Camp Creek
4Heads up4 fires, nearest 16 mi
We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 10 of the next 10 nights; a database flag says not open read 16:04 UTC
- A night
- $26–$52Across the site types the agency prices
- Sites
- 24All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 8 notices
In the agency’s own words
The Camp Creek Campground sits next to a babbling forest creek in the country's scenic Pacific Northwest region. The campground is not far from the base of the majestic, snow-covered Mt. Hood, Oregon's highest point and a prominent landmark of the area. A variety of recreational activities surround the campground, including hiking, biking and horseback riding trails, scenic views and points of exploration. Keep reading
Recreation
Surrounding the campground are a variety of hiking and mountain biking trails, including the 1.6-mile Still Creek Trail, which is family-friendly and full of beautiful vegetation, and the Pioneer Bridle Trail, which takes hikers, bikers and horseback riders through about 10 miles of scenic wilderness. Visitors to the area also enjoy mountain biking along the nearby Zigzag River, however bikes are not allowed within designated wilderness areas along the trail. A variety of trout and whitefish populate the nearby creek and river, where anglers typically enjoy catch-and-release fishing. Wading is also popular in the cool mountain waters. The plentiful creeks and streams in the area stem from glaciers atop Mt. Hood.
Facilities
The campground offers about two dozen single-family and double occupancy campsites, available for tent and RV camping. Each site is equipped with tables and campfire rings with grills. Accessible vault toilets and drinking water are provided. Parking surfaces are dirt and gravel, and a dump station is available nearby for a fee.
Natural Features
The shady and quiet campground is situated on a bench above Camp Creek, in the Mt. Hood National Forest, at an elevation of about 2,200 feet. It is tucked in among a mature forest of Douglas fir and cedar trees that are covered in moss. The campground was originally constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1936. While updates and renovations have been made, some features from the era remain, such as several stone fireplaces. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (503) 622-3191.
Nearby Attractions
The town of Rhododendron is about 3 miles from the campground, offering a variety of services and supplies.
What the agency tells you
Vehicles beyond 22 ft. in length are not recommended at the campground
Utility hookups are not available
Off-road vehicle use is prohibited within the campground
Everything else this campground posts · 5
In accordance with standard industry practices, Mt. Hood Recreation will be assessing an additional vehicle fee per night on the second vehicle in each single-family campsite, and on the third and fourth vehicle in any double family campsite, provided these vehicles are not joined to the first vehicle by a hitch and towed onto the site. In the case of motorcycles, the first two are considered to be one vehicle and the third and fourth are also considered to be one vehicle. No additional vehicle fees are collected for bicycles.
Fire Restrictions: Fire restrictions may be imposed at any time due to hot, dry weather conditions, at which time campfires and charcoal fires may not be allowed.
Refunds: Refund requests made through www.recreation.gov will be charged a $10 processing fee. This fee is retained by the reservation service contractor along with the non-refundable reservation fee. All requests for the return of the non-refundable reservation fee and the cancellation fee will be declined by the campground concessionaire as they did not receive these fees (these are the fees retained by the reservation contractor, a different entity).
Don't Move Firewood: Please protect Pacific Northwest forests by preventing the spread of invasive species. Firewood can carry insects and diseases that can threaten the health of our western forests. You can make a difference by obtaining and burning your firewood near your camping destination. Visit Dontmovefirewood.org for further information.
Click here for more information on the Mt. Hood National Forest
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 24 · 9 tent-only
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 30 ft
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…campfire rings with grills. Accessible vault toilets and drinking water are provided. Parking surfaces…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…grills. Accessible vault toilets and drinking water are provided. Parking surfaces are dirt and gravel,…”
- Dump station
- Yes
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- River, Creek
- Biking
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Visitor center
- Night sky · 721st darkest of 770 in OR
- Bortle 4
- Fall color · reported 6 days ago, 40 km away
- Patchy color
Full this Saturdayread 16:04 UTC
How full the weekend is nationally.
