Do you love the outdoors and horses? If you're looking for a rustic but comfortable experience, horse camping in Government Camp is the way to go. Finding a place to stay in Oregon while traveling with your horse has never been easier. Search horse campsites and discover top-rated spots, as reviewed by other campers.
Situated along the scenic Clackamas River, Milo McIver State Park is only 45 minutes from Portland. This beautiful park provides a variety of outstanding recreational opportunities. You can spend a day or a week exploring the river, forest and fields.
Seasonal Camping (Mid-March – Oct. 31)
44 electrical sites with water (one accessible). Nine tent sites with water nearby Hot showers and flush toilets Three reservable group tent camping areas with water, flush toilets and fire rings Three hiker/biker campsites with water, lockers, solar charging station and fire pit RV dump station Click here to see a campground map. Water Play
River lovers can challenge the sometimes wild (but always picturesque) Clackamas River with rafts, canoes or kayaks. For fishing enthusiasts, Estacada Lake offers a boat ramp and an ADA fishing dock, and the Clackamas River has steelhead and Chinook runs.
The Clackamas Fish Hatchery is located at McIver Park, and self-guided tours of the hatchery guide visitors through the life-cycle of Chinook salmon and steelhead.
SUP and Kayak Rentals Rentals and guided tours are offered by Clackamas River Outfitters at Estacada Lake through contract with Oregon State Parks. Information: 503-586-3241 or clackamasriveroutfitters.com
Land Play Prefer to stay dry? You can hike or ride your horse over miles of trails. (Bicycles are allowed only on paved trails and roads, for the safety of all.)
Milo also sports a world-class, 27-hole disc golf course at the Riverbend Day-use Area. Discs are available at the park office to rent or buy.
$18 - $75 / night
$25 / night
Campsite information The main campground has 28 standard campsites. It is an older camp in a forested setting suited more for tents than RVs. There are a limited number of sites that accommodate RVs over 20 feet. This campground closes seasonally.
The Woodard Creek Campground has five full-hookup campsites that provide electricity, water, and sewer. The sites have a maximum length of 40 feet. These campsites are open year round.
There are two standard equestrian campsites located at the equestrian trailhead that will accommodate a horse trailer each, a hi-line for horses, livestock water and a CXT vault toilet. There is no potable water and no electricity. Primitive camping fee applies.
Check-in time is 2:30 p.m. Check-out time is 1 p.m.
Winter facilities at the moorage area include two tent sites, one shower and one restroom. Overnight moorage and the boat launch are available year round.
Clackamas Lake Campground is a great camping destination, especially when nearby Timothy Lake sites are full. The lake is small and shallow. The facility is located in the Clackamas Lake Historic District in Mt. Hood National Forest. It provides access to fishing, swimming and leisurely boating, as well as a number of trails and historic points along the way.
Clackamas Lake is a great place for fishing, swimming and non-motorized boating. Anglers can expect a catch of cutthroat, brook, rainbow or German brown trout. A variety of wildlife make its home in the area as well. Nearby Timothy Lake provides opportunities for picnicking and water-related recreation, including use of power boats. The Clackamas Lake Ranger Station Historic District is less than a mile from the campground. It is a series of structures and cabins built to house Forest Service workers in the early 1900s. Rustic architecture and the historic nature of the buildings and the surrounding area, draws thousands of tourists each year. It is a must-see while staying at the campground. Hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding are also popular activities. The 2.2-mile Miller Trail begins in the campground and connects to the Pacific Crest Trail, which extends more than 2,650 miles, from Canada to Mexico. Additional trails, to scenic Little Crater Lake and to the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, are also available in the area.
The campground is nestled in a heavily wooded forest of pine trees, with partial views of Oregon's highest peak. A lush, green understory provides some privacy between campsites. The campground is near the shores of 3-acre Clackamas Lake, and just three miles from larger Timothy Lake. It is situated at an elevation of about 3,400 feet.
