Best Equestrian Camping near The Dalles, OR

Campground Review

An open, relatively unused campground next to a sleep-calling stream right in between the last forested part of Mt. Hood National Forest and the dryer, sage-bushy eastern side of Oregon. This is a fabulous go-to campground because the drive south of the Dalles produces spectacular mountain and open landscape views. Horses are welcome here; we chatted with a friendly rider. The best part is being maybe a hundred feet from Badger Creek Trail, a versatile, climate-variety hike that sports a good stopping point at Pine Creek about 6 miles in, then to Badger Lake another 6 miles beyond that. For backpacking, it was quite nice to hike in a bit, prop up a small tent and just blend into the forest as night floated down to meet us.

Product Review

As a ranger for the Dyrt, I get to test stuff, in this case the Gregory Mountain Paragon 68 Backpack. I thought my old backpack was handy and easy, but this Gregory pack upped the ante.

Top reasons I like this pack:

1. Comfort - the most welcomed feature is that no matter how I packed it, the bag was balanced and solid on my back. I liked all the extra ways to make it sit better, like extending the length of the backpack straps themselves through a strap on each that connected to the main pack.
2. Padding - there was wicking and padding everywhere, and because of #1 on this list, no part of my body got sore or squished. The pack has a firm aluminum backing, upping the even feel.
3. Portability - it holds much more that you think, in a more streamlined way too, if that makes sense. The main material is slickery, making it easier to put things in and take them out. While I didn't prefer the top and bottom section to only be separated by a square piece of material attached at four corners (having the sections completely separate and zip open-able is what I'm used to), I can also see that cloth-like square as easily removable, quickly opening up more storage possibilities.
4. Versatility - there's a smaller string pack inside, for little side trips in the event you'd like to leave the main pack behind. Of course, we took that out right away and now it's in a different location at our place. So we like it already. ; )

Clackamas Lake is a great campsite. Fairly easy to find and navigate. Great for when you don't want to deal with the more crowded campgrounds.

While the camping sites are fairly close together, the site is usually lightly occupied. While we where there we only had one neighbor but the rest of the loop was empty.

For horse riders they have some equestrian only campsites.

There was plenty of trails in which to hike or ride, and a dock to go see the lake. You can also go swimming if your into Oregon lake or pond swimming.

Clackamas Lake itself is fairly small and in many ways feels more like a large and deep marsh then a lake.

Phone and internet reception (AT&T) is spotty at best.

Great campground when nearby Timothy Lake campgrounds are full. The spot I had was large and not too close to other spots. The campground was full, so there was the early morning sounds of children playing. I was in spot 8 which looked onto Clackamas Lake. Which side note is not a "lake" but more of a marshy pond with reeds and grass around the edge. Still I was able to situate my tent to look onto the lake. This spot is in the horse section so there were corrals in each spot. Looked like a horse had camped in the spot a few days earlier cause there were large piles of fresh horse poop I had to keep my dog away from. The table/tent area was about 75 feet from my car so I had to make many trips to get all my stuff into the site. If you are extra adventurous and in shape you can walk from the campground, around Timothy Lake and back, be warned this is just over 18 miles. The trail around Timothy Lake is not strenuous, and offers amazing views of Mt Hood, and there is water about half way through, but again be ready for a long hike.

This is hands down one of my favorite campgrounds, because the spots are large, far apart from the other sites, and very quiet. It is not too far from the Portland area, I would recommend getting last minute supplies before getting off the highway. The campground is a horse campground, but I reserved on the Monday before arrival and it was still very empty so no fear about taking a spot from equestrians. The spot I had (Spot 4) was huge, plenty of room for a larger party, felt like a quarter of an acre. There were no neighbors on one side of the spot and only the water spigot on the other. All the spots in the campground had plenty of space between spots. There was lots of dead, dried out wood laying all around the site that after a couple hours of collecting I had plenty to keep a fire all weekend, and still left a pile of wood when I left. The campground is close to many trails in the area, mainly Romano Falls Trail. There are views of Mt. Hood, peeking out through the trees here and there.

Additional Stay, Different Year
-A few more trees have been knocked down due to winter storms, but this is still a great campground.

There are at least four different campgrounds within Beacon Rock state park including the main camping site, an equestrian area with two spaces large enough for horse trailers, a group camp site that can hold up to 200 people, and a small 2-tent and 5-RV space down by the boat launch (at the base of Beacon Rock). This review is for the main "Beacon Rock" campground, which has 28 sites nestled in the woods including two walk/hike-in only sites. From the main road, head north directly across from Beacon rock until you come to a parking lot on the right that's the trailhead for Hamilton Mountain, Whispering Pool and others. Just past the parking lot (which also has a nice day-use picnic area and shelter) and on the right you'll come to the entrance of Beacon Rock campground.

Sites are a good size with lots and lots of beautiful trees, though the size and privacy varies greatly depending on which site you get. Ones on the right when you first enter are smaller since they butt up next to a ridge. For the most part the sites on the inside of the loop and especially the back side (it's a one-way counter-clockwise loop) are larger. Sites are first-come, first-served, and even on Memorial Day weekend there were several still available at 5pm on Sunday. Not sure if that was a fluke or we just got lucky. The campground and day use areas were built by the CCC in the 1930s so there's some beautiful rock work here and there, but it was not built with RVs in mind, so most people had tents, though a smaller trailer or pop-up might work depending on maneuverability.

Pros: Sweet little campground with lots of beautiful trees and greenery. Still had spots available on a busy weekend.

