Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Government Camp, OR

This is one of my favorite places to camp near Mount Hood. The road leading into the campgrounds (NF-2613/Kinzel Lake Road) is primitive and just challenging enough to keep most folks away. You will want a motorcycle or 4WD vehicle to get here. It takes me about 25 minutes by motorcycle from Government Camp.

Once at the lake, you'll see lots of places to setup camp, even a few picnic tables and fire pits (although they are quite old). I usually camp in the grass near the lake. There are no fees and I've never seen another person down here.

Campground Review:

About 20 miles from Government Camp, this is a pretty cool campground as you are hopping over Mt Hood. With its location south east of the mountain and about 3000 foot elevation, good place to camp in the early spring if you want to then drive up Hood to get to snow.

The government website shows it as "4 groups sites" but it has about 15 individual campsites from what I saw.

You can hear cars drive by on Highway 216 but loved the open sites, big pine and fir trees and huge group-sized firepits. It also sits on the edge of Mt Hood National Forest so the background to most sites give you a good feel of the national forest.

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**Product Review:**

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get to test products. At this campground, I tested the Three Person Limelight Tent from Marmot. I actually upgraded from my 10 year old tent and - wow - could not be happier.

Top reasons I loved the Limelight Marmot tent:

1. Easy of use: What used to be 4 separate poles with my old tent is now one pre-connected pole for the Limelight that hooks into the four corners making it super easy to use. Got to the campground late Friday night and with no directions I easily set this up in a couple minutes.
2. Footprint included! Don't you hate it when you invest in a tent AND THEN have to buy the ground water blocking footprint? Not with the Limelight cause it comes included.
3. Size and view: The poles at the corners are rounded to give you bonus space and the entire inner top ceiling is a net so on clear (warm) night this tent is going to be great for viewing the stars.

They have a dog park, plenty of trails, several different areas to go down to the river, frisbee golf, area for horses. Good showers. There’s a great view point to see Mt. Hood. It really is a nice place.

On the way to Kiwanis Camp by the road there are spots and as far as we understood, those are for camping, though there was no sign for them. It's at a really great location as it's 3 minutes to Little Zig Zag Falls path also fairly close to Government Camp

Pelton park was clean and well taken care of during our visit. The park is very family-friendly, with easy physical access to restrooms, the docks and playground equipment. Pet-friendly too, stocked poo bags, poles by restrooms to hold leashes and a small fenced-in area to let the dogs run and play. Docks were clean and safe. Rental boats were well-maintained. The yomes are small, 6 people and 2 dogs is tight and gear had to stay outside with that many people, but we all fit. The lake itself is beautiful, good fishing, and appreciate the 10mph speed limit throughout the majority of the lake.

Campground Review

Midway between Welches and Government Camp, I picked Camp Creek as a my Mt. Hood hiking base for the weekend because of it's proximity to access Mirror Lake for a morning hike for a true test of my new vivobarefoot hiking shoes (see below) Note: Mirror Lake does have its own primitive walk-in campsites.

The campground is 2 loops. The loop to the left includes the day use area, and the loop to the right is smaller and quieter. It was still pretty cold at this elevation end of May, so most other campers here were RVs and we had plenty to pick from without reservations (this will not be the case in the summer or holiday weekends). Site 10 was our pick, on the quieter loop with proximity to the bathroom and water pump and alongside the creek. The water pump is an adventure. Recommend to stop by the Safeway in Sandy en-route and carry in your own water.

Nearly all of the sites are huge, and all include picnic table and fire ring. The first site when you enter the campground on the left has a gorgeous stone fire place/chimney that remains from an old building (a tradeoff for the high traffic). There is one toilet in each loop, so there is a bit of a walk to the loo from some sites.

This campground is a good National Forest campground. What makes it great to me is its location right off of Hwy 26. You can easily access Government Camp for supplies, and it's super accessible for an early morning start on any of the Mt. Hood hikes that get really crowded. Mirror Lake has very very limited parking and it's a super popular hike, so this was a perfect solution.

This campground is fabulous. Some spots are a bit small but we didn't mind because we didn't spend much time in our spot. The grounds are pet friendly so we also had the dogs with us. 

We spent much of our time fishing and rafting on the lake, feeding seeds to squirrels, letting the dogs run in the off leash area, and just hiking around the park. It's big, so most times we had to get in the car to drive to a separate area for each activity but that wasn't a problem for us. 

Bathrooms we're clean and relatively close with easy access, although it was just a tad uneven so for anyone with mobility issues, they might want to verify that it is accessible for their needs.

Camp Creek campground is a pretty sweet little spot not too far out of Mt. Hood/Government Camp. Spots are decent sized, including some doubles (to share with friends), and lots of trees and greenery between spots. The river-side spots are amazing, with several right on the water.

Several nice little hikes around the area, or just wander through the river down by the small bridge. We also saw several people fishing, though no actual fish. Just the right depth to splash around in and cool off. A few deeper holes (four feet?) that may require a life jacket for little ones just to be extra safe.

The only down side is the lack of facilities (ie, only pit toilets and no showers). This is pretty typical for forest campgrounds in the area, though this is also one of the nicer forest campgrounds we've come across. Price around $20-$22, depending on which sites you pick.

