Reid B.

The Dyrt Pro

Portland, OR

Joined March 2016

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Peaceful lake with gorgeous view of Mt. Adams

We picked up a last-minute reservation here for Labor Day weekend. The campground sits right on a lake northwest of Mt. Adams.

Our site was set up with a single tent pad up a little hill from the driveway and fire pit. It might not have worked for multiple tents.

We did some hiking on the trails right around the campground. There’s a nice loop trail around the lake through huckleberry-rich woods. From that trail, there’s access to the Takhlakh Meadows trail that climbs along a lava flow to a plateau with views of many surrounding mountains.

There is no drinking water or electricity available.

Easy Family Camping

A quick 35 minute drive from Portland, Barton Park is an easy destination for family-friendly camping. 

We camped here the first weekend in June with two other families, all with toddlers around the same age. The kids enjoyed the two playgrounds, wading in the river, and walking some nature trails. The park also offers horseshoe pits, volleyball courts and a boat ramp.

Our sites, 34 and 35, were joined together with a small path that let us use them more as a group site. Each was just large enough to accommodate two 4+ person tents with plenty of room left around the fire.

In the tent/rv loop, sites 1-30 are all in the open along the grass with no separation between them. Sites 31-59 are set back into the woods with a bit more privacy and separation— they're still pretty close together, but the woods and plantings help a lot.

All in all, it's a nice little county park. There are no sweeping vistas or old-growth forests to explore, but it's a simple spot to relax for the weekend.

Great views of Mt. Hood

We got in late and were very sleepy, so we pitched our tent and didn't look around much. The next morning, we saw all the great mountain views.

Babbling Brook, Spacious Sites, Tall Trees

We rolled in late after striking out at two other nearby campgrounds and grabbed the last site — lucky days! Even booked up, it didn't seem crowded at all. The sites are pretty spacious and spread out nicely.

The campground is flat and open with many tall pines and a little creek running down the middle. It's right off the road, but traffic was light and we hardly noticed it during the night.

Great little spot

Spent the night here and really enjoyed it!