Camping near Gifford Pinchot National Forest

On a Friday, I was still able to snag a site early afternoon. I planned on a hike but really ended up taking a leisurely stroll a short ways to Emerald Falls. The area is regrowing after a 2024 wildfire. It's already lush and green but the trails running from the camp still haven't been cleared fully, and you hike at your own risk.

The campsite loop is about 15ish sites with a hiker/biker section as the camp is right on the off-road trail system running the Gorge. Everything is green and tall and possibly poisonous. I really have a hard time recognizing poison oak, so I always wear pants in a place like this.

The Gorge is famous for its wind, but here I was protected from gusts by the natural landscape. The sites all push up against the Cascades that hook around the camp. Winds still moved the trees around up high but on the ground it was minimal. I didn't have a campfire, but I could see where it would be deceiving if a spark caught an updraft and took off, so please be careful. 

The host was non-existent for the entire stay. There was a tent in the host site, but no people or vehicles. However, the camp was fairly well maintained. The bathrooms are dated but with flush toilets and running water. Reasonable rate at $20 makes this a great stop if you're passing through or exploring the waterfalls along the river highway. Plus, easy access to Hood River or Bridge of the Gods to Washington.

No campfire wood for sale.

I’ve seen plenty of good reviews about the camp host at horseshoe lake but i will not be writing one of them. I didn’t catch her name but she drives a white nissan truck. the camp host completely ruined our weekend with her overbearing attitude, and complete lack of respect for our personal space and things. 

one of our buddies went on a beer run while we went down to the river and left our old dog calmly laying on a rug in the shade at our site. he was leashed, had water and was completely fine. he’s a senior dog who just likes to relax and even prefers sleeping outside at home. she came to our campsite while we were gone and claimed he was “scared for his life” when it reality he was probably barking because a total stranger is walking up to him. 

this part blew my mind, she wrote us a ticket for an “unattended fire” when there was NO fire burning, a fire wasn’t even started that day. but she took it upon herself to dump out our water and the dogs water (that she cared so much about) onto the fire pit, completely soaking it and making it harder for us to build a fire that night. 

on top of that, she even admitted to pretty much making herself at home and hanging out at our campsite while we were not there. she flipped over one if our chairs upside down and got it all muddy with the water she spilt everywhere, took one of our only trash bags we had that was hanging on our canopy, barely  used it, had no food in it, just some empty water bottles. 

it did not stop there, she kept hovering around our campsite constantly checking on us throughout the weekend. it honestly felt like harassment, we didn’t feel welcome or comfortable the rest of the trip. she was COMPLETELY out of line for just hanging out at our campsite while we were gone, touching,  and moving our personal belongings without invitation or permission

We stayed in Site 11 for 2 nights at the end of June 2025.

The campground is located on the side of HWY 12 on a small rocky peninsula, this surprising spot on Rimrock Lake (reservoir created by the dams built about 100 years ago) is run by a retired couple for the last 5 years (as of summer 2025).
It offers a boat launch, 25 or so sites of mixed services (ranging from full hookup [elect/water/sewer] to basic site with picnic table and firepit), and a couple of cabins, and a bath-house on the east side (2 separate restrooms with shower stalls).

The sites are mostly back in, with a few (like site 11) that are pull-through.
The western side sites (1 - 17?) have beautiful views, but the typical afternoon/evening wind can be quite, well, windy, while the eastern side is sheltered from the wind. We hiked around the small peninsula and the wind disappeared.
The small office has a few snacks and camping items but isn't open all the time - only when the owner couple is around.
If you are going to go hiking, you only need to drive a few miles west on Hwy 12 to find several other public campgrounds and some nice scenery, while continuing west up towards the pass and ski resort area on Hwy 12 has several scenic viewpoints that you should plan to stop at for a few minutes each (Lava Falls, etc).
The lake itself is rather sparsely used (one or two boats or a jet ski way off in the distance). We had three very friendly chipmunks who visited our site often and were happy to sit on the old stump and join our camp.

Herman Creek Campground is currently closed indefinitely. The roads to the campground are blocked by barrels and logs. The website states that the campground had to be closed due to laminated root rot after the Eagle Creek Fire. If you park at the trail head during day use hours, you can still walk around the old campground, but most of it is already overgrown, and the outhouse has been permanently locked. The website states that this campground is currently being redesigned by the Forest Service, so maybe it will open again someday, but it's closed indefinitely at this time. There are still a few picnic tables set up in the parking area overlooking the Gorge although they are largely blocked by trees. The PCT has an auxiliary trail from Herman Creek to Cascade Locks which takes you right by Dry Creek Falls. Day use parking costs $5 or is free with a qualifying pass.