Smiling River Campground

We went as a group of 8+ families, booking a number of different campsites in two groupings, one on the riverfront, one on the backside of the loop.  The campground layout is a large loop with a road down the center, so was great for kids riding bikes around and playing.

The riverside sites were beautiful but ours was very close to an outhouse that was extremely full and smelled very bad.  It really needed to be cleaned out and clearly hadn't in a long time.

Also the river was super cold and very fast moving, which at times was a little scary with a ton of young kids running around.

Camp Sherman was only a mile away and has fresh donuts in the morning.  I was able to ride over on my electric skateboard and it was a beautiful enjoyable ride.

There was also a small bridge 7-10ft above the river that folks jumped off of which was fun.

We didn't have any major problems with bees or mosquitos as some other folks mentioned that they had in previous reviews.

We had one morning evening where fog was rolling across the river and it was uniquely beautiful.  Overall it's a great spot, but would have been perfect if the maintenance had been better and the outhouse smell wasn't so bad.

Smiling River campground is right on the Metolius River. There is a walking/fishing trail that runs along most of the river. The trail is walkable to the Camp Sherman Store. The road going through the campground is narrow for tow vehicles but if you go slow you will be fine. Sites have picnic table and fire pit with no water or electric hookups. Make sure and visit Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery that is north of the campground on the Metolius River. It is one of our favorites. We had no Verizon cell coverage.

The campsites are all right next to the Metolius River, so most of them have great views and scenic sunsets only a few steps away. There’s quite a few campsites (35), but some of them on the far side from the river are right next to the road, which can account for a bit of noise. In various places around the campground there are 3 water spigots, but there are no black/gray water, electrical, or water hookups for RV’s in the sites. Camp Sherman General Store is a little under a mile and a half away(they have great donuts- just saying). There’s almost always a campfire ban, due to how dry the area can be, which can make the camping a little less enjoyable, but probably safer in perspective. Remember to bring lots of bug repellent, because around the beginning of summer the mosquitoes and gnats are unbearable.

My family and I visited in Mid July so the heat was pretty unbearable if you are in any spot not close to the river. The previous camper left a yellow jacket trap which helped along with Hanging our trash on a far tree but the minute food came out the yellow Jackets swarmed, I suggested bringing some sort of enclosure for your table and eating area. There are a few water outlets for fresh cold central Oregon drinking water which was convenient. The out houses were original to the site but well maintained. If it is hot I would plan to visit surrounding lakes like Suttle or Scout, the Metolius is very cold and runs very fast not good for small children. If you want to explore the area the hatchery is interesting a fun for the kids, also if you need supplies or just about anything the Camp Sherman store is well stocked.