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Early bird gets the campsite Photo by Jim Craven Area county, state and national parks are filling up fast By PAUL FATTIG Steve Waterman has some advice for folks wanting to go camping Memorial Day weekend: "Get there early," said the spokesman for the Rogue River National Forest. "If this weather holds, we�re going to have a full house at every campground this weekend," he added. With balmy weather in the forecast for the holiday weekend traditionally marking the beginning of the camping season, an army of campers weary of rusting away during the winter are eager to get some sun. People already are booking reservations or picking out their favorite sites in the first-come, first-served county, state or federal campgrounds. Consider the popular Valley of the Rogue State Park along Interstate 5 a dozen miles east of Grants Pass. Only 20 camp sites were still available for reservation by noon Tuesday, according to park ranger Anna Goodman. The park has 173 camp sites. "People really need to get their reservations early," Goodman said. "This great weather will bring a lot of people out." In fact, it was the only state park in Oregon where reservations were still available for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, said Craig Tutor, spokesman for the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. Campers Charles and Helen Dearborn of Simi Valley, Calif., were spending Tuesday night at the park before heading home today. They were joined by their daughter, Jeanette Gilkison of Santa Monica, Calif. "We�ve camped here over the years," explained Charles Dearborn, a retired businessman. "It�s nice and quiet. Comfortable." The fee at the Valley of the Rogue State Park is $15 for a tent site, $17 for a site with electricity and water and $18 for one with electricity, water and sewer hookup. Reservations can be made by calling 1-800-452-5687. Over at the first-come, first-served Stewart State Park overlooking Lost Creek Lake on the Rogue River near Trail, only a dozen of the 201 campsites were occupied early Tuesday afternoon. "It�s wide open right now," said park ranger Nancy McLeod. "But that will change quickly. By Thursday, it�ll start getting pretty crazy around here. "Generally speaking, we will be filled by Friday afternoon," she predicted. The cost per night is $15 for a campsite equipped with water and electricity and $14 a night for a site with a water-only hookup. However, it costs $7 for each additional vehicle at each site. Campsites are available on a first-come, first-served basis at two locations on the Bureau of Land Management�s Medford District. They include more than 60 campsites at the BLM�s 5,200-foot-elevation Hyatt Lake complex near Greensprings. Fees at the main campground start at $12 per night Monday through Thursday, and $7 a night at the nearby primitive Wildcat campground. Nine camping sites are available at the Elderberry Flat campground at the west fork of Evans Creek north of the city of Rogue River. There is no camping fee. Although the Siskiyou National Forest campgrounds will attract a lot of campers this weekend, they won�t get as many as those on the Rogue River forest, said Jim Heck, assistant recreation staff officer on the Siskiyou. "We usually get a little less pressure than the Rogue," he said. "I would imagine most people would be able to find a site to camp on the Siskiyou.�� National forest campsites are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Depending on the amenities, the camping fees vary, beginning at $5 a night, Heck said. Campgrounds operated by concessionaires, like the Grayback and the Caves Creek campgrounds in the Illinois Valley Ranger District, charge a little more, he said. A few high-elevation campgrounds remain closed on the Rogue River forest. They include the Wrangle campground in the Applegate Ranger District, South Forks and Parker Meadows in the Butte Falls Ranger District, and the Hamaker, Huckleberry Mountain and Abbott Creek campgrounds in the Prospect Ranger District. The Farewell Bend campground in the Prospect district also remains closed, pending a water test. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA