Best Dispersed Camping near Goldendale, WA

Searching for a dispersed campsite near Goldendale? Dispersed camping means that no facilities or amenities are provided, so that you can truly disconnect and get back to nature. From secluded to easily reachable, we offer dispersed campsites near Goldendale just for you.

Best Dispersed Sites Near Goldendale, WA (12)

    Camper-submitted photo from Avery Rec Area- Columbia River Gorge
    Camper-submitted photo from Avery Rec Area- Columbia River Gorge
    Camper-submitted photo from Avery Rec Area- Columbia River Gorge
    Camper-submitted photo from Avery Rec Area- Columbia River Gorge
    Camper-submitted photo from Avery Rec Area- Columbia River Gorge
    Camper-submitted photo from Avery Rec Area- Columbia River Gorge

    1. Avery Rec Area- Columbia River Gorge

    6 Reviews
    10 Photos
    153 Saves
    Wishram, Washington

    Open to the public except during commercial treaty fishing seasons

    • Pets
    • Fires
    • Phone Service
    • ADA Access
    • Dispersed
    • Trash
    • No image available
      Camper-submitted photo from Forest Rd 2730 - Mt Hood NF
      Camper-submitted photo from Forest Rd 2730 - Mt Hood NF
      Camper-submitted photo from Forest Rd 2730 - Mt Hood NF
      Camper-submitted photo from Forest Rd 2730 - Mt Hood NF
      Camper-submitted photo from Forest Rd 2730 - Mt Hood NF
      Camper-submitted photo from Forest Rd 2730 - Mt Hood NF

      3. Forest Rd 2730 - Mt Hood NF

      2 Reviews
      21 Photos
      78 Saves
      Government Camp, Oregon

      Dispersed camping, or camping outside of designated campgrounds, can be a great way to experience the forest- as long as everyone follows some rules and guidelines to protect forest wildlife, plants, water quality, and the health of others.

      Dispersed camping is not for everyone- and that's fine as the Mt. Hood National Forest has over 70 designated campgrounds. Camping outside of campgrounds means no toilets, no drinking water, no metal fire rings, and no trash service. You are responsible for leaving the site cleaner than you found it and learning the skills of Leave No Trace camping before you head out.

      Basic Rules & Guidance Some areas are closed to dispersed camping, such as within developed recreation sites, along certain roads, and particularly sensitive areas. Contact your local Ranger District for more information. You may camp on the forest for only 14 consecutive days. Please choose an existing site rather than create a new campsite. Camp at least 100 ft. away from streams, rivers, and lakes. If you didn't bring firewood and intend to build a campfire only collect already down wood. If your campfire is too hot to touch with bare hands- it's too hot for you to leave! Bring plenty of water and a shovel to help you put out your fire. Check in advance if there are any fire restrictions in effect. Treat or filter any stream water you collect for drinking, or bring water from home. Your group must be under 75 people. If it larger you must obtain a (usually free) permit in advance from the local Ranger District. When Nature Calls Be prepared for your own sanitation! To dispose of feces, dig a hole 6” deep at least 100 feet away from any water source. When you're done, fill the hole with the dirt you dug up and take your toilet paper with you to dispose of in a proper waste container. Never defecate or leave toilet paper on top of the ground. Animals might eat it, it could easily get into the local water source and contaminate it, and plus it's just gross. Leave No Trace Pack out everything you brought with you! Dispose of your garbage properly off the forest. Leave No Trace is a framework minimum impact practices for anyone visiting the outdoors. They apply to virtually every recreational activity and help increase your safety and enjoyment of the forest. Learn more about the 7 Principles of Leave No Trace. The Mt. Hood National Forest belongs to all Americans- including those who will come long after us. Do your part to keep the forest clean every time you visit.

      • Pets
      • Phone Service
      • RVs
      • Tents
      • Standard (Tent/RV)
      • Dispersed
      Camper-submitted photo from Morrison Creek
      Camper-submitted photo from Morrison Creek
      Camper-submitted photo from Morrison Creek
      Camper-submitted photo from Morrison Creek
      Camper-submitted photo from Morrison Creek
      Camper-submitted photo from Morrison Creek

      4. Morrison Creek

      1 Review
      7 Photos
      54 Saves
      Trout Lake, Washington

      This site was burned over in the Cascade Creek Fire of 2012. Several primitive camp sites are available, some along Morrison Creek. The site serves as a trailhead to the Shorthorn Trail #16 which enters Mount Adams Wilderness and is within 3 miles of the popular South Climb #183 Trail and route up Mt Adams. Road access is rough and not recommended for trailers or motor homes.

      • Pets
      • Phone Service
      • Dispersed
      • Picnic Table
      • Toilets
      Camper-submitted photo from Dispersed Camping above Panther Creek Falls
      Camper-submitted photo from Dispersed Camping above Panther Creek Falls
      Camper-submitted photo from Dispersed Camping above Panther Creek Falls
      Camper-submitted photo from Dispersed Camping above Panther Creek Falls
      Camper-submitted photo from Dispersed Camping above Panther Creek Falls
      Camper-submitted photo from Dispersed Camping above Panther Creek Falls
      • No image available
        Camper-submitted photo from Big Huckleberry Mountain Dispersed Campground
        Camper-submitted photo from Big Huckleberry Mountain Dispersed Campground
        Camper-submitted photo from Elk Cove Trailhead
        Camper-submitted photo from Elk Cove Trailhead
        Camper-submitted photo from Elk Cove Trailhead
        • No image available
          Camper-submitted photo from NF-3511 @ Mt Hood

          10. NF-3511 @ Mt Hood

          1 Review
          2 Photos
          17 Saves
          Government Camp, Oregon

          Camping outside campgrounds is permitted in many parts of the Mt. Hood National Forest. Camping is limited to 14 consecutive days and up to 28 days total in a calendar year. If you are uncertain whether an area is open, please contact a Forest Office.

          • Fires
          • RVs
          • Tents
          • Standard (Tent/RV)
          • Dispersed
          • Alcohol
        Showing results 1-10 of 12 campgrounds

        Recent Dispersed Reviews in Goldendale

        14 Reviews of 12 Goldendale Campgrounds


        • Tavi C.The Dyrt PRO User
          Camper-submitted photo from Avery Rec Area- Columbia River Gorge
          Oct. 18, 2024

          Avery Rec Area- Columbia River Gorge

          Do you like sleep?

          I mostly want to balance out these other reviews. No one said something that wasn’t true, but the weight that they seem to put on how disruptive the trains are surprising to me. You don’t just have trains passing, you have them blowing their horn multiple times a night, and they are close enough you can feel their vibration. If you are a very VERY deep sleeper, I’d say this is a 5 star stop. I wore noise canceling headphones and played a white noise machine in the background- and still had to take a sleeping pill at 3am after being woken up multiple times.

        • Evan W.The Dyrt PRO User
          Camper-submitted photo from Avery Rec Area- Columbia River Gorge
          Aug. 19, 2024

          Avery Rec Area- Columbia River Gorge

          If there wasn’t a train and if the sites were more private, this would be a 5!

          Great spot right on the shores of the Columbia River. There’s a pit toilet, and a garbage dumpster on-site. Over half the “sites” are right on the water, while the others are less than 50 feet away.

          It is just a big gravel parking lot, so don’t expect any privacy, but it’s still a great spot with Mount Hood visible down the river.

          There are train tracks and a controlled crossing right beside the campground, which means it’s loud - and even through the night, trains do blow their horns at this crossing. I’m not a light sleeper, but it even woke me up a handful of times through the night.

          Aside from that, this spot is pretty fantastic though!

        • Jeremy P.The Dyrt PRO User
          Camper-submitted photo from Forest Rd 2730 - Mt Hood NF
          Jul. 15, 2024

          Forest Rd 2730 - Mt Hood NF

          Fanastic sunset views of Mount Hood

          There's a handful of dispersed campsites throughout NF44 and various side roads. I had several options to choose from and never saw another person. This was on a Thursday afternoon.

        • Jason B.The Dyrt PRO User
          Camper-submitted photo from Forest Rd 2730 - Mt Hood NF
          Jun. 21, 2024

          Forest Rd 2730 - Mt Hood NF

          Great/Quiet Spot

          Took a while to discover this spot, but clearly seems well used for dispersed camping. I parked nearest the access road, as my van would have hit trees to go a little further in. For smaller vehicles (e.g. roof top tents), you can get in a little further and off the access road. There was actually someone else back there, and we can't hear nor see each other.

        • Shelby S.The Dyrt PRO User
          Camper-submitted photo from NF-3511 @ Mt Hood
          Jun. 15, 2024

          NF-3511 @ Mt Hood

          Great views on the drive up

          While you can't see the mountain from the site itself.There's a great turnaround point and views on the way up and down! Past a few vans pulled over on the way up, But no one drove past me the entire night

        • HThe Dyrt PRO User
          Camper-submitted photo from Avery Rec Area- Columbia River Gorge
          Nov. 18, 2023

          Avery Rec Area- Columbia River Gorge

          Awesome spot right on the river

          Can’t beat a waterfront spot. So far no one else has shown up. It’s about 6pm but been dark for an hour and half. There is a restroom although I haven’t used it yet. I’d say there’s about 5 picnic tables but there’s probably between 7-10 spots if you really tried.

        • Ann W.
          Camper-submitted photo from Avery Rec Area- Columbia River Gorge
          Jul. 31, 2022

          Avery Rec Area- Columbia River Gorge

          Relaxing on the Coulmbia

          Nice small first come first service sites along the Columbia and free. We had a great spot on the River with beautiful views of Mt. Hood and the Gorge. Great little swimming spot steps from our spot. Trains will come every hour and tracks are close to sites. A few wineries within a mile and one about .5 miles from spot. We will be back to this great find.

        • Sarah S.The Dyrt ADMIN User
          Camper-submitted photo from Dispersed Camping above Panther Creek Falls
          Jun. 27, 2022

          Dispersed Camping above Panther Creek Falls

          Beautiful dispersed camping near Panther Creek Falls

          This area of Gifford Pinchot National Forest has lots of dispersed camping spots but this area was a gem. To access it, as you are driving on NF 65 you will see a small road to the right just a bit before you see the parking for Panther Creek Falls also on the right. If you are at the parking area for Panther Creek Falls and look up you will see a huge wall of rock…the area is up there and you need to turn on the road before the parking area to access it. There are actually 3 areas where you could camp: As you drive up the small road, you will notice the first, pretty large area for camping straight ahead. It looks like a road continues up toward the right but that is actually blocked. If you go to the left you will see the road continues (and you might not think there is anything up there) and you will see one more spot straight ahead and then if you continue up toward the right (hitting some branches along the way) you will come up to a large, wide open area with tons of space for camping. We were pretty excited when we saw it!

          We spent one night in that huge open area and it was beautiful - the stars were amazing. During the day we would go peek over the edge and could see people parking to go to the falls. You could hear a tiny bit of road noise from up there but it was very light. You can also hear the noise of the waterfall from up on the ridge. The only downfall about this spot is that there is no shade and it was very hot, so hot that we couldn't have a fire. The second night we spent in the spot just down a tad so that we could have some shade and a fire.

          The hike down to Panther Creek Falls is literally right across the road and I think these falls may be the most beautiful falls I've seen in OR or WA. It's a short mile or so hike but really pretty scenery.

        • S
          Camper-submitted photo from Avery Rec Area- Columbia River Gorge
          May. 6, 2022

          Avery Rec Area- Columbia River Gorge

          Beautiful site on Columbia River

          This is Army Corps of Engineers recreation site with dispersed camping, vault toilets and a boat ramp. First come first served, $0 and you can stay up to seven days. I have a view of Mount Hood and am parked facing the river.

          The downside? Very close to the railroad tracks and there are a lot of trains, mostly during the day. There is also a lot of truck traffic during the day. It doesn’t bother me, but your mileage may vary.

        • Audrey M.The Dyrt PRO User
          Camper-submitted photo from Big Huckleberry Mountain Dispersed Campground
          Jun. 29, 2021

          Big Huckleberry Mountain Dispersed Campground

          Beautiful views of Adams & Mt.Hood

          No mosquitos up here! We didn't camp at the very top of Big Huckleberry Mountain because there were already a couple other parties, so we decided to camp at the base of the last ascent to the top. I'm glad we did because the grass was lush from having rain a couple days before and we had clear blue skies that gave a beautiful, uninterrupted view of Mt. Adams.

          We met some PCT hikers along the way; some were heading towards the Crest Camp Trailhead. This was the trail we followed: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/washington/big-huckleberry-mountain-via-pacific-crest-trail

          Bring your trowel and TP to stay at these dispersed sites. There are two main water sources on the trail so be sure to stop at one before you arrive. We brought a 6L and filtered it before getting to the top and it was enough to last us for our group only 1 night. The first water source is a PVC pipe that trickles water out; making it easy to fill up your filtered water bottle or a small camelbak. The other is a stream (you'll see a sign made of wood with the word "WATER" and an arrow carved into it) that you'll have to stick your filter bag into. The water is cold; I think it may be snow melt.

          The night was peaceful; I bet you could see stars but we camped close to a full moon so it didn't get very dark. I would definitely come back here again.

        • Alex P.The Dyrt PRO User
          Camper-submitted photo from Avery Rec Area- Columbia River Gorge
          Aug. 22, 2020

          Avery Rec Area- Columbia River Gorge

          Nice river location

          This was very pretty, down the road from some wineries, and right on the river. Only thing was that the recreation area had a sign that said it was closed for camping and only usable for day use because of covid. There seemed to be some people possibly camping, but I hate to break the rules so we left. There was another road that took you down along the train tracks to a tree lined area, on the river, but we weren’t sure if it counted as the day use only. Very pretty, and lovely views, just be aware and mindful of covid closures, would hate to direct someone to the wrong area!

        • KThe Dyrt PRO User
          Camper-submitted photo from Morrison Creek
          Aug. 16, 2020

          Morrison Creek

          Mount Adams refuge

          Came during heatwave in August, scored one of 2 sites right on the creek, and had the place all to ourselves. Nice flat tent sites, good fire rings, and picnic table. 2 pit toilets and a trailhead.



        Frequently Asked Questions

        • Which is the most popular dispersed campsite near Goldendale, WA?

          According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near Goldendale, WA is Avery Rec Area- Columbia River Gorge with a 3.8-star rating from 6 reviews.

        • What is the best site to find dispersed camping near Goldendale, WA?

          TheDyrt.com has all 12 dispersed camping locations near Goldendale, WA, with real photos and reviews from campers.