Aquila Vista Recreation Site
4Heads up4 fires, nearest 23 mi
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 1 of the next 1 nights read 16:49 UTC
- Sites
- 1All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 8 notices
In the agency’s own words
Aquila Vista is available for overnight group camping for groups up to 20 people and 8 vehicles. The opening date for 2026 is June 26. The site is located in the heart of the forest next to a significant spring fed wetland, with excellent birding opportunities. There is plenty of hiking and natural beauty to see at Aquila Vista including a small waterfall. Amenities include vault toilet, two group picnic shelters with multiple picnic tables and a metal fire ring. There is no running water at Aquila Vista; ensure that you bring plenty of drinking, cooking and sanitation water. There is no firewood at the site or firewood collection allowed, please bring your own firewood if you wish to have a fire. The campsite can have mosquitoes in the summer; bring bug repellent. Trash service is not provided. You are welcome to drop off trash at the dumpster at Cedar Grove. Keep reading
Recreation
The Molalla River Trail System is an extensive network of more than 20 miles of trails for hikers, bicyclists and equestrians. The trail system can be accessed from Aquila Vista. The system combines both single track trails and old forest roads. The trails wind through the forested foothills and slopes of the Molalla River Valley, occasionally offering scenic glimpses of the forests and mountains of the Cascade Range. The system offers a variety of difficulty levels for a wide range of mountain biking, hiking and horseback riding enthusiasts. Trails are generally marked with directional signs and levels of difficulty. Additional equestrian access to the trail system is from Hardy Creek or Annie’s Cabin Trailheads where there is ample parking for horse trailers. Mountain bikers and hikers can also access the trail system via Amanda’s, Americorp, and Sandquist ’s Trailheads.
Facilities
Amenities include vault restrooms, two group picnic shelters with multiple picnic tables, and metal fire rings. There is no running water at Aquila Vista, ensure that you bring plenty of drinking, cooking, and sanitation water. There is no firewood at the site or firewood collection allowed, please bring your own firewood if you wish to have a fire.
Natural Features
The site is located in the heart of the forest next to a significant wetland. There is plenty of hiking and natural beauty to be seen at Aquila Vista including a small waterfall.
Nearby Attractions
Enjoy a scenic drive along the Molalla Wild and Scenic River which offers easy river access and opportunities for picnicking, swimming, camping, whitewater boating and fishing. The Molalla is one of the few undammed tributaries of the Willamette River and cuts a picturesque gorge on its way to the valley floor.
Charges & Cancellations
Standard fees apply and are non-refundable. Visit https://www.recreation.gov/rules-reservation-policies for more information.
What the agency tells you
Current fire information for the Northwest Oregon District can be found at BLM Fire Restrictions and Closures under the district specific section.
Groups must enter through a locked gate, the combination will be received in the email receipt. The group is responsible for keeping the gate locked at all times. The gate is typical of those found throughout western Oregon, and requires a moderate level of dexterity and strength to remove the padlock and open the gate.
There is no cell phone service. In case of emergency go to an area where you get cell service and dial 9-1-1. There is a payphone on the east side of Glen Avon bridge.
Everything else this campground posts · 5
Be aware that the main S. Molalla Forest Rd is regularly used for hauling timber and forest products.
Please observe posted rules and regulations.
The Molalla recreation corridor sits between 800 and 1200 feet in elevation.
Be prepared for flying and biting insects. Bring your bug spray.
Poison oak is in the area. Leaves of three - let it be.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 group
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 12 ft
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets · Pit Toilets
- VAULT TOILETS on 1 of 1 campsite records / PIT TOILETS on 1 of 1 campsite records
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “…picnic tables and a metal fire ring. There is no running water at Aquila Vista; ensure that you bring plenty of…”
- Firewood
- Mentioned
- Stay limit
- 13 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Waterfall, River, Creek
- Biking
- Hiking
- Horseback riding
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 763rd darkest of 770 in OR
- Bortle 4
- Fall color · reported 6 days ago, 37 km away
- Patchy color
1 of 2 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 16:49 UTC
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
OpenBooked
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 14
What you actually pay
“Standard fees apply and are non-refundable. Visit https://www.recreation.gov/rules-reservation-policies for more information.” · this campground’s own terms
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 6
recreation.gov availability, read 16:49 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
1 sites · the site map
All 1 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 1 of the 1 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| Camp | 1 | group standard nonelectric | 12 ft | 1,540 ftMolalla River | $50 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Cedar Grove CampgroundNw Oregon Cascades Field Office · 3.4 miThree Bears Recreation SiteNw Oregon Cascades Field Office · 4.0 mi
Three Bears CampgroundNw Oregon Cascades Field Office · 4.2 mi
Elkhorn Valley Recreation SiteNw Oregon Cascades Field Office · 13 miShady CoveWillamette National Forest · 14 miThe Molalla River is located approximately 10 miles southeast of Molalla in Clackamas County. From the town of Molalla, drive east on Main St/OR 211. Veer right at the OR 211/Mathias Road intersection, follow signs for Feyrer Park. Once past Feyrer Park, cross over the Molalla River, turn right, and follow signs for Dickey Prairie Rd. Continue south on Dickey Prairie Rd, keeping the Dickey Prairie Store on your left. At 3.7 miles past the store, turn right on Molalla Forest Rd and cross Glen Avon Bridge. Continue on the Molalla Forest Rd for approximately 7 miles to a yellow gate where you will enter the combination provided. Drive another 2 miles up a steep gravel road keeping right until you reach Aquila Vista.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Scotts Mills, OR
Typical weather
Typical October night 46°F, day 64°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical December night 35°F. Bring the bag rated for it.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Augusts are colder than the August line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
who answers for it
Who answers for this land
Aquila Vista Recreation Site is in Oregon’s 5th congressional district. Its representative, Janelle Bynum (D), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: A. See every public-lands vote →