The campground is less than 40 miles from Mt. Hood, where a historic lookout provides scenic views of the snow-capped mountain. Hiking and year-round skiing is available.
For facility specific information, please call (503) 622-3191.
$25 - $27 / night
The Campground sits along Panther Creek at the intersection of the Pacific Crest Trail. Driving on FR65, 4.7 miles upstream from the campground, visitors can enjoy an easy hike to Panther Falls. __Campers can enjoy the privacy provided by a variety of shade-loving plants and a thick forest of cedars, ash, firs and alder.
Hikers have close access to the Pacific Crest Trail, which spans 2,663 miles from Mexico to Canada. Outstanding scenic views are available all along this trail.
Located in southwest Washington State, the Gifford Pinchot National Forest encompasses 1.3 million acres and includes the 110,000-acre Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument established by Congress in 1982. Panther Creek Campground is located in the Mt. Adams Ranger District. Elevations here range between 1,200 feet at the Wind River Work Center, 12 miles north of Carson, WA and 12,276 feet at the summit of Mt. Adams. The Mount Adams Ranger District offers a diverse array of habitats and natural features, from old growth to second growth forest, wetland areas, low and high elevation meadows, glaciers, and low and high elevation lakes.
This location has limited staffing. Please call (509) 427-3677 for general information.
Panther Creek Campground makes a great base to explore Mount Adams and the Columbia River Gorge. The town of Carson is nearby, which is known for its hot springs. It also has a golf course, restaurants and shopping.
Cancellations Individual Campsites: Cancellations up to 2 days before a reservation start date incur a $10.00 cancellation fee. A visitor who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee including tax and applicable add-on for a campsite. Cancellations for a one-night reservation will forfeit the entire amount paid and will not be subject to an additional service fee. No-Shows A no-show visitor is one who does not arrive at a campground and does not cancel the reservation by check-out time on the day after the scheduled arrival date. Staff will hold a campsite until check-out time on the day following the arrival date. No-shows are assessed $20.00 service fee and forfeit the first night's rate, taxes and applicable add-on for a campsite. Refunds Visitors may submit a refund request through their Recreation.gov profile within 7 days of the end date of their reservation. Refunds will not be issued after the 7 days has ended. Refunds for debit or credit card payments will be issued as a credit to the original bank or credit card used to pay. For check or cash purchases, Recreation.gov will mail a Treasury check for refunds of cash, check, or money order payments to the address associated with the reservation. Treasury check refunds may take up to 6-8 weeks to arrive. In the event of an emergency closure, the Recreation.gov team or facility manager will refund all fees and will attempt to notify you using the contact information within the Recreation.gov visitor profile.
$25 / night
Located on beautiful Badger Creek, at the foot of the Badger Creek Wilderness, this popular campground appeals to those who enjoy fishing, hiking, or horseback riding. This quiet campground is located along Badger Creek at one of the portals to the Badger Creek Wildnerness. Visitors who camp at this campground can access the eastern end of the Badger Creek Trail.
$16 / night
Riley Campground is an equestrian facility located northwest of Oregon's majestic Mt. Hood. Horse corrals are tucked into the forest near the campsites, and several horseback riding trails can be accessed from the campground. A variety of recreational and sightseeing opportunities are available for visitors to enjoy.
Several hiking, biking and horseback riding trails can be accessed from the campground, including the 5.3-mile Cast Creek Trail, which was reconstructed in 1998 and leads from the campground to the Zigzag Mountain Trail. Combined with the nearby 4.9-mile Horseshoe Ridge Trail and part of the Zigzag Mountain Trail, visitors can make a nearly 14-mile excursion. The Sandy River Trail follows the river and stretches about 3 miles. Fishing is available in nearby Lost Creek, as well as the Sandy River, which is not far from the campground. Anglers can expect a variety of trout, salmon and whitefish. The rivers are popular for fly fishing. Scenic drives and picnicking are also popular activities.
