Best Glamping near Wishram, WA

Stunning view of the mountain backdrop- crystal clear waters-access to a small shop and water activity rentals which is fun. There is a resort , and cabins as well as tent camping which I prefer. The lake itself is “busy”with families and kids during the day but nice clean camping otherwise -some might even call it glamping but it’s worth it for the view and having access to the activities the next morning.

Our family has had the privilege of enjoying Columbia Gorge Getaways on three separate occasions and each time was a joyous and exceptional experience. Our first time staying was for a friend's wedding. Everything was perfect from start to finish and hands down one of the best weddings we have been to from the stunning Ceremony site overlooking the luscious forest to the fun event space perfect for any gathering. We stayed in a Bell tent and I have never slept so soundly as I did for this cozy glamping weekend. The bathrooms have everything you need and being amongst friends and family in such a gorgeous space was pure bliss. 

We gathered again for a lovely baby shower on a perfect Spring day! Again, the event space was such a great spot and our kids loved play area and fun lawn games! 

The last time we stayed we brought our tent and loved it. We were amazed at how comfortable and spacious our site was along with a lovely picnic table to enjoy our meals. The kids loved running around the safe and friendly campsite and playing in the play space. They have been hounding us to return and we cannot wait! We will be recommending Columbia Gorge Getaways to everyone as the perfect gathering spot! Thank you for the wonderful experiences each and every time.

The camping area isnt close to the water at all, unless you have a cabin or yurt spot, but its a fairly nice campground, we went in early May and there was stilk snow where our tent was gonna go, so watch for that! It’s a beautiful view though!

We have stayed at Lost Lake a couple of times now, once in a tent and once in a yurt. The lake is fun for fishing and renting a little boat or canoe to get onto the water. The store has a little of everything, though as you would expect, a little pricey.

The only thing missing from this amazing camping spot is electricity and running water. Otherwise, it’s perfect! Absolutely gorgeous view of Mt. Hood, tons of hiking, a beautiful lake and camping spots for everyone. They have walk-in spots, yurts, a-frames, RV spots, a horse camp and even a few rooms at the lodge. Make sure to spend at least 3-4 days!

The views of Mt. Hood are amazing from this lake. Spent the day in a canoe, exploring the lake. Stayed in one of the yurts, which would have been better if it was away from the tent camping. Neighbors were a bit close. After exploring we did see that there were many sites that were more private...next time we will reserve those. You can rent boats, canoes, etc, and there is a store that has anything you would need. Very nice staff.

This place gets CROWDED, and is hard to drive around/walk around due to the amount of day users.  Stayed in a cute yurt which was a bit of walk from the lake (~.25 mi) which is fine but getting my kayak down was a bit of a pain due to the amount of people occupying the road/parking etc.   Stunning views and didn't see anybody on the hike up to lost lake.  Store was poorly set up and chaotic, check in process took quite some time and was confusing.

I have kind of a love/hate thing going on for Lost Lake Campgrounds.

Pros: It is beautiful. There's a reason it's one of Oregon's most photographed sites. There's a 3-mile hike around the lake that shows Mt. Hood and its lovely reflection in the lake. There's fishing, swimming, boating, and a camp store that has "It's It" ice cream (definitely a pro). The camp sites are nice, decent sized, and surrounded by trees.

Cons: It is crowded. We're talking thousands of people on a nice summer weekend, traffic jams, and no place to actually make it into the lake (except right at the boat dock) unless you claim your picnic spot really early. There's also no cell phone reception (at all), and while that may sound lovely in theory, when you're a family trying to find each other somewhere on the trail or in the campground it's a real pain.

On weekends and holidays, you also need to book not two, but three nights in a row (Thursday/Friday and Saturday, for example), so if you're trying to get away for a regular 2-day weekend you're out of luck.

In general: 140+ camp sites including several walk-in-only sites right near the lake. There's also cabins and yurts, though those don't include a bathroom on site, so the $70-$150+ seems pretty steep for still having to use an outhouse (we haven't stayed in the cabins personally yet, but have seen them in person). You can book online for both cabins and camp sites (reserveamerica for the camping).

Tips: For day trips, there's a $8 parking fee that you can avoid if you park outside of the entrance and walk the 1/4 mile or so. Also, cabins and yurts are half-price in May, something we may remember for next Memorial Day well in advance (since everything books up so quickly).

