Viento State Park — Attraction in Hood River

This is a unique, small state park. Campsites range from being small (tent sites) to quite generous (RV partial hookup). The park is split and exists on either side of I-84, and also has some resources closer to the Columbia which is also separated from the body of the park by an active railroad line.

No hookup sites have sewer, just water and 30/20 amp connections. This wouldn’t be an issue if the park had a dump station, but it doesn’t. So you have to be pretty efficient with your water use and tank management to stay there more than just a few days. This also means you have to find a place to dump when you leave. There aren’t a lot of dump stations or opportunities in this area of I-84. So you might be carrying it with you for a while till you can find a place to dump.

The park itself is quite charming, but it isn’t a destination park. It is a great choice if you need a day or two off the road in transit between places. It is nestled into the trees and some campsites are quite cozy. Most campsites are sufficiently private, and those that are less private generally have a lot of space.

Sites are not absolutely level, but not so far off that leveling up is impossible. Each site has a paved vehicle spot, however the pavement is getting a little old. Our site has a tree root that was pushing up the pavement which made parking the rig more challenging.

Typical Oregon State Parks restroom and shower house facilities were there. Very brown and beige and industrial. The park hosts worked hard to keep the facilities in good shape. The park hosts were also very visible throughout the day, doing work in the park and tidying up campsites that had just been vacated.

Many have said that there is traffic noise from I-84 and train noise from the railroad tracks. It exists. It isn’t going to go away. It was not bothersome to me, however if you are a light sleeper, bring earplugs or whatever you use to help you sleep in noisy situations, and you should be fine.

There is access to the Columbia. It is across the railroad tracks and the river access is part of the day use area of the park.

I’d give the park 5 stars for being smaller, and having very nice campsites, but the lack of sewer hookups or even a dump station make the park less desirable than some other parks.

Don’t let the noise complaints keep you from staying here. It’s a beautiful location, not super crowded and...

A nice, clean RV park type campground in the Columbia Gorge, to stay the night on a trip to Central Oregon. The drawback for me was the highway noise and the trains blowing their horns every hour until about midnight on a Saturday night. They pass by in-between the campground and the day use area. Unfortunately, the road into the day use area crosses the train tracks, so the trains are obliged to blow the horns for safety purposes. Nothing else really wrong with the campground except that and the campsites are so close to each other like every 30 feet there's another site so you always have neighbors peering over at you on all sides. Kind of a parking lot with a picnic table and firepit/ grill at each space..No shrubbery in between sites, open but with tall oak and pine trees all around. We had the disabled ADA spot for my husband with COPD and it was a flat paved site all around for wheelchairs and mobility impaired folks. Water and electric hookups at every site was included with the camp reservations. Good for folks with small RV's and shorter trailers.Also, just a short walk from our Site A26- ADA site, on the paved trail to the nice restrooms and showers. Very well kept and huge! Flush toilets with toilet paper, soap, sinks with mirrors and paper towels well stocked. Showers were free for campers, nice and clean. You supply your own towels and soap/shampoo, etc. We never drove to the Day use area but heard it was nice and right on the Columbia river. Lots of sailboarders and paragliders go there. All in all a decent place to stay...

The park is decently well maintained, and spaces are spacious enough to allow for privacy. They aren't entirely enclosed, but also not a wide open field like Memaloose.

The train is an issue though. I mean, we knew that there would be a train. We DIDNT know that all east bound trains would honk the horn 3 times (due to roads and paths crossing the rail, so it does make sense) each, and that the track is a BUSY line. Every 15 minutes a new train went by. No sleep as the track was just behind our site.

This isn't the fault of the Campground, but it sure does affect peaceful relaxation.

Of note, there are wild blackberries and plums here, and as long as you respect nature you can harvest some. Don't destroy the bramble! Leave some for others. Take only what you will use, and this helps make a good trip a better one. We had blackberry pancakes, with fresh wild harvested berries. Yum!

In our case we gave some over-picked berries to another site, and they were kind enough to share some wild harvested lobster mushroom. We thanked him in person, and am doing so again here. 10 cents worth of wild blackberries and he gave us expensive mushrooms. We loved it too! Too bad they are hard to find, and I do not trust my mushroom harvesting skills, I would not know what was safe or not. Thank you again kind stranger! We will be shopping for these...