Do you love the outdoors and horses? If you're looking for a rustic but comfortable experience, horse camping in Goldendale is the way to go. Equestrian camping is an adventurous and unique way to experience the city. With our help, you'll find the best Washington equestrian campsites from scenic to easily accessible.
Forlorn Lakes, one of the most popular campgrounds in the southern part of the forest, offers 25 campsites scattered around the wooded shores of small, picturesque lakes. Swimming and fishing are possible in the larger lakes. Huckleberry bushes grow in the campground and surrounding area making this site very popular during huckleberry season. The campsites at a maximum 18 feet long are suitable for tent camping and small campers or RV's. The day use area has lake views, picnic tables, and fire rings. The campground is very popular, the camping spots fill early in the week. Forlorn Lakes offers nearby access to Indian Heaven via the East Crater Trailhead.
$10 - $20 / night
This recreation area is part of John Day Lock and Dam, Lake Umatilla
Located on beautiful Badger Creek, at the foot of the Badger Creek Wilderness, this popular campground appeals to those who enjoy fishing, hiking, or horseback riding. This quiet campground is located along Badger Creek at one of the portals to the Badger Creek Wildnerness. Visitors who camp at this campground can access the eastern end of the Badger Creek Trail.
$16 / night
This campground is located in a high elevation stand of lodgepole pine and mixed conifers.__There are 13 sites,__26 hi-line posts, one__mounting ram__and two__manure bins. Water for stock is available.__Bring your own drinking water.Mt. Adams Wilderness is just outside the campground to the south. Numerous trails are nearby including the High Lakes Trail #116, Keenes Trail #120 and Muddy Meadows Trail #13. Be sure to fill out a Wilderness Permit before riding in the Wilderness.
Guide
I took my teardrop camper out for the very first time ever here. The area was absolutely beautiful, but it was a little cold and windy during this time of the year. There are hiking trails around the camp grounds.
Guide
Great camp spot at site 16 with lots of room for tents and two picnic tables for a large group. The private path to the lake was the best part.
Heads up there are gravel roads to get to the campground but nothing too rough.
GuideThis campground is close to home for us and a really nice place for the kids to play
GuideWe camped here with our UMCI Motorcycle Group, and had a great time. Good power sites, even though we were in our Motorcycle tent trailer. Open area sites, but also some with trees. Beautiful areas to explore close by. Saw our first lawnmower races in Wamic, so fun!
Guide
Lots of things to do and see in the area and this is a nice place to rest as its very quiet but easy to get to.
TravelerThis is a county fair grounds with lots of RV space for all sizes. Self register at the gate and find your spot. Nice rest room and showers. Borders a large cattle ranch so you may hear cattle mooing but that’s about it. Very peaceful!
GuideSo… many… spiders! I paid 20 bucks for 1 night tent camping for me and 2 dogs. The campground is absolutely gorgeous with lots of trees and water views. A little confusing to get to since there isn’t much signage to guide you and I ended up going to wrong way the first time. They have bathrooms with showers available for use. I was very very satisfied here but once it got a little darker, all the creepy crawlers started coming out and I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many spiders in one place. In the morning, I had spiders in each of my door handles, my mirrors, when I turned on my car they started crawling out of the hood of my car, and I had spiders coming out of my trunk for a week. I am not a “beginning camper” so I’m used to bugs and spiders on my trips but I’ve never had this many in one place. There are really cute baby frogs hopping all around in the mornings though which was very cute. Just watch your step. Probably won’t be going back because of the spiders though…
GuideSpent a fun weekend here. Site was easy to back into. Clean and level. Lots of shade and grass. Allows pets (on leash) fun little park for the kids and nice little beach for swimming.
ScoutCamping here is nice on the Columbia River Washington side. Little breezy at times. $40.00 a night for RV $30.00 for veterans $20.00 for tents
RangerStumbled upon a great spot at one of the forlorn lakes. Spot 14 Very quiet and serene location.