I went here a couple summers ago with a group of friends and it was a gorgeous spot. Small campground, right on the river. Short drive back into town if you need anything, but far enough out that you're actually the forest. Be careful and watch small kids and pets closely, the river moves really fast in this area.

Pros: Good lake to swim in, smaller state park so not too busy, kayaks you can rent, small playground if you have kids, pet frIendly cabIn I stayed In was faIrly secluded Cons: because it’s smaller, kids on bikes were on the road often so you have to be aware, only one shower stall in the restrooms

This campground is tucked behind the Marion Forks fish hatchery. There are educational signs, short hikes, and access to water near the campground. The bathrooms are clean on site. Keep pets on leash and away from the road (hwy 22) and fish hatchery. This can be a fun site for kids and sometimes the staff will give you a tour. No cell service here!!!

We stayed for 7 nights in site # 6. It's a Recreation. gov site so with our National Park Pass we paid $114 and had full hook up. We had total privacy our site was big with tall trees that sway in the wind. It had a nice area you walked up a few steps to the picnic table & fire ring. We couldn't see any of our neighbors it was so quiet. There is NO cell service which is common when your out in the wilderness. At the end of the road driving out you can pick up service. 

The water was broken a pipe broke up the mountain somewhere so when we arrived we didn't have water, but due to the emergency they came & filled our camper with water with the truck they fill camp hosts water with when they are camping in dry campsites.  They built a little tower that held big containers of water for anyone else coming in. 

This area was nice we were close to Mt. Hood, Mt. Hood Winery & other Wineries, Frog lake, Timothy Lake, Trillum lake, and more. Great Taco shop next to the Visitor center in Government camp. You can also go past Mt. Hood to the Columbia river Gorge, the Cascade Locks bridge of the Gods  & the Bonneville Dam, big trout farm and Multnomah Falls. Close to the campground we explored down a road it was a creek. No one back there we stopped & my husband fished I relaxed. 

We kayaked Fish Lake & Timothy lake Eagles at both lakes.

Camp above the Santiam riverbank and enjoy a night of peace and rest listening to the water flow. This site has access to vault toilets, potable water. The sites are large enough for rv or tent sites with vehicle pull through. The sites have enough old forest growth to provide privacy for the family. If you camp near the river you cannot hear the road, even though you are only a skip away. I do not recommend camping in the sites near the road if you have kids/pets with you or if you are a light sleeper. The roads are paved which can be great for family cars or for little ones wanting to ride their bike or scooter around camp. The site that we stopped at would have been great for fishing trout or salmon. Don’t forget your fishing license!

You can reserve this site through Linn County Parks & Rec: 1-877-444-6777 - And like most sites in the Willamette National Forest dogs are allowed as long as they are on leashes and check out time is 1pm.

The park just added two nature playgrounds that are pretty fantastic. One of the new playgrounds, right before the boat launch, features a trail with a mud kitchen, two a-frame tents and a big area where you can use fallen logs and branches to build shelters.

The other nature playground is right across from the old playground (still in use) and has a wooden water course with a hand pump and an elevated wooden plank course.

Camping can be a little loud since it's a popular spot and there are no pets allowed, but it's barely 30 minutes away from Portland and right on the Sandy River.

No wifi, 1 shower, washer and dryers broken, garbage everywhere, 300 cats

I love the name of this campground- Lazy Bend Campground. This is definitely a place to come if you want to lay back and relax, but they also have great activities for those who want to be more adventurous. It sits right next to the Wild and Scenic Clackamas River, which is great for swimming, fishing, kayaking, and rafting. My family brought some tubes, tied them to a tree, and just relaxed in the water for a few hours. It was great. It is also within the Mt. Hood National Forest, so there are some great hikes nearby. My family and I stayed here 3 nights, and we hiked every morning. We saw some huckleberry bushes that we wish would have been ripe when we were there. I am assuming around September they would be ready to pick and eat. The campsites were good. Just your basic campsite with a table and fire ring. I would advise to bring your own grate to put over the fire ring if you plan to do any cooking over the fire. We brought our own and did breakfast/dinner over the fire. They have tent sites, and a few RV sites as well. They don't have hookups, though. There was a small store a few miles before that we stopped at to get snacks for the weekend. There was a biking trail that looked fun, so if you like to bike I would recommend bringing your bike! Pets are also allowed, which was great because we have 2 dogs. Overall, I would probably come back here- but there are so many other campgrounds to visit in Oregon!!

This campground is easily one of the most remote yet accessible and quiet that I have ever come across. Site staff on hand if needed but honestly the primitive sites are exactly what you are looking for: remote, spacious, quiet, fire and pet friendly and great views. The fact that this campsite is only 30 minutes from the 5, you couldn’t honestly tell. Open year around and on site water if needed, no amenities, but honestly, who cares? Perfectly spaced north of Portland and south of Tacoma/Seattle, easy access to both or in between but be warned, park access closes at dusk, and they do mean dusk. In the off season was one of maybe 10 groups in the whole park. Definitely will come again.