Keenig Creek Campground

this place was beautiful and we loved the watering hole area but while we were down at the water with everyone, our backpack with my phone, boyfriend's wallet, car keys and all our clothes for the night was STOLEN out of our tent!! We were in spot A1 which is the most vulnerable spot right off the trail everyone takes to get down to the water whereas every other site is a little more tucked into a private area. just be aware!! people suck. otherwise it was a nice little area and we lucked out getting a spot on a Saturday afternoon in July! would definitely recommend arriving before noon to snag better spots!

Great walk in sites good fishing crawfishing salamanders an family friendly

Beautiful trees and foliage. Nice access to water. At night you can see headlights in the distance and hear cars all day but once traffic dies down it isn’t so bad.

Eh.. signs indicate it was closed for camping (7/2/20).

We took off from Portland around 4pm on a Friday and got to the campground around 6. Be careful with Apple Maps, I think they routed us to the historical campground and had us going about 10 miles past the site.

This was our first time camping in the Tillamook; and was cool to see the differences between it and Mt Hood. There were tons of birds, rabbits, and chipmunks at the site.

The river was super clear, with a rocky beach and some beautiful formations a bit to the west.

We were there the first weekend in September and it was remarkably empty. I think two of the sites in the K loop were occupied.

We opted for K4 which was farther from the parking lot, and closer to the river. Unfortunately, closer to the river meant closer to the highway, too. So we never really got the serenity of a site further off the path. Not a big deal, but since I live near a highway, I welcome the break when I can get it.

The other problem with K4 was that you had trails on either side of the site, so it wasn’t the most private. I think K6 might be the best spot in the loop, but you may get additional noise from the parking lot and squeaky water pump.

We had hoped to stay at Keenig but arrived on a Friday early afternoon to find all the sites full. Honestly though, I wasn't disappointed after I walked the two loops of sites looking for open ones. They all looked really small, and the loops felt claustrophobic to me... pretty dense vegetation, and you could hear Hwy 6 roaring by. I'd give it a few stars for the proximity to a great river swimming/wading spot, and there is a friendly wood vendor just down the road selling generous sized bundles for $5. We wound up staying at Jordan Creek OHV campground, basically across the highway.

I loved this campground. not too busy, great sites. walk in!

This is a wonderful little gem! The campsites are dispersed nicely and are clean and flat. The trails between the sites are well maintained to drag a cooler to your site. There are also day-use areas nearby with trails for hiking, biking, OHV, and horses.

We stayed in campsite 3 - which has a nice view to the hills on the other side of the river, and great morning sun.

I'd say the absolute best part though is the river access. There's a beyond perfect swimming hole, that we all quickly discovered was plenty deep enough to jump off the rock formation next to it. It was busy on a hot saturday afternoon, but not crowded in the least.

The Keenig Creek Campground to me was pretty average. They don't take reservations, which can be a good or bad thing. If you are a planner, not being able to make reservations would probably be hard for someone like that. Some downsides to Keenig Creek Campground:

1. No potable water- luckily my family and I brought enough water!! We planned to do some hiking, so we definitely brought enough water to last us the weekend. Highly recommend buying jugs of water.
2. No electrical hookups- We were planning to bring our smaller RV, but found out they didn't have electrical hookups. We just brought tents, instead.
3. Fire pit does not have a grate over it, so I would highly recommend bringing your own grate to cook on.
4. Hard to get to the river. You definitely have to go up/down a trail to get to it. It rained the night before, so the path was pretty muddy.
5. Don't choose a campsite close to the highway...you will hear every car/truck that goes by! My advice would be to get as close as you can to the river. You cant hear anything.

Positives about Keenig Creek Campground:

1. Cheap- it was only $10 a night! Definitely a cheap adventure weekend.
2. The campsites are shaded which is great during the summer months.
3. Clean bathrooms. This was a shock to me, so I was pleasantly surprised!!
4. Only 20 miles from Tillamook if you want to do some exploring or shopping.

Overall, I did like this campground but there really wasn't anything special about it. Just your average campground.

Closer to the Tillamook Forestry Center, this campsite also has nice spots near a creek, but the best sites are ones you have to hike up into. First come, first served, so get there early for good spots, especially on weekends.

I really like this campground. First of all, it is an easy enough drive from Portland, about an hour or so. Secondly, you can't reserve sites which is perfect for those of us who never reserve sites and just show up hoping to find something. And because it is the 3rd campground along this road from Portland, seems likely that people may have checked out the other 2 first. All of the sites are walk in and super private. From the site we were in (K6) we could see no other campsites and could barely hear anyone else. Loved the cozy feel of our site.

The campground is on the beautiful Wilson River so we took our chairs down there and enjoyed the views and the sound of the water.

There is also a 6 mile trail (12 miles roundtrip) that leaves right from the campground and goes to Footbridge. We did most of it and it's nice and moderate.

The only negative is that it is close to highway 6 and you can hear the traffic. But at night when the traffic dies down you can hear the river.

Other notes: No wifi (at least with AT&T), close to Tillamook and the coast.

This is a really great tucked away campground.

I would imagine this used to be more of a secret but has became quite popular over the years. I would recommend anyone getting there very early on to get a spot, they fill up rather quickly.

This is a great place for a larger group or just a getaway. The spots are very spread out and do keep in mind you have to walk in to the site with all your stuff, which depending on which site you choose, can be a bit of a haul.

There are bathrooms and some water, but like any other campground you are out in the wilderness after all. The best part about this campground is the water that you can go to and go swimming on a hot day.

Go during the summer if you can!

This is a great site if you like "rustic" (which we do) since the sites are walk in-only. Adorable sites with picnic tables, fire rings and just enough privacy. One of the closest campgrounds in Tillamook Forest to both Tillamook Bay and the Forestry Center (totally worth a stop), this has about a dozen first-come, first-served sites for just $10. We were there on a coolish Saturday night and a ton of people rolled in about 4/5pm. I'm guessing in summer you'd have to get here much earlier to grab a spot. Nice exploring in the area and a great river with swimming areas when it's warmer.