Sunshine Guard Station
October 2026
About
Overview
Sunshine Guard Station is situated along John Day River in the Malheur National Forest at an elevation of 3,700 feet, about 43 miles northeast of John Day, Oregon. The former guard station was built in 1936 and until the 1990s was used alternatively as a bunkhouse or a work station for fireguards.
The guard station can be accessed by vehicle. Guests are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety, and must bring several of their own amenities.
Recreation
Recreational options include fishing for steelhead and rainbow trout in the John Day River. Restrictions apply; visitors should refer to Oregon State regulations.
There are hiking trails and back roads to the north of the guard station that lead into the nearby Vinegar Hill / Indian Rock Scenic Area.
Wildlife viewing is popular, as is scenic driving.
Facilities
This rustic four-room cabin sleeps up to six and has a kitchen, living room, and two bedrooms. The living room is furnished with a futon, two chairs, a coffee table and an end table. The larger bedroom is furnished with a queen-sized bed and a closet, while the smaller bedroom offers a queen-sized bed and a chair.
The kitchen is furnished with a table and four chairs, electric refrigerator, and stove. Electric heat and lights are provided, and a vault toilet is located next to the cabin.
There is no water in the cabin. Guests must bring their own water for drinking, cooking and washing.
Roads to the guard station are paved and maintained for summer and winter access.
No pets allowed in the Guard Station.
Natural Features
The guard station has a view of the Middle Fork of the John Day River. The Vinegar Hill Forest/Indian Rock Scenic Area is nearby. The 25,000-acre area includes a 10 mile ridgeline that comprises the summit of the Greenhorn Range in the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon. Outcrops of serpentine, rhyolite, basalt, granite, and shale can be seen. Agates can also be found on some of the rocky slopes.
Wildlife includes elk and deer, songbirds and, in the river, steelhead and trout. Nearly every type of alpine wildflower found west of the Rockies can be blooming at different times in this area.
Magone Lake is about 20 miles west of the guard station.
Contact Info
For facility specific information, please call (541) 575-3000.
Amenities
Phone: 541-820-3800
Is SUNSHINE GUARD STATION fully booked?
A campground showing no availability is almost never full for good. People cancel — plans change, weather turns, someone books three weekends and keeps one — and the site goes straight back into the booking system, usually without warning and often at odd hours. The reason sold-out campgrounds feel impossible is not that sites never free up; it is that nobody is watching at the moment they do.
CampHawk watches SUNSHINE GUARD STATION in John Day, OR for you. We recheck it every 15 seconds, around the clock, and the moment a site opens we send a text, an email and a push notification — and on Recreation.gov we can put the site straight into your cart, so it is held while you get to your phone.
Searching is free and needs no account — the calendar above is live right now. Watching SUNSHINE GUARD STATION for cancellations is the paid part.