Kingfisher
4Heads up4 fires, nearest 8 mi
- Right now
- Closedrecreation.gov lists every site closed this weekend, read 16:03 UTC
- A night
- $26–$52When it reopens, per site
- Sites
- 23In the agency’s record
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 5 notices
In the agency’s own words
Kingfisher Campground is a diamond in the rough. Its unkempt appearance gives it a true nature feel, yet it offers numerous modern conveniences and is close to a variety of recreational opportunities. It lies next to the scenic Hot Springs Fork of Collawash River, a tributary to the Wild and Scenic Clackamas River nearby. Keep reading
Recreation
Catch and release fishing for trout is allowed on the main fork of the Collawash, but the streams are closed to fishing. Whitewater rafting and kayaking are popular activities in the area. At least one 5-mile stretch of the more than 17-mile river boasts class III-IV whitewater. Visitors enjoy hiking in the Bull of the Woods Wilderness, which is south of the campground and offers numerous trailheads. Several primitive forest roads nearby are open to mountain biking. The Cascades Scenic Byway, which follows the Clackamas River, is not far from the campground.
Facilities
The campground offers nearly two dozen single-family sites for tent and RV camping. RVs larger than 19 feet, however, may have difficulty negotiating tight turns within the campground. No utility hookups are available. Parking surfaces are either paved or gravel. Each site is equipped with a table and campfire ring with grill. Accessible vault toilets and drinking water are provided. Firewood is available for purchase at the campground.
Natural Features
The campground is located in the Mt. Hood National Forest along the banks of the Hot Springs Fork of Collawash River, just north of the Bull of the Woods Wilderness. It is situated in a mixed evergreen forest at an elevation of about 1,250 feet. A variety of birds and wildlife make their homes in the area.
Nearby Attractions
Kingfisher Campground is at the center of the Mt. Hood National Forest, where a variety of tourist attractions and historic sites draw thousands of visitors every year. A map of the area can be found at the Ripplebrook Camp Store about 9 miles north of the campground. Bagby Hot Springs is located about 5 miles southwest of the campground. A popular site for soaking and relaxing, the springs are in a heavily wooded area. The available bathhouses are fed by three major hot water springs and several minor outlets in the area. A historic guard station was built there in 1913. The city of Estacada is 35 miles northwest of the campground, with a variety of dining and shopping options, groceries and fuel.
What the agency tells you
Off-road vehicle use is prohibited within the campground
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.
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.
Everything else this campground posts · 2
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).
Click here for more information on Mt. Hood National Forest
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 23
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 35 ft
- Paved pads
- 1 of 23
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…and campfire ring with grill. Accessible vault toilets and drinking water are provided. Firewood is…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…with grill. Accessible vault toilets and drinking water are provided. Firewood is available for purchase at…”
- Store
- Nearby
- Firewood
- Sold here
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Hot springs, River, Creek
- Biking
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Water sports
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 692nd darkest of 770 in OR
- Bortle 3
Nothing to book until it reopensread 16:03 UTC
recreation.gov lists every site closed this weekend
Every one of the next thirty nights is in recreation.gov’s record and not one site is being offered on any of them. That’s a campground closed or not yet released for booking, not a sold-out one.
Tell me when it reopens
Watch for it to come back
One email when the agency reopens it, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check the agency’s own record once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time it stops saying closed.
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.
Every line of the receipt · 12
What you actually pay
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 · 4
Why this page can’t say why
recreation.gov lists every site at Kingfisher closed this Friday and Saturday night. The U.S. Forest Service has published no closure notice we hold, so this page can’t say why, and it won’t fill the gap with a guess. A closed night isn’t a sold-out one: the reservations its record still carries were taken before the sites were closed.
There’s no notice to quote and no reason to argue with, so this page offers you the watch and the list below, and no letter.
Open within 60 miles · 4
The agency’s own word that these are open, not our reading of a season.
- Elk Lake CampgroundMt. Hood National Forest · 11 mi · walk-up
- Fox Creek Group CampWillamette National Forest · 14 mi · 1 site
- Marion Forks Campground and Day Use AreaWillamette National Forest · 26 mi · walk-up
- Lower Bridge CampgroundDeschutes National Forest · 37 mi · 12 sites
recreation.gov availability, read 16:03 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
23 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 23 mapped sitesAll 23 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. 23 of the 23 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| AREA KINGFISHER | 001 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 45 ft | 144 ft | $26 |
| AREA KINGFISHER | 002 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 121 ft | $26 | |
| AREA KINGFISHER | 003 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 53 ft | 119 ft | $26 |
| AREA KINGFISHER | 004 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 63 ft | 168 ft | $26 |
| AREA KINGFISHER | 005 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 52 ft | 96 ft | $26 |
| AREA KINGFISHER | 006 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 70 ft | $26 | |
| AREA KINGFISHER | 007 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 40 ft | 94 ft | $26 |
| AREA KINGFISHER | 008 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 81 ft | 45 ft | $26 |
| AREA KINGFISHER | 009 | standard nonelectric | 57 ft | 88 ft | $26 | |
| AREA KINGFISHER | 010 | standard nonelectric | 57 ft | 38 ft | $26 | |
| AREA KINGFISHER | 011 | standard nonelectric | 82 ft | 60 ft | $26 | |
| AREA KINGFISHER | 012 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 82 ft | 70 ft | $26 |
| AREA KINGFISHER | 013 | standard nonelectric | 75 ft | 100 ft | $26 | |
| AREA KINGFISHER | 014 | standard nonelectric | 75 ft | 130 ft | $26 | |
| AREA KINGFISHER | 015 | standard nonelectric | 57 ft | 230 ft | $26 | |
| AREA KINGFISHER | 016 | standard nonelectric | 57 ft | 173 ft | $26 | |
| AREA KINGFISHER | 017 | standard nonelectric | 75 ft | 193 ft | $26 | |
| AREA KINGFISHER | 018 | standard nonelectric | 76 ft | 217 ft | $26 | |
| AREA KINGFISHER | 019 | standard nonelectric | 108 ft | 283 ft | $26 | |
| AREA KINGFISHER | 020 | standard nonelectric | 66 ft | 387 ft | $26 | |
| AREA KINGFISHER | 021 | standard nonelectric | 66 ft | 325 ft | $26 | |
| AREA KINGFISHER | 022 | standard nonelectric | 131 ft | 295 ft | $26 | |
| AREA KINGFISHER | 023 | standard nonelectric | 67 ft | 232 ft | $26 |
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
RaabMt. Hood National Forest · 3.5 mi
Bagby CampgroundMt. Hood National Forest · 4.1 mi
Riverford CampgroundMt. Hood National Forest · 4.2 mi
Riverside CampgroundMt. Hood National Forest · 4.8 mi
Riverside (Mt. Hood National Forest, OR)Mt. Hood National Forest · 5.8 miFrom Estacada, travel east on Highway 224 for 26 miles, then turn right on Road 46 and continue for 5 miles. Turn onto Road 63 and continue for 4 miles. Turn onto Road 70 and continue about 2 miles to the campground.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Detroit, OR
Typical weather
Typical October night 42°F, day 59°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical December night 33°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
what threatens it · who answers for it
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Kingfisher 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 →