Three Bears Campground
3Heads up3 fires, nearest 21 mi
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 1 of the next 1 nights read 16:48 UTC
- A night
- $15–$30Across the site types the agency prices
- Sites
- 15All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 13 notices
In the agency’s own words
No cash, check, or cards are accepted on site. Make a reservations online or use the mobile app. Three Bears campsites are only available by making a reservation. Reserve a campsite on recreation.gov or Recreation.gov Mobile App prior to entering the Molalla River Recreation Corridor. There is no cell reception in the drainage. Situated in a picturesque grove of western red cedar 4 miles south of Glen Avon Bridge, the site has 15 tent campsites, each equipped with a tent pad, metal fire ring, BBQ grill, and picnic table. The campground also has vault toilets and access to a beautiful cobble beach and swimming hole. Keep reading
Recreation
Camping, fishing, swimming, hiking and biking on nearby trails (Hardy Creek TH closest)
Facilities
Amenities includes a vault restroom, individual campsites with picnic tables, BBQ grill, and a metal fire ring. There are two parking spots for each campsite located in the central parking lot. There is a central handpump for potable water off-site at Cedar Grove campground 1 mile east of Three Bears. 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
Molalla Wild and Scenic River and forested environment. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (503) 375-5646.
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. Table Rock Wilderness is further up the canyon and accessible through three trailheads.
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.
Vehicle parking is centralized, campsite access is walk-in and distance from parking area varies.
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 · 10
Please use available dumpsters for packing out your campsite’s trash.
Pets are allowed but must be leashed (max. 6 feet). Please dispose all pet waste in trash receptacles.
Beware of wildlife. They will scavenge your campsite. It is advised to keep items secured in a container.
Be aware that the main S. Molalla Forest Rd is regularly used for hauling timber and forest products.
The Molalla recreation corridor sits between 800 and 1200 feet in elevation.
No horses allowed in the campground.
No motorized vehicles allowed outside of the central parking area.
Please observe posted rules and regulations.
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
- 15 · 15 walk-in
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 12 ft
- Paved pads
- All
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…picnic table. The campground also has vault toilets and access to a beautiful cobble beach and swimming…”
- Firewood
- Mentioned
- Stay limit
- 13 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- River, Creek, Beach
- Biking
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 768th darkest of 770 in OR
- Bortle 4
- Cell signal · Cell signal · BLM says
- None
- Fall color · reported 6 days ago, 30 km away
- Patchy color
15 of 30 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 16:48 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.
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 · 14
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $15–$30 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.
“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 16:48 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
15 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 15 mapped sitesAll 15 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. 15 of the 15 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| Camp | 01 | walk to | 12 ft | 57 ft | 102 ft | $15–$30 |
| Camp | 02 | walk to | 12 ft | 57 ft | 90 ft | $15–$30 |
| Camp | 03 | walk to | 12 ft | 88 ft | 168 ft | $15–$30 |
| Camp | 04 | walk to | 12 ft | 103 ft | 62 ft | $15–$30 |
| Camp | 05 | walk to | 12 ft | 59 ft | 76 ft | $15–$30 |
| Camp | 06 | walk to | 12 ft | 59 ft | 93 ft | $15–$30 |
| Camp | 07 | walk to | 12 ft | 83 ft | 92 ft | $15–$30 |
| Camp | 08 | walk to | 12 ft | 51 ft | 106 ft | $15–$30 |
| Camp | 09 | walk to | 12 ft | 51 ft | 115 ft | $15–$30 |
| Camp | 10 | walk to | 12 ft | 60 ft | 117 ft | $15–$30 |
| Camp | 11 | walk to | 12 ft | 67 ft | 88 ft | $15–$30 |
| Camp | 12 | walk to | 12 ft | 67 ft | 87 ft | $15–$30 |
| Camp | 13 | walk to | 12 ft | 93 ft | 178 ft | $15–$30 |
| Camp | 14 | walk to | 12 ft | 72 ft | 83 ft | $15–$30 |
| Camp | 15 | walk to | 12 ft | 72 ft | 109 ft | $15–$30 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions
Where it is
Cedar Grove CampgroundNw Oregon Cascades Field Office · 0.9 miCedar Grove Recreation SiteNw Oregon Cascades Field Office · 0.9 mi
Aquila Vista Recreation SiteNw Oregon Cascades Field Office · 4.2 miShady CoveWillamette National Forest · 17 mi
Bagby CampgroundMt. Hood National Forest · 17 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 3 miles, Three Bears will be on your left.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Molalla, 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
Three Bears Campground 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 →
How we know
every fact on this page, and where it came from
“…the Molalla River Recreation Corridor. There is no cell reception in the drainage. Situated in a picturesque grove of western…”