Iron Creek Campground
Site A10
8.10.18 - 8.12.18
Limited cell service, Limited internet

This campground is huge - 99 spots in total. It was completley full this weekend. There are 4 loops and we didn’t walk around all of them but they all look about equal in quality of sites. They’re all pretty spacious and private. Our site though was on a loop right off the Forest Road though so I’d book a river facing spot next time.

While the campground was 100% full, it was still very quiet and we felt totally alone. The scenery is beautiful, I think its all old growth forest and very dense. There is a short loop trail and a much longer river trail. We walked about 4 miles and didn’t even realize the distance. The scenery and beauty of the Cowlitz River was unlike anything I’d seen before and just stunning. There were tons of mushroom sightings and some of the biggest trees I’ve come across.

The bathrooms however are among the WORST we’ve seen. They’re basically just really dingy dark grimy porta-potties. But that’s really the only negative of this campground.

I will definitely be back here and plan to try C or D loop! It looked like those loops had potentially better bathrooms too..

Pros:

• Amazing old growth forest
• Large and private sites
• Incredible trails and mushroom foraging!

Cons:

• Seriously gross bathrooms in A loop
• Site on the Forest Road

Peterson Prairie Campground
Site 4
7.20.18 - 7.22.18
No cell service, no internet

Campsite #4 is amazing! Its a huge and very private spot by water and bathrooms. The bathrooms were particularly clean for being an outhouse. There was wood for sale on site. We were very close to what is probably a full creek in the early season but is almost completely dried up now. The spot is so big and private that we weren’t even able to see the next campsite. Great trees for hammocks and dog tether lines!

Just outside the campground are several trails, natural volcanic bridges, and the Guler ice caves! But the best part was really the miles of trails lined with huckleberries. We ate handfulls of berries as we hiked and came across many foragers picking bucket loads. A little further outside the campground is Trout Lake which has pretty stunning views of Mt. Adams but had a very difficult turnaround at the end of the road.

Peterson Prairie is about 20 miles from Mt. Adams and about 2 hours from home.

Pros:

• Huge, private, peaceful, serene spots
• Huckleberry and mushroom foraging!
• Close to great recreation and attractions and Mt. Adams
• Cooler temperatures, great escape from summer peak heat

Cons:

• Very remote and a little hard to get to
• Definitely not suitable in the off season

Fort Stevens State Park
Site L50
7.3.18 - 7.5.18
Full cell and internet service

We went with a pretty big group and had several sites. There are at least 500+ camp sites so its best to bring bikes to get around. Some of the spots are bigger (G loop) while others are not so great. The campground is so huge that we really couldn’t get a handle on where the best spot would be. Our site was smaller and backed up to a small pond so there was a small mosquito problem but there’s so much variety on the sites.

There is a ton of walking and bike trails - we walked about 1.5 miles to the beach which leads directly to the famous Peter Iredale. We stumbled on this iconic shipwreck that we didn’t even know existed, so that was a fun sight to see. The tide was really low so we were able to walk right up to it. There’s a ton of dogs and people and lots of recreation, it was a great way to spend some time and Winnie loved running free on the beach.

Fort Stevens is about a half hour past Astoria where we went to watch 4th of July fireworks at night. They put on a killer show and it felt like a very small town celebration - we loved it!

We also visited some of the historic batteries, of which there are many. Its all just open to walk around and look at what remains which is a very interesting site if you’re into the history of it.

Pros:

• Good for groups and full hookups
• Tons of very clean and fancy facilities
• Very cool in the summer as its on the coast, a good reprieve from hot Portland summer

Cons:

• Too big and too crowded, not exactly a relaxing camping experience
• Small and very open campsites
• Need bikes to get around

Sunset Falls Campground
Site 9
6.1.18 - 6.3.18
No cell or internet service

We selected this campsite as its super close to our house - less than 1 hour away so very easy to get to. The car sites are a little strange as the road is paved and curved so it felt like we were just on the side of a street. Our site has a very cool tent site down a slope which would be really nice is we slept in a tent, but not so great for our van. The picnic table and firepit were basically right on the road. The sites are pretty spread out though so that’s something. Its right above Snass Creek so it was very peaceful if you didn’t face the road.

It wasa very close walk to some small waterfalls but not near substantial hiking trails though Silver Star, Moulton Falls, Bells Mountain and Lucia Falls are only about 7 miles away.

Pros:

• Spread out campsites
• Close to home

Cons:

• Really bad bathrooms
• Not very foresty feeling with the paved roads and curbs

Hoover Campground
Site 4
5.4.18 - 5.6.18
Full cell service and internet

This campground was at the far Southeast end of Detroit Lake and we went the first weekend of the season so it wasn’t as crowded as I hear it can get. We heard it can get really busy during the high season as its a huge recreation area for swimming, boating, and fishing. Our campsite was HUGE and private and likely the best spot of the campground from what we could tell. It’s a really large campground though with tons of sites, it was probably only about ³⁄₄ full this weekend.

There is direct lake access at Hoover but its a very short drive into the town of Detroit which was a gas station, full grocery store, restaurants, etc.

The highlight is definitely checking out the rentals at Detroit Lake Marina. You can rent kayaks, canoes, fishing boats, pontoons, and speed boats of all sizes. The rates are really reasonable and they have a ton of variety. You can also purchase a fishing license and equipment there as well. It was easy to get a rental as it was so early in the season but they recommend making a reservation for later in the summer. We rented a canoe (Winnie did not enjoy!) and the next day we rented a fishing boat (Winnie liked this one better!).