1 campground has sites open within 30 miles, read 16:31 UTC. See them
OpenBooked
Every one of the 8 sites on offer is taken this Saturday. 24 are free on Thu, Oct 22. read 16:04 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t
Watch for a cancellation
Watch this campground
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.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
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 · 16
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $26–$52 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
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 · 5
Open within 30 miles this weekend · 1
Sites the agency is offering this Friday and Saturday that nobody has taken, nearest first. read 16:31 UTC
- Wildwood Recreation SiteNw Oregon Cascades Field Office · 6.8 mi · 9 of 9 site-nights open
recreation.gov availability, read 16:04 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
24 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 21 mapped sitesAll 24 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. 24 of the 24 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| AREA CAMP CREEK | 001 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 98 ft | 313 ft | $26–$52 |
| AREA CAMP CREEK | 003 | tent only nonelectric | 98 ft | 271 ft | $26 | |
| AREA CAMP CREEK | 004 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | $26–$52 | ||
| AREA CAMP CREEK | 005 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | 78 ft | 246 ft | $26–$52 |
| AREA CAMP CREEK | 006 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | 66 ft | 257 ft | $26–$52 |
| AREA CAMP CREEK | 007 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | 129 ft | 266 ft | $26–$52 |
| AREA CAMP CREEK | 008 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | 66 ft | 205 ft | $26–$52 |
| AREA CAMP CREEK | 009 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | 63 ft | 171 ft | $26–$52 |
| AREA CAMP CREEK | 010 | tent only nonelectric | 63 ft | 158 ft | $26 | |
| AREA CAMP CREEK | 011 | tent only nonelectric | 126 ft | 187 ft | $26 | |
| AREA CAMP CREEK | 012 | tent only nonelectric | 102 ft | 161 ft | $26 | |
| AREA CAMP CREEK | 013 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | 102 ft | 132 ft | $26–$52 |
| AREA CAMP CREEK | 014 | tent only nonelectric | 102 ft | 119 ft | $26 | |
| AREA CAMP CREEK | 015 | tent only nonelectric | 78 ft | 97 ft | $26 | |
| AREA CAMP CREEK | 016 | tent only nonelectric | 78 ft | 57 ft | $26 | |
| AREA CAMP CREEK | 017 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | 62 ft | 242 ft | $26–$52 |
| AREA CAMP CREEK | 018 | tent only nonelectric | 91 ft | 59 ft | $26 | |
| AREA CAMP CREEK | 019 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | 133 ft | 165 ft | $26–$52 |
| AREA CAMP CREEK | 020 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | 61 ft | 264 ft | $26–$52 |
| AREA CAMP CREEK | 021 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | 61 ft | 307 ft | $26–$52 |
| AREA CAMP CREEK | 022 | tent only nonelectric | 62 ft | 302 ft | $26 | |
| AREA CAMP CREEK | 023 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | 171 ft | 351 ft | $26–$52 |
| AREA CAMP CREEK | 024 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | $26–$52 | ||
| AREA CAMP CREEK | 025 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | $26–$52 |
OpenStreetMap has no toilet mapped within 1 km of this campground, so no site here carries a toilet distance. That’s a gap in the map, not a finding about the campground.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
TollgateMt. Hood National Forest · 2.2 miGreen Canyon Campground & Day Use AreaMt. Hood National Forest · 4.0 mi
Riley Horse CampgroundMt. Hood National Forest · 5.4 miLost Creek Campground/Day Use AreaMt. Hood National Forest · 5.5 mi
Lost CreekMt. Hood National Forest · 5.5 miFrom Portland, travel east on Highway 26 for approximately 32 miles. Camp Creek Campground is located on the south side of the highway, about 3 miles past the community of Rhododendron.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Rhododendron, OR
Typical weather
Typical October night 36°F, day 60°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical December night 27°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
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 Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it · a letter you can send
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Camp Creek is in Oregon’s 3rd congressional district. Its representative, Maxine Dexter (D), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: A+. See every public-lands vote →
Who can change it · 3
Two offices, two different asks. The draft to the agency asks it to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up. The draft to Congress asks why that share is zero and presses for a published minimum at the campgrounds it funds.
- The member who votes the moneyMaxine DexterU.S. Representative · Oregon’s 3rd district
- Your senator, on the same appropriationJeff MerkleyU.S. Senator · Oregon
- Your senator, on the same appropriationRon WydenU.S. Senator · Oregon
Read the draft, or change the wording
For the camper who turned up, or tried to book, and couldn’t get in. Every draft is written from this campground’s own record (its agency, its unit, its site count and its own weekend) and the buttons above copy whichever wording is selected here.
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Camp Creek, Mt. Hood National Forest, Oregon
Dear Maxine Dexter, I’m a constituent in Oregon’s 3rd district. I tried to camp at Camp Creek, Mt. Hood National Forest, Oregon, and couldn’t. All 24 sites at Camp Creek are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 8 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Camp Creek keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Camp Creek. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Camp Creek (Mt. Hood National Forest, Oregon) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Camp Creek, Mt. Hood National Forest, Oregon
Dear Jeff Merkley, I’m a constituent in Oregon. I tried to camp at Camp Creek, Mt. Hood National Forest, Oregon, and couldn’t. All 24 sites at Camp Creek are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 8 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Camp Creek keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Camp Creek. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Camp Creek (Mt. Hood National Forest, Oregon) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Camp Creek, Mt. Hood National Forest, Oregon
Dear Ron Wyden, I’m a constituent in Oregon. I tried to camp at Camp Creek, Mt. Hood National Forest, Oregon, and couldn’t. All 24 sites at Camp Creek are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 8 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Camp Creek keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Camp Creek. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Camp Creek (Mt. Hood National Forest, Oregon) via campanac.com