Cons: Best for tents only or a smaller trailer. Some sites are definitely better than others.

Beacon Rock is an incredible, tall hill in the Columbia River Gorge and a Washington State Park. The climb up the rock is through a well-built trail. It can get narrow at spots and not for those who fear heights. The view at the top, however, is amazing. Easy day-use area and there is also a popular campsite nearby with hiking trails.

Camp sites are kind of small, with most in forested areas. A few are slightly more exposed and some are split-level, in that you park up top and walk a few steps down to your camp site. Bathrooms and water on-site. It is close to Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington and very popular and busy.

This review is for the main campground, there is another group/horse campground across the highway that I did not stay in. The small campground is right off Highway 97. The first part of the campground is where the hook ups, large RV's, small trailers and tent campers are located. The spaces are very close together with very few trees separating spaces. Some spots looked barely big enough for a 2 person tent. In this same area is the only flush toilets/showers (Coin operated). Continuing past this main area and over a small hill is where the tent camping/sheep herders tents are located. Since it was located away from the main camping area it was quiet with regards to hearing fellow campers, the downside is the spaces are closer to the Highway. Day and night, semis speed past the state park on either a downhill straight away or an uphill straight away, regardless it sounds like a freight train or military landing pad all night/day long. It was so loud you had to stop talking until the semi passed. The space I was in was so small my 3 person tent only fit if one side was touching the fire ring. Luckily there was a fire ban so no fire to melt my tent. The space also had full view of the pit toilet, since it was the only toilet on that side, I saw everyone come and go. It was also super close to one of the sheep herders tent site. There were 2 sheep herder tents sites. The spots looked large and the tents looked like they would sleep at least 4-5 people. The other tent sites where much larger, but still all the sites could hear the highway. Note, be careful about leaving food out, zipping your tent up, leaving car doors open. The mice were pretty bad and came out at night driving my dog crazy. There were a bunch of trails that ran through out the park that provided a nice alternative to get to the other side of the park or climb to the top of the hill near the power lines. The camp host was also a very nice gentleman who suggested activities in the near by area. I was exploring the area cause it's new to me, but I wont return cause it's not my type of camping.

Secluded, open prime real estate: horse facilities abound here, but it works for everyone. About 60% full on a popular August Saturday, so come on over especially if you can't find space elsewhere (but hey, McNeil is bound to have some openings). A guide book said that it's exclusively for horse owners only on holidays, and a sign in the campground said holidays AND weekends, but now you're getting information from another source, with pics to boot. Lots of shade and popular trails for both humans and horses. Gesticulate those spurs a little. GEAR REVIEW: Cairn Picky Bar Moroccan Your World... nice change of pace here with the sweet curry taste of the Moroccan. This has a fuller, nicely complex flavor, with protein and carbs and waves of different ingredients, but the consistency wasn't as sludge-like as, say, a Clif Bar. It was that nice balance of substantial without being heavy. We get something chewy, friendly and bite-into-y. Buddy up.

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A visit to Beacon Rock State Park is one for the memory book. Not only is the campground itself a woodland wonderland with winding paths through tall old growth forest areas, but the surrounding area of the park itself is impressive with exciting things to do around every corner. 

Located along the Columbia River, the park has the asset of water activities while also the beauty of waterfall paths, public spaces ideal for family gatherings and of course the iconic Beacon Rock itself which towers above the surrounding area as one of the more unique look outs you will find. 

I visited this park on a warm and blustery day. I started out hiking the Beacon Rock itself where I was impressed by the views and challenged by the ongoing ascent of the switchbacks. Following my challenge of the morning, I moved over the campground itself. Mid afternoon on a busy day, I expected to be turned away as the park was pretty crowded but instead I was impressed to find that the campground still had a few sites available and was able to settle into one for a few hours of R&R. 

The sites were large enough to comfortably park my small car and have plenty of room to spread out. While I don’t see this camp being great for excessively large rigs, I did see a few smaller and mid sized units on the loop. 

Sites were basically fitted with tables and fire rings while common spigots were located in several locations around camp for those needing water. Both trash and recycling receptacles were placed near the kiosk of camp, something which you will not find unless you travel all the way around the loop. 

I enjoyed this site because of the access it had to the trail system beyond the Beacon Rock trail(which is located across the street from the camp). Several trails spur off the back side of the camp near an overflow parking area for those who need more than one car for their adventures. 

Even as the camp filled up there was enough spacing that it didn’t seem to be loud and short of a few dogs barking here and there it was pretty quiet into the evening. 

A centralized restroom and bath house was such a perk and justified the higher pricing of the site which I did feel was pretty high overall but somewhat fitting for the area. The showers were coin operated with every 3 minutes costing$0.50 a great investment after being on the road and staying at another campground previously which was having water issues which prevented me from being able to take a shower the night before. The showers were hot, the pressure was good and the overall impact of this was game changing!!! 

**Tips: **

• Bear Warning- This area is a bear zone however you will not find bear boxes like you will at other campsites in the area. For this reason you need to come prepared and make sure you are able to secure your items in a safe way. 
• Other Campsites- There are several campsites beyond the mainly advertised loop. You can find these a bit further down the road and they offer RV hook ups and also equestrian camping. No Supplies No Problem- At this campsite you are only a short distance from town so if you do happen to forget something and need it the drive to a store or station is very short. 
• Cell Service- This is one of the few locations in the area I did have cell signal with AT&T!!