This is a great place for a group and only about 2 hours away from home.

Pros:

• Beautiful scenery at campsite and around the lake
• Not too crowded in early May
• Lake access - boat rentals were SO worth it!

Cons:

• No hiking trails access - try Cove Creek next time!

Viento State Park Campground
South Campground - C Loop - Site C05
4.20.18 - 4.22.18
Full cell service and internet

This campground is really only for windsurfing or driving through the area. Its right off Highway 84 and you hear the traffic. We stayed on the South side where there are only a handful of tent sites, the North side is more for RVs and has tons more campsites. The North side is also right on the train tracks where trains are frequent and VERY loud.

The campsite itself was not terrible, it was large and offered a lot of privacy. It backed up to the Viento Creek and a large wooded area through when we ventured around the forest Mark got bit by a tick and we pulled at least 6 ticks off of Winnie.

Pros:

• Windsurfing access and very close to Hood River
• Very close to home, only about 1 hour away.
• Very clean bathrooms (State Parks have the best facilities!)
• Access to the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail that leads to Starvation Creek Falls

Cons:

• Right on the highway so its very noisy with frequent trains as well
• Tons of ticks!!
• Small and close campsites

Link Creek Campground
Site 17
4.6.18 - 4.8.18 Limited cell service, no internet

We went for Mark’s birthday so this was very early in the season and we were therefore the only people there. We did not make a reservation but because there was still snow on the ground, it obviously was not a problem. We had to drive through a snowy pass and most of the campground roads were snowlogged and we could not pass through so we chose a campsite right on the lake.

Suttle Lake is very beautiful and serene. Some of the sites right on the lake are pretty windy so we opted for a spot across the road. Its likely very popular in the high season for fishing and boating - there is a widely used boat dock amidst the sites.

Suttle Lake Lodge is about a mile up the road and is a wonderful spot on a rainy day. The main lounge is dog friendly, had a great food menu and full bar, and tons of card and board games to play while waiting out the rain. Its a full hotel with rustic cabins as well but we did not get to take a peak at those but I bet they’re very cozy.

Pros:

• Beautiful lake - probably very popular for swimming in high seasons
• Great fishing
• The Lodge was the best to wait out the rain

Cons:

• Campsites are close together, there isn’t much privacy
• Pretty long drive (~3 hours) - good for a long weekend
• Pretty cold and snowy in April, I would like to return in mid-summer

Eagle Cliff Campground
Site 6 10.06.17 - 10.08.17
Full cell service, full internet

Our second camping trip in the PNW, also pre-log book! We wanted to see how far we could extend our camping season so we ventured our in early October. Most of the national forest campgrounds were closed by then so we stayed at this privately owned campground. This was an interesting place. We were 1 of maybe 3 other camping groups, but I think the other campers were a fairly large burly group of hunters. There’s some cabins here too which looked nice but I don’t think they’re dog friendly.

I don’t remember much about this campground except Mark was fairly creeped out by what turned out to be a fire house, but seemed more like an abandoned meth house. There’s a store and a little restaurant window with pretty solid pizza on site. We also drove a few miles out for a hike recommended by the store manager but I have no idea where it was so I can’t really retrace my steps here. We loved the hike and found tons of mushrooms, mostly red belted conks but it was our first mushroom find in the PNW so we were pretty excited. This area was also all old growth with huge huge trees, we were so charmed.

It rained most of the weekend, as it was definitely fall, but we’d built out #vandiesel a bit already so we were well prepared to relax in the van and wait out the rain. It was a great trip but we made a plan to get more organized for the next summer and the rest is history.

Jones Creek Campground
Site Unknown
8.4.17 - 8.6.17
No cell service, no internet

This was our very first camping trip in Oregon, about three weeks after we moved up to the PNW! Working off memory here as this was before our log book…

We had just bought #vandiesel and wanted to take her out for a spin. It was completely gutted and just a shell of the van we now know and love. We didn’t know much about camping up here but a friend told us he camped out in Tillamook once so we thought we’d give it a shot. Turns out, the State Forest campgrounds are usually not reservable and its nearly impossible to stumble upon a campsite in the middle of summer 45 minutes outside of Portland. We went to a few different campgrounds desperately looking for a spot and right before we gave up completely and turned home we drove all the way up a hill to the Diamond Mill OHV Staging Area where yes, you could technically camp, but its really not for camping. Its just a large dirt parking lot where people sleep in RVs after a long day of ATV riding….not really ideal.

We left first thing in the morning and made one more pass around the campgrounds and landed at Jones Creek. We circled some of the loops and by sheer luck we found a spot that had clearly been very recently vacated as the firepit was still smoldering. We grabbed the site and high-fived our good fortune. We were nervous about a first-come first-served spot so we set up a decoy tent so we could drive away if necessary and still reserve our spot. The campground itself was really large, probably close to 100 spots. Our site was smaller but really private, it was really nice, exactly what we were looking for.

We drove through Tillamook to the coast and stopped at the Cape Meares Lighthouse and stopped by the Octopus Tree as well. We ate sandwiches, we stared at the ocean, it was a good afternoon.

I don’t have specific pros and cons to add but I will say that we will likely not return to a non-reservable campground, its far too stressful. The camphost told us we’d have to arrive by Wednesday to gaurantee a spot. But we did tote Winnie around in a wheel barrow so that was fun.