The campground is situated in the Old Maid Flat geologic area of Mt. Hood National Forest at an elevation of about 2,100 feet. It sits alongside Lost Creek and is near the Sandy Wild and Scenic River. A variety of wildlife makes its home in the area.
For facility specific information, please call (503) 622-3191.
A deviation from the road coming into the campground (Forest Road 1825), will lead to a trailhead for spectacular Ramona Falls, on the Sandy River. The 7.1-mile, moderately difficult trail leads to cascading waterfalls and is one of the most popular hikes in Mt. Hood National Forest.
$19 - $25 / night
Battle Ground Lake State Park is a forested camping park in the Cascade Mountain foothills; its proximity to Vancouver and Portland and its cool green lake make it a great escape from the bustle of city and suburbs.
Children play in the shallow swim area under the watchful eyes of their picnicking parents, anglers float on the lake, hikers and campers take quiet strolls in the woods. On sunny weekends, laughter fills the playground, lakefront and kitchen areas. Whether you've come for a rest or a family play day, time spent at Battle Ground Lake will leave you refreshed and ready to tackle your life once again.
PARK FEATURES The 280-acre park offers hiking, biking, horse trails and a primitive equestrian camping area. The spring-fed lake is attractive to swimmers and paddlers and is stocked with trout, making it a favorite of anglers.
The park has 35 standard campsites, six partial-hookups sites, 15 primitive sites that require campers to hike up to half a mile from the parking lot, two primitive equestrian sites, four cabins, one RV dump station, two restrooms and four showers. Maximum site length is 35 feet (may have limited availability).
Forlorn Lakes, one of the most popular campgrounds in the southern part of the forest, offers 25 campsites scattered around the wooded shores of small, picturesque lakes. Swimming and fishing are possible in the larger lakes. Huckleberry bushes grow in the campground and surrounding area making this site very popular during huckleberry season. The campsites at a maximum 18 feet long are suitable for tent camping and small campers or RV's. The day use area has lake views, picnic tables, and fire rings. The campground is very popular, the camping spots fill early in the week. Forlorn Lakes offers nearby access to Indian Heaven via the East Crater Trailhead.
$10 - $20 / night
Scout
If you enjoy hiking, this is a great campground with many beautiful trails to explore. The bathroom is clean and there's free hot shower. There's a country store 2 miles west of here you can get firewood and some supplies. Sites are a little less private and occasionally I heard train passing by from the nearby railway (bring ear plugs if you are a light sleeper). Check our videos for details: https://youtu.be/BrSpGhdefQ0?si=dVS7YPTZX8AplUVL
Scout
A nice, woodsy campground, with lots of privacy between camp sites. Nice flat and level outlined areas for us tent campers. Only down side was that it was a bit of a hike to the restroom (the National Forest site map showed one near the entrance where there wasn't one). While I reserved, mid-week there were a number of open sites for those without reservations. Some of the sites are really large and can handle a bigger group. Some PCT hikers stayed here due trail closure further north due to forest fire. Would recommend.
Traveler
Nice and peaceful, I always appreciate a campground with quiet hours to enjoy the peace and quiet of outside. Additional plus that dogs weren't allowed to disrupt the wildlife and bark at the Deer etc.
Scout
This was a quiet little campground. The sites were big and very clean. It is close to Timothy lake which is where we wanted to go kayaking at. Took us 10 minutes to get there. Loved camping there. There is no lake it’s more of a wetlands area.
ScoutCamp-side slide opens right upto the fire pit, cannot use it. Directions from the confirmation email were incorrect. People weren't kidding about the trains. T-Mobile signal is weak, 1.8 mbps down, 0.4 mbps up
TravelerI biked to this campground from my house in Portland. It was a lovely ride. There is a long, long downhill to get to the campsite, but wow, is it beautiful! Very peaceful. Lots of wildlife. I watched a woodpecker breaking open a log for over an hour. It was such a peaceful getaway. It gets you out of the hustle of city living, even if just for the night. The downside is that dogs are not allowed, but I don't take them on my bike anyway.