We have camped here three times over the last 7 years.  Sometimes for full vacations, sometimes just as part of a larger trip, and I always love it.  The lake is beautiful, with great views of Mt. Hood.  The little store has snacks and some food as treats and rents kayaks, row boats, etc.  The showers are very nice and clean.  The campsites are huge and very private.  There are even a few trails which leave from the campground if you want to hike.  And for those that want less rustic they even have yurts!

Now, it is busy, especially on the weekends.  There is a reason for that.  If you want to spend the day at one of the spots on the lake, you have to get up early and get your spot (by 9am, even on a weekday).  On the weekend it can be a bit of a mad house with people coming from outside the campground, so I recommend staying during the week.

Also, the bathrooms are pit toilets.  They aren't bad, but still pits. :)

Pros:

* Beautiful lake

* Close to Hood River

* Hiking from the campground

* Store with treats

* Very nice showers

* Very nice campsites with lots of space

Cons:

* Very crowded on the weekends

OK:

* Pit toilets

I stayed here during a two day ride through the Cascades on the Washington BDR. You can tell when the owners of a place like this really care. From being greeted by name as I pulled in to time spent talking with the owners under their lovely shared social hangout area with other campers, it was a very welcoming experience. I'll be staying here again for sure.

This campground was small but well kept. There is not a lot of privacy and the campsites are really close together. Our site and the one next to it were basically in the parking lot.

It was well kept and overlooking a beautiful field and hills. The unrelenting Gorge wind is something to be prepared for! The lake was closed due to an algae bloom so we weren't able to swim or kayak. I knew what were getting into when we booked the campsite so I was happy with staying there.

This is an absolutely gorgeous place on Horsethief Lake, there’s really cool petroglyphs down the road as well and close lake access. Lovely green grass and what appeared to be outdoor showers and lots of water spigots around. The sites are pretty close together and at our time was $50 for hookups and $42 for walk in tent site, so definitely expensive, boat launch fee included is what the sign said. Honestly it was gorgeous, the weather was beautiful but it was just expensive for very close sites.

**The Good: **This is an absolutely beautiful park surrounded by a lake with lots of nearby opportunities for short hikes with amazing views of the mountains and water.  The lake is great for canoeing or paddle boarding.  The campsite hosts were welcoming and provided local firewood for a small fee. (There were no fire bans in effect at the time we camped.) It felt very safe.

I typically prefer roughing-it on a dispersed camping site.  This is definitely not that.  For camping at a site with bathrooms, this is the way to do it!  The facilities were some of the best I've seen - super clean with running water and flushing toilets.  There were even indoor and outdoor showers and 2 single occupant bathrooms which is great for privacy, and for folks who may not feel comfortable using a gender-specific bathroom.  

The Bad: The site had said it was good for an RV or 2 tents.  It is basically a large parking spot on gravel and our tent space was sandwiched in between 2 RVs in a long line of RVs.  The camp area is also on the most open and least scenic part of the site.  _So - not really good for a tent.  We actually drove past our site twice because we were convinced it couldn't possibly be the correct camp site. _Really- it is like camping in a parking lot at a rest stop or maybe like a tailgate party at a college football game.

The RV campers told us they were also super disappointed in the site as there is no privacy whatsoever.  I don't usually chat with other campers, but it was a bit like a big family as we were practically sharing one campsite.  And happily, we had good neighbors.  

We moved our tent slightly off our spot next to a bush so we could have a bit more privacy.  There appeared to be a few tent only sites that were on the grass - I would only stay here again if I could reserve one of those sites.  I found the site arrangement strange as the park area is huge and there is ample opportunity to have the sites distanced apart and bordering the lake rather than a dusty open field.  

OTHER THINGS TO KNOW: It is windy!  I love the wind so I found it invigorating - but it was even a bit too much for me at times.  Winds hit 29 MPH at some points of our stay.  Make sure you plan accordingly and have a tent that can withstand winds and look for heavy rocks to weigh down your ground stakes.  I'd recommend loading up your tent with packs etc to keep it from blowing away.  If you have a canvas tent, that would probably fair better in the wind and dust.  There are not trees near the camp sites so there is no shelter from the wind.

Bonus - with all that wind, I didn't hear, see, or feel one mosquito or no-see-um! 

There is a train nearby and you can hear the horn.  Personally, I found it haunting and a bit romantic - I enjoyed hearing the train as it went by.  If you're sensitive to noise or a light sleeper, it may be something to consider. 

