Best Campgrounds near Vancouver, WA

So this begins with the fact that we are from Wisconsin, I tried to book the site online in advance and unfortunately lost service by the time I regained service I had missed my 24 hour before hand check in time so it was walk in only at that point. By the time we landed it was 1:30am yes late we were exhausted with 4 kids in tow and having to put one on a flight at 5am so two hours of sleep and back in the car. When we get there we read all the information but there’s no kiosk to pay cash only. We all really need to use the bathroom because unfortunately Oregon has this awesome trend of NO public bathrooms in most places, the bathrooms are closed and locked from 8pm to 9am… 9am? Seriously I could understand maybe 6/7am but 9???? Here’s a help tip try a code lock so your campers can still use the restrooms whenever and you can keep out whomever you’re trying to keep out. Once we get set up and the kids all set up me and John sat on the edge of the bed he was getting ready to find an ATM to pay and we both fell asleep.

When waking up at 3:30am John immediately headed to the atm so upset he fell asleep as I’m trying to wrangle our kids and get them ready to go the airport. We have an autistic son which I always try to let them know this a head of time because he does have meltdowns and can get loud from time to time. Almost every campground has completely understood this because he is special needs, we aren’t running around belligerent or anything of the sort just a kiddo that get escalated from time to time. Well unfortunately with our travels and his lack of sleep he did get escalated while John was gone and I was met by the host with aggression being screamed and called homeless not allowed to explain or have a conversation with the man just repeatedly told “I’ve seen it all, I’ve heard it all, This isn’t a homeless camp” Mind you I have 4 kids I’m a woman alone with a melting down autistic child being told I’m homeless. I tried to explain we came in from Wisconsin while traveling cross country. That Tristen was autistic it didn’t matter I was than screamed at and told he was calling the sheriff to have us removed! I’d also like to state he does not own this land this is state owned property. He also stated he was watching us on the cameras all evening and I asked why if he was awake did he not come greet and introduce himself and/or ask questions if he thought we were “homeless”

After packing nearly everything down and John’s return and him also screaming at John. He left and came back he than apologized and said we could stay as long as we liked, he just has a lot of issues there in the past??? Um excuse me?? First of all why are you basing everyone that comes to your site off what another has done to you? Secondly why are you changing your mind all the sudden? I simply said we wouldn’t be staying nor would be paying for the two hour cat nap after this instance because he could have come and spoke with me talked with me and John, met our children, helped me figure out how to pay online if needed? This is not everything he said or did this is only bits and pieces he left and came back 3 times aggressively yelling at me in-front of my children.

But 0 out of 10 would not recommend

My partner and I had a relaxing time camping at Camp Wilkerson, staying overnight on a Saturday and Sunday in August. Since the camp is planned predominantly as a youth recreation center, I was a bit worried that it would be a pretty loud campsite due to lots of kids running around. That was not the case for us! We stayed at the tent site T9 and pretty much had the place to ourselves on Sunday. The solitude and creek nearby made the experience quite tranquil. It's our new favorite camping spot and we will be back. 

The bathrooms are sort of far away from the tent sites, but it wasn't a big deal. It was nice to have a flush toilet available. We did have a hell of a time figuring out the trail wayfinding! The Little Foot trail is overgrown and the wayfinding signs don't make any sense. This was a bummer since we don't have a horse and it was the only trail that didn't have lots of horse poop on it. We had a hard time figuring out the other two trails, too, but the Liahona one made the most sense. So, stick to the Liahona trail, take a picture of the map and bring a compass.

Steven, camp host, is 5 STARS. He is doing the best he can with what he has to work with. Which is a very old network of 3 bathroom facilities that are beyond gross despite best efforts. It is mostly about the age of the structures. They are cleaned regularly daily and we saw this over a 3 night stay.  But with the rowdy young adult day visitors and age of the facilities only so much can be done. The pools above the falls, jumps into the lower pool and the falls themselves are amazing, mostly after Noon when the sun comes onto the river. 

Speaking of the day visitors. It was busy every day despite staying Sunday through Wednesday but it was hot and mid summer, so OK. Most visitors were families but holy crap the the broccoli head, beat up A4 crowd with leaky oil came rolling in with their party crew around 3pm each day. They are very impressed with themselves, their mediocre cars and copious amount of smoking. Is weed allowed on Federal Land?

However, these were the least of the jerks. On the third day, what seemed like a full on cult (because we are talking a group of 30) showed up to hog the lower level. We literally walked up behind one of the young women as we came off the trail, naked in a smaller side pool pooping and urinating right in front of us and our teens as we came off the trail. Awesome! My son got a free show of mostly naked off duty strippers(?) and their half dozen or so Rajneeshi looking handlers. I have pictures but I don't think it's OK to post them! Also, ya'll's EDM you were blasting in nature SUCKED and I like EDM.

I love how Vanessa mentioned the creek access from that first campsite! As someone who's been searching for dispersed camping spots with water features, this feels like such a gem. The fact that Forest Service regularly patrols is actually reassuring rather than intrusive- I've been to some dispersed sites that felt a bit too"wild west" if you know what I mean. I've been using offline hiking apps for my trips in the Gifford Pinchot, but I hadn't considered Little Soda Springs until now. That tip about downloading maps beforehand due to no cell service is crucial- learned that lesson the hard way last summer near Mt. Adams! Anyone know if the creek is suitable for filtering drinking water, or should I pack in all I need?