Best Dog-Friendly Camping near The Dalles, OR

I'm on a road trip of the John Day Fossil Bed Units. I stopped in Moro, OR for a couple of days to resupply before heading to Cottonwood Canyon State Park. This is another small town, fairgrounds campground, but it's awesome. Quiet, clean with a great open, off leash area for dogs and full hookups. At the time of the writing they also have an awesome host! There aren't many supply options in town so if you need major groceries, go to The Dalles, propane go to Wasco, gas go to Biggs or the Dalles.....you get the picture. Moro also has a must see museum.

Great camp ground. Every October our friends and us say here in the last week. Wonderful view of the Columbia River and the Washington side of the river. Easy drive to the Dalles to get anything you might need. Bathrooms are very clean, showers are hot and long. This last week its mostly empty with campers. We always camp next to the river side so we don't have to hear the highway noise. Only the occasional train passing thru that is mostly quite. This location is usually the last camping site of the year. We camped at Memaloose State Park in a Travel Trailer.

First off you can not access the campgrounds going East towards the Dalles on 84. Not convenient at all. You have to drive through the VERY busy truck stop to enter the campground. Huge campground. For the amount of sites there are not nearly enough bathrooms. There are two women’s stalls for approximately 50 sites in one section. There were only two open working showers as well- which can be accessed by the truck stop. Not maintained at all- never had toilet paper, Camp Hosts were not available to purchase ice. Very very loud. Constant highway noise and train. The wind is super super strong so unless you have a camper don’t bother. Not a lot of trees to cut the wind. Sites have little to no privacy. Only positive is the view of the gorge. Very pretty!!

Ccottonwood Canyon State Park Campground is a lovely, remote primitive camp experience. For the uninitiated, this means no electric sites, no running water, no flush toilets. Its also a rattlesnake habitat in Eastern Oregon's high desert biome, within 30 miles or so of The Dalles, a city marking the change in the Columbia River Gorge from high desert to wooded mountainsides. This camp ground us located deep in a canyon 15 miles from Wasco, Oregon. Before descending into the canyon, you'll see Eastern Oregon's classic golden wheatfields, then a wind farm, with scores of white windmills. The evening I arrived was the night before a full moon, so the setting sun over the canyon and the waxing moon gave a lovely glow to the sights. Unfortunately, my camera phone and photographer skills are lacking; sorry. If you love truly getting away from it all, as I do, you'll appreciate the absolute peace at Cottonwood Canyon. We arrived at dusk, late in July, and as is typical for the region, it was still 90 degrees. Fortunately, my summer tent is mostly screen, allowing the cool canyon breeze in, and it erects quickly and easily. It was full dark by the time I'd pitched it, and outfitted it with my airbed. Because of all the rattlesnake warning signs, I kept my dog leashed or tied out on a campsite-length cable. We parked across the campground from the pit toilets, which were not lighted, so bring a flashlight, cell phone, or lantern for inside the biffy. If this kind of camping appeals to you, you'll be rewarded with a quiet night of no traffic noise, only the sound of the nearby murmuring creek and the breeze in the trees. The other campers here were very quiet and respectful of the rules. The beautiful moonlight set one side of the canyon aglow and the clear sky was filled with stars. I didn't need my rain fly, so could enjoy finding the constellations as I lay in my tent. In the morning, I awoke just before dawn when my dog sat bolt upright and intently watched with me as an elk cow walked through our campsite. The fee here is $10 a.night, and worth every penny!

Here is the one caveat: as of this writing, (late July 2018) the loud diesel pickup truck that came through to empty trash bins at 6am was jarring. It was followed by the back-up beeping of heavy machinery by 6:30am, as work on a new building commenced near the campground. This was so unfortunate, and I pity the folks that had hoped to sleep in.