Deschutes River State Park Campground, Oregon

The Deschutes River State Recreation area and Campground sits alongside the mouth of the Deschutes River where it meets with the mighty Columbia River. Located just a few miles east of The Dalles off highway 84 in the Columbia River Gorge, the Deshcutes River Campground is home to 34 electrical sites with water, 25 primitive camp sites and 4 large group sites. The campground itself is well manicured with beautiful lawns for those who are not so found of the dirty side of roughing it. There is lots to do at the site from fishing, horse-back riding, hiking and mountain biking, not to mention boating and rafting. The river is easily accessible and some of the campsites are literally within feet of its banks making it an ideal spot for swimmers and fishermen alike.

The campground itself is lacking greatly in privacy as the sites snug up to one another without any brush or trees in between them. The lawn, while well maintained, also happens to be inhabited by geese which have managed do what geese do best and poop all over it. So forget about laying out for a nice snooze in the grass unless your brought a blanket. Lastly, when you travel East of the Cascades the scenery changes drastically. Visitors will find themselves in what resembles more of a desert setting and with that comes desert creatures. The Deschutes River State Park is home to Rattlesnakes, Bull Snakes and Ticks. In the 2011 camping season a small dog was bitten by a rattlesnake in the campground grass area and shortly after the incident died.