Overlanding & Exploring in Central Oregon

Making our way into the Ochoco National Forest in Central Oregon after leaving Overland Expo PNW, we set out to explore an area we had never been, and in the process we found stunning views, an epic campsite, vintage cars (!) and more.

[@DefiantOffroad]

I'll never cease to be jealous of the land that you have out west.

[@WheretoNextOverland]

It is an embarrassment of riches, that's for sure!

[@maxdexpeditions]

The camp at 5minutes is a true testament to why we are into this hobby! Just beautiful!

[@WheretoNextOverland]

Couldn't agree more! And it's even sweeter when you stumble across a site like that unexpectedly

[@Shellykinz05]

Definitely goes down in one of my 5 fav spots we’ve camped! That drone footage is amazing - I LOVED the views 💛😍

[@WheretoNextOverland]

I have a feeling we'll be back to that site ... maybe after Expo PNW next year?

[@scottalpine]

Holy cannoli that was an epic spot. I’ll have to see if I can find it. Good thing it was way up there so the cows couldn’t smell their cousin in the skottle.

[@WheretoNextOverland]

Yeah it was a KILLER spot! If you look around a bit on Gaia (or whichever mapping software you use), you'll probably be able to find it without too much trouble.

[@scottalpine]

@@WheretoNextOverland I usually do ok with just google earth and a little sherlocking. There’s so many amazing spots it’s hard to keep track of, get skunked on lot dead end roads too though.

[@WheretoNextOverland]

@@scottalpine yeah, once you get a feel for what to look for, you can find some great stuff. Definitely as many "failed attempts" as wins though. Haha

[@OverlandPNW]

What a cool campsite!!

[@petergraham8681]

You might have included the PAINTED HILLS section of the JOHN DAY FOSSIL BEDS near Mitchell, Oregon. Of the 3 Fossil Bed locations this, IMO, is the most unique. Nothing like it anywhere & right in the middle of the state.

[@WheretoNextOverland]

Absolutely! We've been there once (John Day) years ago, but would love to go back. Amazing place. It'd be fun to make a video exploring that area for sure!

[@OverlandTrailGuides]

Awesome to see your channel taking off!!

[@WheretoNextOverland]

Hey, thanks! It's been a ride, that's for sure. By the way, I've loved seeing all the new routes (especially the PNW stuff!) on OTG. We used a few of your routes for guidance / inspiration on a Utah trip we just got back from. Great stuff as always. Keep up the good work!

[@budnixon]

Glad to have your vid pop in on my feed, Awesome camp spot and you guys got it right, just enjoying the outdoors, purpose of our hobby :) Skottle is a great addition, makes many meals easier and much more fun! Thanks for sharing the Ochocos, need to plan more stops there on the way to Eastern side, as we usually just drive through in one day

[@WheretoNextOverland]

The Ochocos are definitely worth taking some time to check out!

[@ADVwithRoscoe]

Great video, I really enjoy cooking on my skottle plus Jerry is a super guy

[@WheretoNextOverland]

Thank you! We really enjoy cooking on a skottle as well. All the guys we met from Tembo Tusk at Expo PNW were great!

[@chrisw554]

Wooowww!! Truly amazing views!!!! I need to travel to the pacific northwest. Found this channel looking up lexus lx470 videos, and I'm not disappointed!

[@WheretoNextOverland]

The PNW has a ton of great backcountry to explore, for sure! Welcome to the channel, happy to have you here! Fyi, 2 weeks from today I'll have a cost of ownership video for the LX470 live. So if you came for LX470 content, there's more to come. Cheers!

[@anthonyodonnell6105]

Beautiful view of Mt. Jefferson.

[@WheretoNextOverland]

It was amazing how many mountains were visible from that spot! Had it been a bit less hazy / smokey it would've likely been even better!

[@TearDropTravels]

Nice video. It’s pronounced Och-oh-co not Oh-Cho-co

[@WheretoNextOverland]

Haha, yeah ... nothing quite like the challenge of trying to pronounce the names of PNW places. It makes it pretty obvious who ISN'T from the area. 🤣

[@TacoJolly]

i did a rough double take lol you'll get it just come back more!@@WheretoNextOverland

[@waterandlandadventures4319]

Just happened to stumble on the channel here. Glad I did. Great videos. Just subscribed. Keep up the great adventures.

[@WheretoNextOverland]

Glad you found, welcome to the channel, and thanks for the kind words. Cheers!

[@Western-Wild]

We’ve camped in the Ochocos several times now and have only barely scratched the surface. So much to explore!

[@WheretoNextOverland]

I can totally see how one could go back to explore that area over and over again. I only wish it weren't so far for us...I suspect we'd be there all the time!

[@Western-Wild]

@@WheretoNextOverland yeah helps when it’s only an hour away from our house 😆

[@TreDeuce-qw3kv]

oh! Chee co There are guys who regularly go into the forest and desert back lands in late 20's and 30's trucks and cars even in the muddy spring and late Fall and camp and harvest wood. Some post vids on the Tube.

[@WheretoNextOverland]

Yeah, seeing those vintage cars out there was an awesome surprise!

[@acoupleofscrewsloose]

You found one of our favorite spots in the Ochoco Mountains. Pronounced O-Cho-Ko. In March this year I met a young man at the DMV who had one of those vintage camping-touring cars. He said there’s a club that goes out and does outings and overnight camping using only vintage picnic and camping gear. I asked if the group had social media and they don’t which is a shame. Way cool that you got to see them!

[@WheretoNextOverland]

That spot is AMAZING. And yeah, seeing those vintage cars was super unexpected .... and awesome.