RangerVery quiet, first come first serve camp sites off the beaten path. We will be back!
GuideCamped up here this weekend. It’s not the greatest road getting up there. For the most part the road isn’t bad but I was hauling a camper and a 20’ trailer with dirt bikes and quads so for me wasn’t the greatest. They have toilets here that were pretty clean and fresh water from a well pump. River runs right along the campground and makes for a very peaceful night sleep. You can ride your OHV right out of camp and up the roads for some great views. They also have horse tie ups and an elevated ramp for easier mounting of horses. For a free campground this is one of the nicest ones I’ve been to. Picnic tables and a fire ring at every camp site.
ScoutI’ve been there twice since and it’s still amazes me how beautiful the scenery is. Roads can be very bump but it’s worth it
Legend
This horse campground is near Takhlakh Lake. Its a small campground with about 6 sites and is first come first serve. All the other campgrounds in the area were full, but this one was pretty empty especially since it was visible from the road. I stayed twice over the summer and both times there were sites with horses in them. It is right next to the road, but there was a large pot hole in the road so people had to slow down or risk damage to their cars. The road all the way to the campground was very bad with holes, washouts, downed trees, huge dips, I recommend paying close attention when you are driving cause stuff will sneak up on you out of no where and low clearance cars could do damage. The campground was next to the creek and had multiple horse trails leaving from the campground. There were also a ton of wildflowers each time I went, since they are so high in elevation the wildflowers are still around into August.
The drive to Takhlakh Lake is only about 8 miles and takes about 20-30 minutes. Very easy day trip to enjoy the lake but then you can leave the crowds at the lake behind.
ScoutI’ve camped here with the horses a few times for AERC endurance rides. It’s well maintained and a beautiful little valley. Lots of good spots to choose from. At our ride events we have 50+ horse trailers and we always have space. Love the area!
ScoutI discovered these lakes about a year ago and OMG I am obsessed. The campsites are unparalleled. All are lakeside on "private lakes". The only way to gain access to the lakes it through the campsites (the rest of the lake is overgrown and inaccessible). Many of the lakes in the PNW are filled with people but these are pristine alpine lakes. The restrooms (vault toilets) were clean. The only negative is how popular this spot has become. Unless you arrive on a Sunday afternoon or Monday, I think you are SOL. There are a lot of dispersed sites around the area but none as nice as Forlorn Lakes.
ps- the road turns to gravel about 15 minutes before you reach the site and its pretty bumpy in some spots. Take it SLOWWW.
GuideBeautiful lakes. The forest was lush, green and spotless. Our spot, 7, one of the lower lakes, was a great site. lake access, though no luck with fishing. The smaller lake this site backs up to is great for swimming and kayak/paddle-boarding. Neighbors were respectful. Trailer access limited to this area. Extremely quiet at night. Will definitely be revisiting these lakes! For fishing, I recommend the upper (biggest) lake in the area.
ScoutGreat for weekend getaways from Tri Cities. River access and plenty of shade. Discounts for vets and seniors.
GuideStayed here a couple of nights. Our site was a tenting site, but we were in our mini Meerkat camper and we fit (our choice). Almost abandoned, probably because of huge hail storm. Friendly host “Dutch” and a few walk about simple hiking paths. Bathrooms and showers very nice (coin op on the showers). Road noise was pretty loud, especially for the campsites further into the campground. But, tall pines all around us, and very uncrowded. Wouldn’t want to come here if it were full, the sites are very close together. We were at the end of a very long trip, and we were happy to find any easy place to stay just inside WA. There are no stores nearby, so get your groceries in Goldendale!