TravelerThis place was amazing! The camp ground is in the middle of the forest. They have hot showers, flushing toilets and every site has a fire pit. There is distance between you and other guests but if you want to meet your neighbors you can. They have ADA sites, a lake, play grounds and a welcome center. Awesome location just 30 minutes away from Portland.
Ranger
Stayed here for one night on spring break with my grandsons. Fishing, hiking, sup or kayaking if you’re interested in it. The lake is small but awesome. Bald eagles flying overhead. Close to Battleground Washington.
Traveler
Really nice and peaceful until it got late. Some group behind us blared heavy metal, yelled etc and decided 1am would be a great time to start. Ranger was really good at telling them to stfu. Water was accessible, nice fire pit. Look forward to doing some winter camping.
ScoutThe hosts for the month of September (Freddy & Kim) are obsessed with leaf blowers and driving around in loud, diesel off-road buggies when an electric golf cart is an option. The leaf blower stuff is just extreme though. I’ve had to ask them to stop (after literal hours of it mostly on and some off) both of the weeks I’ve camped here. You can’t think, read/write, nap, etc.
While I appreciate the fastidiousness of keeping a clean area, it completely ruins being in nature. Especially when you spend the money and time to be in it. There should be rules around noise for park hosts, as well…they were substantially more disruptive than all of the other campers, combined. Just zero consideration around people that spend time/money/gas to enjoy getting away from all of the city noises. Wish I could get my money back.
With that said, the actual park/forest/river are amazing. Just be prepared for it to be noisy while you try to enjoy it. Oh yeah, great restrooms and showers.
GuideDeeply forested, gorgeous, well spaced sites, located up an easy road, nearest cell signal is about 4 toward Carson.
GuideWe hardly ever stay at State Parks due to we like less people. This visit was wonderful. Our site was very large and private. Campground was very quiet. We enjoyed the miles of hiking trails that were connected to the park. We really enjoyed our stay. Beautiful area!
LegendGreat little Campground is located on a popular river for swimming and boating.
Cell: None
GuideMy wife and I arrived on a Friday and left the following Tuesday with our 22’ travel trailer. We stayed in RV4 (one out of the five available RV spots) and it had full hookups. The scenery was amazing and I highly suggest the Beacon Rock/River to Beacon Rock hikes.
We didn’t have any issues at the site, but noticed that spots RV4 and RV5 were relatively distanced from each other, while spots RV1-RV3 were pretty close to each other. The sites are right next to the highway and train tracks as well, with trains running every 30 minutes or so.
All in all, we had a great time and it was a thoroughly enjoyable place to be. Would definitely return!
GuideThe ancient forest is enchanting. Close proximity to Multonomah Falls. Pros - bathrooms with electric outlets, free showers, deer come close and are fun to watch, quiet & fairly private stay. Cons - air port close by has low flying jets, recent bear sightings posted & no bear box or bear safe trash cans. The trash can located at our site had half eaten McDonald’s left in the can.
RangerMy favorite type of campground! Feels remote, quiet, clean, well established with giant mossy trees and a river rushing through the camp.
The pit toilets were very clean and there were only 3 or 4 other groups camping.
The sound of the creek lulled us to sleep and we woke bright and early to the sound of birds and chittering squirrels.
We stayed in site 19. The sites have a lot of green space between them so I would imagine that even if there were a lot of people in the campground, it wouldn’t feel crowded. There were also lots of paths that led to the river.
10/10 would recommend and we’ll be visiting there again.
