Riverside Campground, near Mt. Hood National Forest, is a straightforward camping destination that offers a no-frills experience right by the river. With sites that come equipped with fire rings and picnic tables, it’s a decent place to kick back and enjoy the great outdoors.

The campground is known for its beautiful riverside locations, perfect for those who love the sound of rushing water. Visitors have mentioned that the river is great for tubing, making it a fun spot for summer activities. Just keep in mind that some sites are closer to the highway, which can bring a bit of noise, but the overall vibe remains relaxed and low-key.

If you’re looking to explore, you’ll find easy access to trails that run along the river, and it’s just a short drive to Bagby Hot Springs for a soak. Campers appreciate the drinking water available on-site and the basic amenities like vault toilets, which keep things simple. As one visitor noted, “The river is beautiful,” making it a great backdrop for your camping adventure.

## Overview

 Campground closed due to the 2020 Riverside Wildfire Riverside Campground is a charming and rustic campground, situated alongside the Wild and Scenic Clackamas River in Mt. Hood National Forest. It provides access to a variety of hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding trails and is a great place to experience nature. 
## Recreation

 Fishing is very popular in the Oak Fork and anglers can expect a catch of winter steelhead, spring Chinook and late summer Kokanee salmon, as well as other species of freshwater fish. The Clackamas River also provides miles of wild water as it bends through the scenic Cascade range, making whitewater rafting a popular activity. The 5-mile Riverside National Recreation Trail, popular for hiking and mountain biking, is located not far from the campground. The surrounding area provides numerous additional opportunities for hiking.
## Natural Features

 The campground is located in Mt. Hood National Forest along the Oak Grove Fork of the Clackamas River at an elevation of about 1,400 feet. Huge maple and Douglas fir trees cover the area, and dense shrubbery provides some privacy between campsites. The campground is not far from the Ripplebrook Ranger Station and Ripplebrook Pond. The river provides habitat for the federally protected bald eagle and northern spotted owl, as well as an occasional peregrine falcon. A variety of wildlife makes its home in the area. 
## Nearby Attractions

 Bagby Hot Springs is located about 14 miles southwest of the campground. A popular site for soaking and relaxing, the springs are in a heavily wooded area in the scenic Cascade Range. The available bathhouses are fed by three major hot water springs and several minor outlets in the area. A historic guard station was built there in 1913.

Riverside Campground

Welches is an ideal place for camping adventures of all kinds. Welches is a great camping destination for everyone. There are tons of nearby hikes, adventurous activities, and sights to see. Discover great camping spots near Welches, reviewed by campers like you.

Welches

The Best Camping Near Welches, Oregon

Riverside is a "primitive" campground directly on the banks of the Metolious River in the Camp Sherman area-- but I'd categorize it as primitive with convenience. The campground is just a few miles off of HWY 22, and about 10 miles away from Sisters (if you want to brunch while camping). The Camp Sherman General Store which is one of the greatest camp stores on the planet is a 20 minute walk from the campground on a riverside path (if you need an icecream sandwich, or a latte, or gluten free brownie mix). The sites are walk-in,  but the car parking is about 50 yards from the sites -- so you can still easily access you car.

Each site is equipped with a picnic table, and fire ring.  There are 2 pit toilets for the 16 campsites, and a 3rd at the Metolious Head a short walk away (the most primitive part about the experience). They were a bit smelly on our visit. There is access to a water pump for drinking water. 

The sites are huge, and you can pay for additional tents and cars if you bring more than the max (I believe it was 6 campers and 1 car).  We easily had 4 tents and 6 hammocks in the site with plenty of room.

Each site has a path to the river (which is freezing) and even though you can't see the river from your site, you can hear it all night long. You may also hear the coyotes.

From Riverside you're close to all the Camp Sherman hikes (it's also a hot spot for biking) as well as to Black Butte and Suttle Lake (warm enough for swimming). The campsite is dog friendly.

Wake Up on the Rivers Edge

This is one of the better campgrounds along the Clackamas River in the Mt Hood Forest (and there are lots of campgrounds on this stretch of the river). All the campgrounds are pretty close to the road, but this one is near the end of the section of campgrounds, so it has fewer cars passing by. It is down a little from the road, too, which helps.  The sites are pretty private but vary widely site to site. Unfortunately, the Oregon Parks site doesn't show pictures, so we picked a site blindly and it ended up being tiny (although we had 3 tents and 6 people). We made it work, but it wasn't ideal. The access to the river, and the fast current and little rapids do make it ideal, though. You can do the bit of river just by the site (which ends in a swimming hole near the camp host's site), or continue on down some small rapids and walk a trail back about a mile to the camp. It's the ideal campground for summer floating!

Great Summer Floating Site

The walk in sites here are pretty cool and great for an extended group that wants to camp together but have alot of space. All the walk in sites are separated from the rest of the campground. The river here is great for tubing. You do get some road noise at this campground. The sites are also very unevenly sized. We ended up with a sorta awkward tiny one that didn't have much privacy. Luckily everyone was pretty quiet during our few days here.

Walk in Sites

This campground is an easy drive from the Portland area. Would recommend getting ice, firewood, last minute items at the Ripplebrook Ranger Station as it's the last place to do so before the campground (15 minutes from campground). I was in space 12, which was very sunny and had little shade. It had a great trail, Riverside Trail, that had direct access from the campground and ran along the river. It was also close enough to Bagby Hot Springs where you could get up early and beat the weekend crowds.

Small, quiet campground close to Bagby Hot Springs

Very nice. Easily accessed from main road. River is beautiful.

Very nic

We've been to a lot of similar campgrounds in Oregon that are managed by the National Forest. These are basic, cheap (normally $10-$15), forested campgrounds right off a highway that offer basic amenities such as water and pit toilets. Sometimes you get lucky and there's an amazing view or lake, or sometimes you're unlucky and it's noisy and too close to the highway.  

  

In the case of Riverside Campground not too far outside Sisters, Oregon, you have both: spots on the upper-hill side are often right off the highway, to the extent that one side of your spot is literally a busy road. On the down-hill side, it's the opposite, with lovely green, forested sites right on the river. Both areas have noise during the nights from the road, but the spots closer to the freeway are obviously louder.

  

All in all, there's other campgrounds in the area I'd head to first (the Marion Forks fish hatchery campground is pretty cool), but if you're going to stay here, choose your site wisely.

Basic Forest Campground. River Side Much Better

Forested Campground in Willamette National Forest on the banks of a river. However, location location location. If you camp here you’ll want to get a spot on the river side and you can hear the rushing of the creek.  

  

However, the whole campground is right next to Highway 22, so even if you are lucky enough to be camping on the river side and hearing the river you may still hear the freeway. If you are stuck on the inland spots you literally can walk out of your tent and onto the highway within 10 feet.  

  

Drinking water available on site along with vault toilets. Mostly tent campers and small RVs or trailers. Very cheap as its on National Forest land.

Location location location

We booked this not knowing this was a walk-in site only. Nothing said walk-in site only. Just that it was a tent site, which usually means you park next to your site. We have a Jeep with a rooftop tent. So no tent to walk in. We arrived after being on trail all week and had to abandon the site and get a hotel. Asked for a refund and we received a partial even though we screen shot the info. We couldn't use our site. Since then the info seems to be updated which is good. But it should be BOLD.

WALK IN SITES ONLY

Great camping spot me and my girlfriend pulled into the first come first serve camp site and it was available. It came with a fire pit, picnic table and a community toilet that 4-5 other campsites use. This site was perfect for us very lowkey and away from most other people very spacious and felt safe 

Photos of Riverside Campground

Real photos from real campers