Scaponia County Park

I’m not one to leave reviews, but felt like this one was necessary. My husband and I were originally planning to go elsewhere but upon realizing it was full, ended up here around 9 PM. I looked up the nearest campground and it happened to be this one, but right before my phone loses service the last thing I see was “haunted campground.” The article wouldn’t load and I decide to leave that part out at first. We were stoked when we pulled in because there were so many spots available. We then realized that we were the only ones there. It was a full moon and it was giving scooby doo vibes, especially because it was dark as we were setting up. We ended up going to bed early that night because we felt like something was off. We both were unable to fall asleep, so when a truck drove in at 3 AM we both sat up. It wouldn’t have been weird except for the fact that the truck pulled into our campsite and he then got out. Luckily we had our dogs up in our CVT with us and our one has no issue growling at strangers. My husband asked if he could help him and once he heard him he got in his truck and sped off. We are pretty certain he was trying to rob us. After that I couldn’t fall sleep so I stayed awake playing through scenarios. At around 5 AM I heard a dog barking right outside our tent so I got down to check it out, but then soon realized there wasn’t a dog anywhere to be seen. I eventually fell asleep at 6 and we left around 9 that next morning. It was such a beautiful area in the daylight and I wish we were able to experience more of it then. The weirdest part though? Once we left and I finally got service I decided to read the article. I found it pretty crazy that the legend of the horse thief that was hung had a dog that was shot and buried in the park. If you are one to love a spooky night then this is the place for you!

A small campground that’s a 45 minute drive from Portland. I think it has 12 sites, all with picnic tables and fire pits, close to a creek that bubbles quietly. Our spot was #7 and was dark on a cool and moist autumn day. Very beautiful spot. We rolled in around 9am, paid the $5 day use fee, and only one other site was occupied. My main beef was the main road is very close and it ruined the tranquility. Some packs of motorcycles were so loud we literally couldn’t talk. Most road noise wasn’t quite so bad, but was still a bummer. By 4pm the road had far less traffic.