GuideI really enjoyed this campground and had a beautiful spot (see pics). We originally were assigned #1 and that was literally next to the parking lot. Because of a mix up (a car was parked in our spot) the ranger let us move to site #35. He was really nice! The campground host who greeted us upon arrival was friendly too. We came to this campground with friends on the first summer-weather like weekend. The lake was nice and just a little walk from the campsite. The only drawback and reason for 3 stars is the boulders in front of campsites. If you were in a tent no problem because everything would be on one side. The issue is that they are between the fire pit/picnic table and your rv/trailer! I fell over one in the dark and a camper in a group scratched his leg.
TravelerThis is a great little cozy location. Many beginner trails. Clean and respectful staff. However the parking machine was not working when o arrived.
TravelerBrought our 8 foot travel trailer, and made a reservation in advance. They left our pre ordered firewood at our camp spot, so rad! Camp spots were nice sized and not too close surrounded by Beautiful ancient trees :) had a lovely time hiking down to the river as well.
Great quick get away from the city
TravelerThis is a great park to visit and camp at- it's far enough away from Portland to allow for peace and beautiful stars at night, yet close enough to be a quick trip back to civilization. I stayed here for 2 nights while visiting Portland. I found this to be the closest campground to Portland that wasn't specifically for RV's. I stayed on a Thurs& Fri night in September and it wasn't crowded at all- most sites were empty. The bathrooms here are really clean and warm, they have showers with hot water, and best of all- security at night! The park gate closes at 8pm and a security guard is on duty for the night. This level of security offers a real peace of mind. There is no service available here, allowing for true un-plugging. They also have life jackets hanging near entries to water which I found to be a nice amenity. The park itself is nice enough but my 5-star rating is really for the camping- I would certainly recommend this campground for anyone looking to camp close to Portland.
LegendAmazing spot— gorgeous, full of wildlife, and lots of wonderful trails close by. There’s a wildlife viewing area are close by. We saw so many elk, water birds, and at least 5 bald eagles (with a nest close by.)
Took a day to hang out in the surrounding woods in a hammock.
Amenities are pretty good—but no laundry and there’s a sump station.
No laundry. No WiFi and minimal cell service for both Verizon and ATT.
The surrounding area is beautiful, close to Portland and has many trails.
The spots are tiny and not easy to fit in we had a 25’ trailer and our truck struggled to not be on the road.
RangerGreat ranger super clean calm beautiful very well situated campgrounds and plenty of beautiful walks by the river, woods and lake…. very peaceful…
Scout
I lived in Oregon for a couple years as a kid and my family got big into backpacking. One of our family favorites was Pamelia Lake. The trail is gentle and the basin the lake is in has great mountain ranges surrounding. As an adult it was only right that this was my first place to solo. I spent a little over 3 days hiking around the area. This is a great place that has many trails of varying difficulties nearby.
Guide
Great camp spot at site 16 with lots of room for tents and two picnic tables for a large group. The private path to the lake was the best part.
Heads up there are gravel roads to get to the campground but nothing too rough.
GuideWe stayed in a spot that was right at the bridge. Great for at least 2/3 cars. We had 2 tents. Trees for hammocks. Fire pit. Nice place to forage a bit while walking around.
LegendOregon State Parks are the best in the west. This is yet another with full hookups and great amenities and activities– all at a great price. This is a seasonal park that closes on 10/31. If you are looking for a nearby alternative during the fall and winter months, check out Champoeg State Park which is south of Portland. Good site spacing and privacy. Clean bathrooms with decent locations A rated. The dog run is fantastic.....almost two acres.
TravelerGot one of the few first come first served slots, a couple left when arriving at 4pm on a Monday. Slots were well equipped with fire pits, table and plenty of space to camp and park. Great, clean toilets and water pump. Only downside was sites were quite close together with not much privacy
Oregon offers a fantastic experience for horse camping enthusiasts, with a variety of campgrounds that cater specifically to equestrians and their needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Government Camp, OR?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Government Camp, OR is Milo McIver State Park Campground with a 4.4-star rating from 36 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Government Camp, OR?
TheDyrt.com has all 14 equestrian camping locations near Government Camp, OR, with real photos and reviews from campers.
