roadtripper685843

This is one of series of small campgrounds up the Clackamas river system in the Mt. Hood National Forest. This one, with 16 sites is one of the few to take RVs. It is definitely our favorite. We visited last summer, in June 2019, and were there over the weekend. We reserved in advance to get one of the 3. RV sites...(it is on Recreation.gov, with an $8 reservation fee). It was full all weekend, but the other campers were quiet and well behaved. A campground host was on site.

Sites 1-4 are tent only, on the river; you park your car and walk in. We were in site #14, also riverfront, although the river was down a rocky embankment from our site. With the federal Golden Age Passport we paid half of the $20/night fee. We had a nice view of the river.

One of the reasons this place is so popular is that next to site #15 is the terminus of the "Riverside National Recreation Trail". The other end is at the Rainbow Campground, with the official trailhead just off the road between Riverside and Rainbow Campgrounds.It is 5 miles one way between the two campgrounds. The trail is very scenic, and just a short distance from the Riverside Campground is a very nice beach. People were playing in the water there. Another feature is its proximity (14 miles by car) to the Bagby Hot Springs.

Amenities included water from a hand pump, vault toilets, fire rings, picnic tables, trash collection, and a host. Don't count on your solar working...it's heavily wooded.

We would have given it 5 stars, except during our visit, a logging company was removing timber via helicopter directly over us continually. It was quite annoying.

We stayed 4 nights toward the end of April. Weather is highly unpredictable...went from sunshine to thunderstorms to snow in one day.

We reserved our trailer site online through the Idaho S.P. website as there are very few RV sites. We were charged $14/night, plus a reservation fee. I asked why I didn't get the senior price at the visitor center. She asked to see my card, and I got a $28 refund!! Never hurts to ask!

We lucked into one of the best sites too..

Only a few things to add that haven't been mentioned....
First:How did we pay $4 night? That reflects half of our $8 reservation fee for our 2 night fee. We got our site for free as my husband has the Oregon State Park disabled veteran pass. He is disabled from his stint in Vietnam. Why I am telling you this, is unlike other states, you do not have to be an Oregon resident to get this pass! In fact, our son and DIL moved to Oregon, and we got the pass by mail while we still lived in the Midwest. There were a few hoops to jump through but once you get it, it is good for 2 years.....and gets you 10 nights of free camping per month...including FHU sites if available. Renewal is easy, something like returning the postcard they send you.

Second: We stayed here the first 2 nights they opened. And there are a few changes...Restrooms we're open, and cleaned, but they haven't reopened the showers. Yurts and cabins are also unavailable. Campsites are only available by reservation/ no FCFS camping. Unless you previously made a reservation, like we had, there is only a 2 week ahead reservation window, instead of the normal 9 months. So keep this in mind if you want to camp here.

Oregon has a low rate of covid19, due to our early lockdown; but as things are in phase 1, it's getting worse. I suspect that is why there is only a 2 week window, so they can close things down again.

Our price reflects the 1/2 price golden age passport, and a $8 reservation fee... somewhat steep. Regular price is $35.70/night(includes taxes) plus the $8 reservation fee.

We had read the previous review and we're astounded that they went over Lolo Pass, so we followed the directions on the resorts website and took I-84 to Hood River and truly enjoyed our drive through the orchards and past wineries and fruit stands.

We've stayed at most of the other popular and scenic campgrounds around My. Hood (@ Trillium Lake and Timothy Lake), and this was our favorite. It is huge, but sites are cleverly laid out, with nicely cleared and leveled area for tents. All roads were paved, dumpsters and clean pit toilets....yes, pit toilets for this price!

The resort has run this place for years, even our picnic table was branded with their logo. They rent rowboats, canoes, kayaks and standup paddle boards. The store was well stocked with camp necessities. The day use area had a public boat ramp....but motors are not allowed.

Loved our site...very spacious and private. Huge trees, blooming beargrass and rhododendrons.

Although they do have a water fill and dump station as you enter the campground, the turn was very tight, we made it, but didn't get a good water fill on the way in.(very unlevel) There is water available in every loop, but bring a water bandit. We decided to dump on the way home after reading the reviews of the Hood River water treatment plant....highly recommended.

As you head to Hood River, pick up a blueberry pie and huckleberry milkshake at the Apple Valley Country Store and Bakery on hwy 281.

This was our first time camping here, although we had visited twice during the off season to walk the lovely paved 3/4 mile handicapped (and stroller) accessible trail. The Burnt Lake trailhead and the Ramona Falls (very popular) trailhead are both located nearby, During the off season the big brown gate is locked, although there is a small parking area outside the gate so that you can walk in. The campground is up the road from Zigzag, OR, and you turn from US 26 onto the Lolo Pass Road. (The forest service office is also located at this intersection, as is the Zigzag Cafe, which has awesome french toast!) The directions are good on the Forest Service website, and we had no trouble finding it. The road was paved the whole way in.

