Viento State Park Campground

We stayed at the NORTH campground. It is right off the freeway, so you can hear and see cars all day and night. It is really loud, so having a conversation is challenging if you are outside. On the other side of the campground is the railroad. The train runs frequently, you can see it, and it is 10x louder than the freeway....deafening. Because there is a pedestrian crossing to get to the river, the train blows its whistle many times, each time it passes....adding another layer of noise. There is no privacy between camping spots and you can see everyone around you. However, the bathrooms were very clean. Well stocked with toilet paper and provided paper towels to dry hands instead of hand dryers. The sites were also clean. The river is easily accessed and the beach is made of all rocks. This park is best for day use only. I would never stay here again and absolutely never recommend it.

Stayed here for a few nights in May 2016. I really loved this spot! So beautiful. We stayed in the upper campground. The back drop is amazing, with walking trails and a small creek. It is a little noisy with it being off i-84, and there are train tracks not too far away. Still worth it!

Appropriately enough for a park in the blustery Columbia River Gorge, the park's name, pronounced vee-EN-toe, is Spanish for wind. Just an odd coincidence, actually. In this case, the Viento comes from the first letters of three railroad tycoons - Villard, Endicott, and Tollman -who put the first railroad in the area.Viento has a day-use area with easy access to the Columbia River and some of the best windsurfing in the Gorge. There's a great picnic area right next to a wonderful, babbling creek - just right for skimming stones and soaking sore feet.A one-mile trail from Viento to Starvation Creek takes you along a section of the Historic Columbia River Highway. Now a hiking trail, there hasn't been auto traffic here in more than 50 years. If you get a chance to visit, imagine an old Ford Model T twisting around the corners!