Timberlake Campground & RV — Hotel in Hood River

Well, I almost booked 2 nights, and I'm writing this at 4 AM sincerely glad that I only paid for one, but I frankly kind of want my money back. Considering I only got to sleep half the night, at least half my money back would be fair. All these other people complaining about this train going by in the middle of the night at other campgrounds.... This mystical train, that the only reason I even ever heard was because after Extremely Large Deisel Truck Towing A Boat/RV #4 passed me by at 3 AM. Then a train went by when I was already awake thanks to the (multiple) trucks. As of my writing this, I have had 6, count it, SIX Extremely Large Deisel Truck Towing A Boat/RV between the hours of 0230 and 0400. I could have slept in my car at a rest stop for this much noise, for free, and honestly, probably less noise. I've done it before. And let's also be clear, it's not just the noise of them going past the road that's right next to my tent. It's also their headlights, and it's also them loading up all of their stuff and slamming a bunch of doors and then revving their engine multiple times....

It's really disappointing because this is theoretically a great location and when I booked it and I sent them a message, they were super nice online.... but let's also talk about the fire ban. There are signs, and even whenever I booked it in the listing, it says there is a fire ban, no fires, etc. Plain as day. I'm not so certain why everyone out here thinks that they're super special and they're an exception, and this isn't exclusive to this campground, but I've got news for the people that still had fires burning: you're not an exception, and the only reason I'm here, instead of in Canada right now is because there's so many wildfires that I had to call it quits, because the roads were closing and I couldn't risk getting stuck. Are some of the wild fires naturally occurring? Sure. I'm curious to know how many of them or because of man and specifically campers who think that burn bans don't apply to them because they can't be basic, rock bottom, bare bones, decent human beings. Anyway I'm now tired and disappointed... It seems such a shame, but as I said, I'm just glad I didn't go ahead and pay for 2 nights. Given that it's going on 0430, I'm not even sure I'm gonna get any more sleep. Of course, I don't know how many more big rigs there are either waiting to go by.... I know I'm technically in Washington, but I'm close enough to Oregon that I feel comfortable, lumping it in and saying that I just have to call it quits with camping down here. Between this and the hippie commune 2 weeks ago, I'm about done with Oregon. I was going to edit this only to add that the bathrooms are actually really, really nice. So that's a bonus. But in the 5 minutes, I've been back in my tent thinking, well, maybe I'll try and go back to sleep again, a diesel truck started up and idled for more than 5 minutes and then drove past me and filled up my tent with the stench of his engine, which is the loudest of all that has gone by, and he is #7 here at 0530. At this point, I'm just waiting for the coffee shop down the road to open so I have somewhere to go. I can't wait to drive for 3 hours today and deal with Portland traffic after getting only 4 hrs of sleep... a drive I would otherwise not be making people because I was going to stay in the area. Love...

Drive a little over 2 miles off the highway and you will enter a lush park with campsites enclosed by trees and away from the traffic and train noise. There are spaces for RV’s, Trailers, and Tent Campers dirt camping to full hook-ups. Don’t miss this park. The Owners, who are on site almost every day, take customer service to the limit. Kyle will help you place your trailer, or just provide guidance if you need it. We had to change reservations; no problems, no hassle, no extra charges. Marissa spent time with us suggesting books about the area and also suggested a few activities for our stay. We were low on a few items and located them in the camp store very low mark-ups which is really unusual. The sites are all almost perfectly flat; due to the rain there can be some minor leveling but we backed in and didn’t need any blocks. Every site has a picnic table and fire pit. The campground is clean. The showers, toilets, and the outhouses spaced around the park for “tent campers” were all spotless when we used them. They have a large area for dogs, a play and picnic area for families, and if you want a pleasant walk, just walk the park. Though I hate the idea of “Internet” on vacation, I needed it and the speed was more than acceptable. It is quiet here, other than other campers all one can hear is the wind through the trees. At almost every site you are next to the forest (on one side of our site there was just an open forested area. If you are looking for a special place for RV camping this is the one in the Gorge, you can travel to any activity from here. We stayed here in a 23 foot travel trailer; enough space for both our trailer and...

If 10 stars was an option, this would be a ten star review! Where do I begin? First, this place is lush and quiet and so enjoyable!! I have missed the green beauty of the PNW and this delivers all that and more. The birds are numerous, if you are into birding you will die! The people here are of the highest quality, the camp hosts Mike and Reneé and the owner Kyle are the most genuinely kind people we have encountered in our travels or honestly anywhere. Our truck broke down when we arrived, literally at the entrance. It was bad, so bad that the owner Kyle had to use the camp hosts truck to take our trailer to our site. Kyle had the immediate forethought to put us into a site we could stay in for longer than the two original days we were scheduled for since we were looking at having our truck towed somewhere. Bless him for thinking ahead! Kyle had to climb under our truck several times in this process to try to get it started again, unbelievably he had some experience with the problem the truck was having. It was too late that night to get it to a repair shop, but early the next morning my husband set out to take it to a place Kyle recommended. The place was great and promised to do their best to get us on the road as soon as they could. Kyle’s father in law picked my husband up at the auto repair shop and brought him back to the campground. What an experience— it could have been disastrous but instead it gave us renewed hope in humanity !! We will definitely be back again!! Side note— I want to move to this town, this is a place filled with honest to goodness...