The campground had been renovated at some time in the past, and the nature trail/boardwalk was added at that time. There is also a wooded deck built out over the creek for fishing. The RV/tent sites are in loop A, and they are all quite level and paved.
There was no host when we visited just after the 4th of July, in fact the camp was quite deserted. An employee of Mt. Hood Recreation showed up around supper time to check our ID and golden access passport (for our reservation). The A loop has 11 sites, but 2 of them have yurts on them, so only 9 RV sites are available. Of these 11 sites, only sites #1,7,8, and 10 are first come, first served, and no one showed up until Friday to claim them. Sites 2, and 10 are double sites, having 2 separate parking spurs. There were 5 very defined tent sites that had their own parking area,,,then you carried your gear in. There was also a picnic area for day use along the creek. With 5 vault toilets (2 in loop A, 2 in the picnic/tent area, and 1 on the loop trail) for this small campground, they were lightly used and clean. Water was available at the hand pump, but it had quite a lot of sediment.

Because the campground is in such a lush wooded area, our solar panel was pretty useless. If you need sun, the nearby McNeil campground is more open, drier, and with less vegetation.

We camped here in early October, arriving on Saturday afternoon. The campground was about half full, so we had no problem finding an awesome site in the upper reaches of the campground, as advised by a previous reviewer. We had just left the sweltering heat of Lake Mohave, and the weather was perfect while we were there.

We headed over to the visitor center for info, only to find it closed indefinitely for renovation. A sign told us to call the main visitor center at the Kelso Depot.... pretty difficult without cell service. At any rate, we found the Rings trailhead, and started out. We picked the wrong direction and headed down the rings! It was challenging for us seniors, but we were OK.

Later during our stay we headed over to Mitchell Caverns at the Providence Mountains SRA. We got incredibly lucky, and were able to join a tour as some people we're no shows. It's open now, after having been closed due to budget cuts for several years. The tour was awesome; hard to believe there was water trickling down, at that altitude, in the desert.

We were treated to an amazing sunset on our last evening...

Our rate reflects the senior access pass.

Our price reflects the senior discount and the reservation fee.

First the pros:
Easy to access location, all paved roads to access and inside the campground
Large sites
Absolutely gorgeous spingfed lake, cold, clear water, 38 degrees
Stocked with trout
No motorboats, paddles, oars only
Close to small old time resort with rowboat rental, cabins, and food--just candy bars during covid
Clean vault toilets
Host onsite selling firewood
Trail around the lake, access to the long distance McKenzie River trail
Close to Sahalie and Koosah Falls trail
A little further to Belknap Hot Spring

Cons:
Elevation around 3000 feet..... we had very cold weather June 5-7.....38 airtemp with cold rain
"Boat ramp"@ campground were a very long series of concrete slabs headed into the water,
with railroad ties that you slid your boat down on. Tiny beach next to it, to get into your boat.
Sites very unlevel....some more than others, bring lots of leveling blocks
Parking blocks limit how far you can get your rig in....tight fit with our 17 foot trailer and full size Van
Site was so unlevel that the trail to our picnic table had a switchback
Campground is built over a thin layer of soil over a lava bed.
Parking fee for boat trailer by the ramp

We'll probably be back later in the summer when the weather is drier...

We got here on a Thursday in late September 2020, hoping to score a site. We lad lots to choose from, and picked B1.…in part because the water and electric sites were $20/night ($10 for us seniors), got more sun 🌞, and got a better cell signal with Verizon (no booster).

We were astonished to find a USFS campground, with water and electric, not to mention clean flush toilets.

The lake was way down, probably is that way every fall...helps keep the crowds down. We did enjoy hiking the trail that surrounds the lake.

It was a good base camp to explore the area; the Sumpter Valley Railroad, the Sumpter Valley Dredge state park, and the isolated village of Granite.

We stayed 1 night in early September..... The place looked lovely in all the reviews.

The upper area is much nicer, but the only sites left were very unlevel. We ended up in a back in on the lower level, with a huge retaining wall behind us. True, we had elec and water, but our rig lacks AC, and the temperature was in the upper 90s, with no shade. The campground and lovely park, are a reclamation project. I believe that part of it was a quarry, plus it had been used as a dumping ground. At any rate, it is unnaturally lower than the surrounding landscape, and even though there was a breeze topside, we just sweltered in the shade of our awning. The cement wall behind us radiated heat even after the sun went below the rim.

On the positive side, it was on our route south, easy to find, and reasonably priced. At dusk we were able to stretch our legs, and walk the dog along the lovely paved path. On our walk we read the informative plaques of the prior history of the park.

We stayed here in mid September, and arrived on a Wednesday, to find the campground totally empty; so we had our choice of sites. We chose the last one, #15, a pull through, mostly as it had a clear view of the river from the picnic table. We also hung our hammock between 2 trees and had a water view. This site was large enough for 2 rigs. Only downside was it was lumpy...the other sites were much more level.
The 2 vault toilets were immaculate, and had been cleaned earlier in the day.

The camp was conveniently located near paved road 3960, which we took to reach the trailhead for the "Blue Hole" hike, located at the Indian Crossing horse camp. Nice easy hike upstream along the river. Other hikers were outfitted for the elk bowhunting season. Possible boondocking sites were located off the road to the trailhead too.

No cell service, but we were able to pick up an Idaho AM talk radio station.

With our senior card, we paid half the normal rate of $8. We would definitely stay here again... it was my husband's favorite campground.