At night it is incredibly dark.  This was the best part!  You can almost forget that there is an RV 5' away.  Open sky and the stars are beautiful!

Final Thoughts: I like to visit the gorge and might consider staying here again only if the tent site at the far end of the campsite is available.  I would definitely come here for a day trip.

Had a great time watching trains, fishing etc.

Very nice place to camp.

Cute little campsite just off the highway tucked away next to Horse-thief lake. It is very windy due to its location in the gorge. The lake access and surrounding land is beautiful.

This was a great location for loads of hikes in the area. Close enough to the Dalles and Maryhill if your dinner went south, but far enough away where it wasn't an issue of feeling like you were in a city. Beautiful Lake and super close to the Petraglyphs (do the tour that leaves a 3 minute walk from the campsite!!) It was SUPER windy, the bathrooms seemed pretty far from the tent camping sites, (they were all walk in) and there was a train track super close, but overall a good experience.

The campsites here are nothing amazing. Each has a tent pad, fire ring, and picnic table. Some are definitely more private than others. The views here are what makes it awesome. Right on the Columbia River and it was GORGEOUS! There’s also a lake for swimming which is awesome because it gets super hot here in the summertime.

This small state park is tucked alongside the Columbia River and Horsethief Lake. The campground is not large with only 4 regular campsites, 4 walk in sites, 8 partial hookups, a Teepee and 2 platform tents. The grounds surrounding the campground and alongside the lake are large, green grass areas with picnic tables everywhere. There are also archaeological sites with artifacts and pictographs within walking distance of the campground. There was a small kayak/canoe rental place that is run by the super friendly camp host.

I reserved the Teepee. I arrived a dusk during what would be a very strong wind storm that would last all night and all the next day. When I first went into the Teepee I noticed the canvas at the bottom was so rotten and the inside flap was secured to nothing so every time the wind blew the inside flap would fill up over half the inside and dirt would swirl everywhere. The front door flap was also very rotten and would not secure, so every time the wind blew, the door would fly open and let in more dirt. Needless to say my dog and I lasted about 5 minutes.

After talking to camp host I was able to get into one of the platform "tents". I later learned from the Park Ranger that stopped by that the canvas on the tents had rotted out in May so he had built what I would call plywood cabins with canvas roofs. There were 2 cabins, each one had 2 windows, 2 sets of bunk beds, a weak light, and a latch secured door. The cabin let in not one bit of wind which was nice, but also got very hot even though it was a cool evening and I had the window open all night. The next day the wind continued, not a big fan of strong sustained wind, but I figured out that when the door was open it created an arc of no wind right in front of the cabin which was nice to sit, watch, and relax. Please note, the cabin is not sealed to the creatures, on the second morning my dog woke me up to a bat that got stuck inside the cabin and was trying to get out, I was able to get the door open and it flew out.

The downside to the platform cabin is the lack of air flow, which in the summer could be rough. Also the only bathroom was a bit of a walk, but was kept clean and had showers. Also the parking was far away, so again a lot of walking. I was also informed by the Park Ranger that the Teepee would be taken down at the end of the 2018 season with no plans to bring it back.

Overall it as a good state park if you don't mind the wind and just want to relax. I'm not sure if I would go back but would recommend it to others.

When we are in the area we normally stay near Maryhill State Park. This campground was a delightful change to our routine. The site is small but it offers quite a few different ways to camp: tents, RV, cabins even a teepee!! This site is on Horsethief Lake and offers some great summer fun.

One of the best aspects was the petroglyphs that were along trails near the campground. This was a great spot and I highly recommend it!

Camped at site 5 with an E-Pro 19FD.  Sites are back in and have well maintained level sites of crushed gravel.  The first time I haven't had to level the trailer side to side. Water and Electrical hookups well maintained.  Site is all gravel.

Walking to the Columbia River and viewing the petroglyphs is an enjoyable stroll.  Restrooms and Showers are well maintained and clean.

Watch out for the incredible amount of goose poop.  There was an area roped off so as not to disturb a nesting Eagle that could be viewed with the naked eye.

If your a fan of trains you are right next to the BNSF tracks.  

Best Park Hosts that I have ever meet.  Very knowledgeable on local sites and and things to do/visit.  They are constantly busy keeping the park in order.