LegendThis review is for the main campground, there is another group/horse campground across the highway that I did not stay in. The small campground is right off Highway 97. The first part of the campground is where the hook ups, large RV's, small trailers and tent campers are located. The spaces are very close together with very few trees separating spaces. Some spots looked barely big enough for a 2 person tent. In this same area is the only flush toilets/showers (Coin operated). Continuing past this main area and over a small hill is where the tent camping/sheep herders tents are located. Since it was located away from the main camping area it was quiet with regards to hearing fellow campers, the downside is the spaces are closer to the Highway. Day and night, semis speed past the state park on either a downhill straight away or an uphill straight away, regardless it sounds like a freight train or military landing pad all night/day long. It was so loud you had to stop talking until the semi passed. The space I was in was so small my 3 person tent only fit if one side was touching the fire ring. Luckily there was a fire ban so no fire to melt my tent. The space also had full view of the pit toilet, since it was the only toilet on that side, I saw everyone come and go. It was also super close to one of the sheep herders tent site. There were 2 sheep herder tents sites. The spots looked large and the tents looked like they would sleep at least 4-5 people. The other tent sites where much larger, but still all the sites could hear the highway. Note, be careful about leaving food out, zipping your tent up, leaving car doors open. The mice were pretty bad and came out at night driving my dog crazy. There were a bunch of trails that ran through out the park that provided a nice alternative to get to the other side of the park or climb to the top of the hill near the power lines. The camp host was also a very nice gentleman who suggested activities in the near by area. I was exploring the area cause it's new to me, but I wont return cause it's not my type of camping.
Travelerbring what you'll need as there are no stores around, Trout lake is the closest facility. A little dusty at times, a bale of hay will keep the dust down. Nice floating lakes, not sure if they are stocked or not. Road can be a little rough in places, worth the effort to get there.
Guide
Had a great time camping at Bonney Crossing. We were there for 2 nights and didn't see a any other people. The campsites are all well spaced out parallel to a nice clean looking river. We stayed in the off-season, so that is probably why it was empty. I would expect this campsite to be packed during the summer.
All the campsites had fire rings and there was plenty of scrap wood to be found. The campground had a bathroom that was as clean as one could expect during the off-season.
I will definitely camp here again.
GuideBonney Crossing campground is located in the Eastern most side of the Mt Hood National Forest. Our campsite provided us a quiet relaxing two nights of camping. Site is located just next to Badger Creek and the Badger Creek trail. Kids loved spending time exploring the creek and cooling off in it. Campsites are first come first serve and only has 7 established sites. Campground is, "primitive" so you must bring your own potable water. Site does have an accessible pit toilet.
TravelerI absolutely love this place. The campsite is clean with no over growth. Sleeping next to the water is calming and the hikes are top notch. The road down is a little sketchy but as long as you go slow it's well worth it.
LegendCampground Review
An open, relatively unused campground next to a sleep-calling stream right in between the last forested part of Mt. Hood National Forest and the dryer, sage-bushy eastern side of Oregon. This is a fabulous go-to campground because the drive south of the Dalles produces spectacular mountain and open landscape views. Horses are welcome here; we chatted with a friendly rider. The best part is being maybe a hundred feet from Badger Creek Trail, a versatile, climate-variety hike that sports a good stopping point at Pine Creek about 6 miles in, then to Badger Lake another 6 miles beyond that. For backpacking, it was quite nice to hike in a bit, prop up a small tent and just blend into the forest as night floated down to meet us.
Product Review
As a ranger for the Dyrt, I get to test stuff, in this case the Gregory Mountain Paragon 68 Backpack. I thought my old backpack was handy and easy, but this Gregory pack upped the ante.
Top reasons I like this pack:
LegendGreat camp area. Hear and see the water from half the sites.
Horse camping in Washington offers a unique experience for equestrian enthusiasts, combining beautiful landscapes with facilities tailored for both riders and their horses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Goldendale, WA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Goldendale, WA is Brooks Memorial State Park Campground with a 3.3-star rating from 3 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Goldendale, WA?
TheDyrt.com has all 7 equestrian camping locations near Goldendale, WA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
