First off, my type of camping is getting as far away from other people as possible. That is absolutely not going to happen when you are at the Gorge, but that is not why you camp at the Gorge. I’m giving it 4 stars because for what it is, it was decent enough and clean.

On a whim my husband and I decided to book camping along with our concert tickets since it was being offered and was fairly inexpensive. Our motivations for doing so were 1) not having to drive to and from the venue on the day of the show and 2) it’s an experience, might as well try it at least once right?

We went with standard camping, the cheapest option.

As you arrive at the camping area a number of attendants will direct you where to go. Your car will queue up to be sniffed by some sniffer dogs and then if you get the go ahead you will be directed to your site sandwiched in between the other cars that are arriving at around the same time as you. You’ll feel a slight sense of panic and dread as you realize how tightly everyone is packed in and how tricky it will be to carefully navigate your vehicle through the narrow patch of grass that is left between the tents and vehicles if you decide to leave. You will then take a deep breath, crack open a beer, and start settling in.

We had enough room in our designated space for our “6 person” cabin tent, and for our fairly large shade tent that we set up between the tent and the back of the car. You will absolutely want to bring some sort of shade tent if you plan on hanging out in the campground before the concert. It gets uncomfortably hot very fast if you are not shielded from the sun.

We had originally planned on driving out in the morning to explore the area, maybe find some water to cool off in, but ultimately decided not to due to the previously mentioned difficulties of navigating our car out of our site and through the sea of other campers. Fortunately we had plenty of food, snacks and a cooler full of ice and beer. If you find yourself lacking these things, there is a small general store a short walk away that has some camping supplies, beer, snacks, water, that kind of thing (sold at “we’ve got you trapped here, so just suck it up and fork over the money” prices).

The toilets were porta potties but they were kept surprisingly clean and there were plenty of them. There was a sink with running water, soap, and paper towels. I only visited the station closest to our tent but I think there were a few scattered about.

There was someone blaring loud music past midnight the first night, but that was pretty much what I expected. I didn’t encounter any issues with other campers.

It’s about a mile (or maybe it just felt like it?) walk on a dusty road from standard camping to the venue. Wear good shoes and sunscreen!

Ok, that’s about it. Everything I would have liked to know in advance to be prepared. I might camp again if I see another show at the Gorge, but I’d probably upgrade to get a bit more space and wiggle room.

We ended up here when we decided to stop and camp for the night when it was getting late on our drive home to Spokane. It was a Sunday night and we were the only vehicle there other than a truck that appeared to be unattended.

It’s free (with a Discover Pass) and not far off of Highway. It’s close to the water and was really pretty as the sun was setting.

It was very buggy. I ended up with multiple mosquito bites including one on the bottom of my foot after applying bug spray.

There was a sign there saying no fires. However it was apparent that other campers had made fires there. Just FYI.

The pit toilet was a little sketch and the door had to be held shut with a rock so it wouldn’t swing wide open when empty, but it was well stocked with toilet paper.

It got very windy at night even though it was completely calm when we went to bed. Just a warning to be sure to stake your tent out if you are tenting it like we were. Our tent tried to make a break for it when we were unpacking in the morning.

We stayed here for 2 nights at the end of March. The campground is ok. Not really any privacy from other campers in the campground so it’s not exactly my type of camping. Had to walk up and down a hill to get to the restroom which isn’t exactly fun if you have to get up in the middle of the night. Looks like it has a nice beach area so it could be a fun place for kids in the summer.

I definitely recommend checking out the nearby Northrup Canyon Homestead trail if you’re in the area. Neat trail with some cool history.

I’ll try to give this campground the benefit of the doubt and not judge it based on the foul weather we encountered on our one day there.

We arrived on the day this campground opens for the season, June 11. This early in the season the campground is first come first served. We arrived fairly late in the day, and didn’t get to the Mazama Village Store where you need to get your campsite until a few minutes after they were supposed to close at 7:00. The gal at the register very kindly accommodated us and got us a campsite assigned even though they were about to close up shop. I don’t know if you normally have the option to choose a site, but we were not given that option. Again, we were late so I was just grateful to get a spot.

When we pulled up to the site we were dismayed. The whole site was basically a puddle, and we were tent camping. There wasn’t a level, dryish spot for us to pitch our small tent. The fire pit was so full of water that starting a fire would have been impossible. Long story short, after some deliberation we decided to forfeit our fee of $21 that we’d paid for the site, and try to find somewhere dry to stay for the night.

We got extremely lucky and ended up getting a room at the Crater Lake Lodge (that is typically booked up to a year out) due to a last minute cancellation. So we got to stay warm and dry for the night and not camp in a puddle. The fog even cleared out the next morning so we got to finally see the lake.

That all being said, the lake is amazing. During a beautiful, sunny day, I’m sure this campground is plenty sufficient and gives easy access to explore this incredible area. It seems well provisioned and there’s even a really nice gift shop and a cafe nearby if you want something warm to eat without cooking it yourself.

