly beautiful in our forest. We are a true sub-tropical rain forest (with 1.5 - 2 times as much rainfall as Portland, Oregon) and the groves in our forest are 100 years old. That high canopy provides so much cover, that the ecological effects at work in the woods, that create the exotic flora, has to be resisted indoors in order to keep the down pillows nice! Think humid. Winter wedding retreats have been fairly popular here, where clients stay two days and two nights with their entire cohort of family and friends. The clients save money on the off-season wedding rates and we seem, given the feedback, to have been able to make the visitors comfortable.
But this is a forest retreat, sharing the historic camper cabins with the public, not a modern resort. Please plan accordingly and check that your expectations are realistic.
We think our setting will suit you perfectly, whether as a family vacation rental or as a longer term artist or author's getaway.
See cottage photo gallery here
A pdf of floor plans can be downloaded here
"We arrived to a caretaker with 4 hairy legs. The keys were left in an envelope and the check in was hassle- free. The property was beautiful with the sounds of a roaring creek. We stayed in a cabin that had bunk beds and the
Thanks, Caleb! cleanliness was superb as were the bathrooms. Our group cannot wait until next year to stay again. The poodle was the highlight of our trip. O the storys that went on about the poodle. Thanks Camp Colton."
Rut Roo Jul 26, 2010
"Hi Jane,
It is very dark away from the city. Please bring your flashlight, cell phone, low-heeled sturdy shoes. There is much lighting around lthe lodge and the chapel and parking lots, but on the east side of Canyon Creek, there is a porch light on each cottage, but no trail lights. Your car can remain on the east side, near you, during your cottage stay. There is no television, phone, etc in the cottages, no internet connection. This information is quite complete on our web site, and, if you run the video at the bottom of the home .page on our site, you will be walking through your cottages, among other things.
At the navigation bar at the top of each page, on the right, is a link to "Camp Map" which opens a pictograph drawing of the layout of camp. Check-in is at 3pm and check-out at 11 am. Your cottage has a complete kitchen and living room. There is a small corner market 1/4 mile away for odd supplies. Colton Cafe, a few doors down the highway, has dinner until 8 pm on Friday and breakfast and lunch until 3 pm on Saturday and Sunday…warm welcome, good company, real food.
There are cut throat trout and German browns in the two creeks. Farm raised fishing in our small lake for rainbow trout is catch and release. Nice space there for fly casting, barbless hooks. We have horseshoes and croquet, one canoe on the lake. There are eighty aces of mature forest with lots of everything nature dishes up in such a preserve.
It is an hour and a half drive from Camp Colton, all by beautiful non-freeways to go to historic Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood. Also, an hour added to you drive home to Tacoma would take you up the gorge along the Columbia River to the Bridge of the Gods at Cascade Locks. Closer to us is the world class Oregon Gardens near quaint Silverton, Oregon.
. I know you will have a wonderful weekend and enjoy your stay at Camp Colton.
Jemma
Camp Colton"
RV’s and Camping
If you reserve all of our guest cottages & still need to accommodate guests, we have the following options:
- Two RV spaces with hook-ups to water / electricity. These spaces rent for $50 one night, $35 additional nights.
- Primitive tent camping for up to 20 guests the night of your event, $200 fee. A 7% room tax applies to all overnight stays.
Personal Camping for families and individuals
Individuals desiring independent camping will pay $30 per car, plus $2.00 per person for each person more than three. The campsite provides a tent space, picnic table, and fire ring. Two night minimum; advance reservations absolutely necessary. Private, quiet; serenely stimulating! A cash security deposit or credit card security is requested against damages. A 7% room tax applies to all overnight stays.
Campers will have a tent space near one of the creeks, a picnic table, and fire circle. Use of a bathroom with hot shower is available free for the campers. Our forest is privately owned. Our two-night minimum assures us of not getting camping clients who just want an inexpensive overnight away from home and are not concerned about the surroundings. This is intensely private and pristinely natural. The 100 year old groves of doug fir and western red cedar tower over the two rushing creeks. Two days allow for exploration of this incredible rain forest and provide a sense of investment in the future of this place.
Enjoy hiking, fishing, horseshoes, one canoe on the pond, and a large campfire area. Check-in is 3 pm and check out at 2 pm the next day. Check-ins are welcomed until 8 pm. Groups of more than 12 should book as a retreat. Please plan to leave pets at home or enjoy the Grateful Dog B & B for dogs 1/2 mile away in Colton.
Reservations, Arrival & Checkout
Overnight stays can be arranged by calling our business office at 503-824-2267. We can occasionally accommodate guests without advance reservations. Please call to check availability. A 50% non-refundable deposit will hold your reservation. The balance of fees is due 30 days prior to the time of check-in. Cash, check, Visa, or Master Card are accepted; a charge card will be required as security. Check-in is 3 p.m. Please call to arrange a later check in time. Those requiring earlier check-in should reserve for the previous night; we sometmes have a very short turnover time in summer wedding season. A .7% room tax applies to all overnight stays
Check out is 11 a.m for cottage stays.
Pack your old tennis shoes for creek walking, a fishing pole, and a flashlight!
Our eighty acres is heavily timbered with stands of 80 to 100 year old Douglas Fir and Western Red Cedar, along with companion specimens of alder, hemlock, vine maple, yew, wild dogwood and big leaf maple. The topography is varied and includes several miles of hiking trails, two creeks, a lake and a pond.
The camp is 35 miles southeast of Portland, Oregon, in the hamlet of Colton, between Molalla and Estacada. The location puts us within easy reach of a variety of recreational distractions. It is a 45 minute drive to most locations in Portland, an hour and a half to skiing on Mt. Hood (some years Nov through Aug), 20 minutes to rafting on the Clackamas River, and an easy drive to enjoy exploring the Columbia River Gorge.
Individuals and families staying with us enjoy hiking and exploring, fishing in the creeks or in our trout ponds (bring your own gear), bird watching, canoeing, photography, creek walking in summer, playing horseshoes, and evening campfires. Whether you are in our area to visit relatives, attend a wedding or choose us as a destination for a personal retreat, you will find the setting in our forest soothing and exciting at once!
We are often able to accommodate overnight guests without an advance reservation. We welcome your inquiry if you need space on short notice or immediately; however there is no round-the-clock phone clerk or check-in.