[@acoupleofscrewsloose]

@@WheretoNextOverland Totally amazing for sure. We love to pick an area on the map and do some research first before we head off to explore. When exploring there’s always dead ends or not so great spots but when you do find an epic spot it goes on our top camping spots list and this one definitely makes the cut. I was surprised in the video you said no one was there on a Saturday because it can be a popular spot. Even if the top area is occupied the lower area also has spectacular views too if you take a short walk.

[@WheretoNextOverland]

Yeah we were really surprised no one was there

[@acoupleofscrewsloose]

@@WheretoNextOverland Here’s a tip that will save you time, fuel, and frustration, don’t go to Whistler Campground in the Ochocos. The road is bad (it took hours), the pit toilet was condemned, no views from the tiny campground, no trail up to the point but we did bushwhack 45 minutes up through a million downed trees and finally got to see a view. Not worth the effort that’s for sure! We stayed one night. The next morning we were surprised to see a truck pull up. Turns out it was the forestry service coming to board up the pit toilet building. They were shocked to see us there as it’s rare anyone goes there (not surprised).

[@WheretoNextOverland]

@@acoupleofscrewsloose hahaha, wow, yeah ... good tip. Will definitely avoid!

[@jeannedosterwise8460]

When people post where they are, others come in and destroy it .. will take peeps that believe in keeping it better than you found it. Nice I worked the Trinity national forest I Like that you show the beauty of Gods World thank you God Bless you and yours and keep you safe on the trails In Jesus name amen,

[@WheretoNextOverland]

Thank you for the kind words! 🙏

[@6point1hemi]

That’s a great campsite. Will have to hunt that one down in the future. For cooking, we prefer grass fed/organic butter, talo or ghee. We try to avoid seed oils as much as possible.

[@WheretoNextOverland]

You had me curious so I looked up the smoke point for ghee. Much higher than I though!. I bet it'd be great for cooking something like steak. We carry some with us in our pantry but I never think to use it. Haha

[@SENPAI_NO]

Good video

[@WheretoNextOverland]

Thank you!

[@JeeplifeID]

Great stuff mate! Beautiful views... Btw, those 100 & 200 series are rare and expensive here in Indonesia..

[@WheretoNextOverland]

Thank you! Yeah, we're lucky here in the States ... 100's are pretty cheap, although that's starting to change.

[@JeeplifeID]

@@WheretoNextOverland How much are those over there?.. here the price is around $40k for the 100s and $70k for the 200s. Even the 80s prices are gone up now.. they are more expensive than the 100s around 50k .. 😂😂

[@WheretoNextOverland]

@@JeeplifeID WOW! Over here, a decent 100 these days goes for 15-20K. High mileage ones as low as 9-10K. A few years ago they were even cheaper but the market has gone crazy. Still....compared to what you're seeing, they're still cheap!

[@wavestowoods]

Aha! I found it.

[@WheretoNextOverland]

Pretty cool spot, isn't it?

[@wavestowoods]

@@WheretoNextOverland I haven't gone up yet. I live 15 miles from it so next week for sure! Wanted to wait to bring my neighbor who works with Oregon Forestry, he has lots of other spots. Thanks for the inside scoop! Stay safe.

[@jerryscheneman1693]

Good afternoon new man do you have some very nice videos I’m watching the one where you guys are in the Ocho mountains and it is a beautiful view. Would you mind telling me whereabouts is at?

[@WheretoNextOverland]

Thank you! To be honest, I didn't do a very good job of dropping a pin on this site. It was really a random find out there.

[@caseybb100]

O-cha- Co

[@WheretoNextOverland]

Leave it to us out-of-stater's to butcher pronunciation

[@michaelnorton8635]

Great video. Fantastic footage. Please DONT share coordinates.

[@WheretoNextOverland]

Thank you! And don't worry, I never do.

[@maxdexpeditions]

We only carry olive oil I would say more smoke is welcome for the camera lol

[@WheretoNextOverland]

Hahaha. For the camera maybe. Now we carry Avocado oil

[@shanebails4010]

I was gonna mention that olive oil has a higher breakdown temp before it starts to smoke. Higher than butter and Ghee, but you can make it a little of each and it turns out great as well.

[@jackspurgeon]

You said ochoco wrong, I live here, not far from where you were. It's an Indian word. I laughed. 🙂

[@WheretoNextOverland]

In the PNW, butchering names of places is.... well, inevitable. 🤣

[@jackspurgeon]

@@WheretoNextOverland I know I've done that in Washington state 😂

[@WheretoNextOverland]

Puyallup! 🤣

[@tobynelson5188]

Except those old cars you passed were $100k rigs 😭

[@WheretoNextOverland]

Fair point .... not to mention being built for unpaved roads

[@rener44]

The gentrification of camping lmao

[@WheretoNextOverland]

You say that like it's a bad thing ....

[@irestrepo2788]

Ocha - Ko, not O Cho Ko

[@WheretoNextOverland]

Yep, can't get 'em all right all the time.

[@emmanuelruvalcaba]

The meat was still alive. Fortunately it didn't scape.

[@WheretoNextOverland]

If it's not still moo-ing, it's overcooked! That's my take anyway, Christine would disagree. 🤣

[@leeperry4968]

Love this but please talk to someone about the pronunciation of your locations, it's painful to hear Ochoco murdered over and over again. The phonetic pronunciation is Oh- cha - co

[@davechavis4275]

stop telling people about every cool spot.

[@WheretoNextOverland]

Where in the video did I tell anyone where it was. Other than stating it's in the Ochoco National Forest? We're always careful (and mindful) to not give out coordinates to campsites like these. I don't believe telling someone which national forest we're in constitutes telling people about a spot .... but if you do .... sorry, I guess?

[@missricka6801]

You might have taken the trouble to learn how to pronounce "Ochoco."