I stayed here for one night on the last night of a week long road trip. I was pleasantly surprised by my stay here. We had a site right along the river and it was so nice falling asleep with the sounds of some croaking frogs and the moving water. I don’t fish but there were a number of people fishing on the river.

If you need firewood be sure to grab it in town, there is no gathering of sticks or wood for burning allowed. We came from south through Bend but I believe Prineville is the closest town.

We stayed in site 87 which is a “hike in” site, which basically means that you have to walk up a few steps, maybe 100 feet, to get to the campsite. Having to haul our stuff up the stairs was well worth it to be tucked away in the woods off the road. Site 88 shares the entry from the road and sits up above 87, so I would say 88 is the more private of the 2 sites.

My husband and I enjoyed walking around the campground and seeing the remaining stumps of the giant redwoods that used to be here. This area has no old growth left but was still very pretty. There are also a number of trails around the campground to explore.

This campground has showers for 25¢ a minute. The water was hot and it had great water pressure, which I was thankful for since it gets pretty chilly in this area.

I have T-Mobile and had no cell service at any time while I was in this campground.

We stayed in site #4 which was right at the end with glimpses of the Palouse through the trees and lots of space. You could easily set up 2 tents there. It was $15 a night plus $5 for an extra car. Nice campground, clean, trash cans at each site and a pit toilet. There’s a little trail at Kamiak Butte and you can access it via a trailhead near the entrance of the campground. I did the hike on a Saturday and there were quite few other hikers on the trail.

This campground is close to town and close to some wonderful hiking areas if you’re looking to explore Riverside State Park or downtown Spokane. It also has nice bathrooms with showers and flush toilets. We stayed in one of the standard sites, site 18 and it was right on the road into the park so there was a lot of traffic going by all day. The sites in the upper area are very close together without any tree cover so there’s no privacy from your neighboring campers or those driving by to visit the park. We checked out the lower sites that are along the river and have hookups and they looked a lot nicer, more spacious and with a better view (but the camp host said they’re $45 a night and they book up fast).

Beautiful area, incredibly scenic and photographable, but a few things to be aware of.

There is a heck of a drive to get into this place, there’s a very winding and steep road to get there and it took us about an hour from White Bird. That being said, it was a very lovely and scenic drive, and based on the number of trailers and boats that were down there it doesn’t seem to deter many people. Just be aware you’ll want to come prepared with whatever you’ll need while you’re there because it’s not a quick ride back into town to get supplies (and make sure you have enough gas in your tank)

Also, word of warning to any dog owners; I discovered as soon as we unloaded from the vehicle that there are sticky burs absolutely everywhere on the ground and our furry labradoodle was soon covered with them. The first thing we did when we got back into cell phone range was call and schedule him a grooming appointment to get shaved because they were on every inch of his body and would be impossible to comb out.

The campsites are all pretty close together and since this is a desert area there are very few trees, so you will be able to see your fellow campers and they will be able to see you. Each site has a little canopy thing for both shade and I suspect some wind protection (it got extremely windy one of the nights we were there).

It was $8 a night when I was there in August 2020. There was a burn restriction in place from July 1st to September 15th according to posted signs.

If you do not have a trailer, there are some dispersed camping sites at the “Upper Landing” that are clearly marked. They are walk in only but didn’t appear to be too far to walk and seem that they would afford a bit more privacy if that’s what you’d looking for.

Decent campground, but I likely wouldn’t stay there again. $20 per night, hookups are available and there were most RVers there. The spaces were all very close together so there wasn’t much privacy. Bathrooms seemed reasonably clean and there was fresh water spigots available. I got there on a Thursday night on August 27th and most of the non-reservable spots were full, we may have actually pulled into the last available space. If you turn left towards the Giant Cedar trailhead instead of right towards the campground there are a number of free dispersed camping sites along that road, they looked pretty private and spacious. If we have known that before we paid we would have stayed in one of those instead. We drove up that road and up the mountain and went on a short hike to Perkins Cedar Grove, the forest was beautiful and well worth a visit.

I just stayed at this campground for the first time over the weekend. Arrived Friday night after work and left on Sunday. Despite being a small campground, there were still 3 sites available when we got there on Friday, and 2 sites open at the end of the day on Saturday. It was $27/night to camp there, plus $10 extra if you have additional vehicles. You also need to have a Discover Pass. There is a nice bathroom with a sink and 3 flush toilets (I can only vouch for the ladies room, didn’t see the men’s). The sites are pretty close together and there really isn’t a lot of privacy, but it’s still a nice campground. There are tons of lovely hiking trails on Mt Spokane and there were plenty of people out enjoying it over the weekend. There’s a very nice hiking trail right across the road from the campground that has great scenic views along the way and lots of wildflowers. The peak of the mountain is a short drive from the campsite and I absolutely recommend driving up there to watch the sunset. What a view.