Viento State Park
Viento State Park
3
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
3.0
21 reviews
Excellent
2
Very good
5
Average
4
Poor
9
Terrible
1
Zephyr55126
Shoreview, MN52 contributions
Aug 2017 • Friends
We were looking for a campground near Multnomah Falls area. We read the reviews AND the park information about the "active train / rail traffic" and thought 'well, maybe it is not that bad.' 🚂 All other campgrounds we checked were full, so we shrugged and said 'what the heck.'
Bathrooms and showers were clean.
Campsites were roomy. Rangers were very helpful with good tips about the area.
Being sandwiched between the rails and I-84 makes for a noisy experience- even in a trailer with the AC running. So, believe what the State Park posts on their website and decide for yourself.
Bathrooms and showers were clean.
Campsites were roomy. Rangers were very helpful with good tips about the area.
Being sandwiched between the rails and I-84 makes for a noisy experience- even in a trailer with the AC running. So, believe what the State Park posts on their website and decide for yourself.
Written 23 August 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RezZuki
Temecula, CA9 contributions
Jul 2015 • Couples
This is a nice little campground, except for the noise. Good space between spots. Clean newer showers, and free. I'd say close to 1/2 the campers here are wind surfers. Has electric and water, but no sewer and no dump station here. Heavily shaded. The bad part is the noise. If not for that, I'm sure there would be a lot of 5 star ratings. The comments other than noise are just nit-picky complainers.
The train tracks are right up against the river side of Viento. I'd estimate there are 4-6 trains every night, maybe more. There is a track crossing for Viento, so every train blows its horn loudly going by. Then, I-84 is pretty much right up against the other side of Viento. I spent 3 nights at Viento, and got more and more used to it. Still, the trains woke me up.
I'd stay here again if I had no other choice, but I'd try to get into another adjacent first.
The train tracks are right up against the river side of Viento. I'd estimate there are 4-6 trains every night, maybe more. There is a track crossing for Viento, so every train blows its horn loudly going by. Then, I-84 is pretty much right up against the other side of Viento. I spent 3 nights at Viento, and got more and more used to it. Still, the trains woke me up.
I'd stay here again if I had no other choice, but I'd try to get into another adjacent first.
Written 16 July 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Janet F
Kelso, WA52 contributions
Jul 2016 • Couples
I had read the reviews so knew this campsite was between the train tracks and the freeway, but I didn't realize how close - a stone's throw either way. But that would've been okay - this was a last-minute reservation to get our dogs away from fireworks, and that worked beautifully. Oregon has strict fireworks laws and state parks don't allow them, so there was no firework noise for the 6 days we were there. There was a lovely little path down to a lake. There is very little grass here in July - it's all pine cones and pine needles, so every dog walk my dog had to stop 4 or 5 times to pick pine needles out of her paws. There is no privacy between sites - not enough greenery. The real downside was my husband found 6 ticks - 5 on his dog and 1 on himself. The biggest upside (other than no firework noise) - just a short drive through the underpass and there is a day use area with a mile-long paved path to Starvation Creek, great for dogs, bikes, kids. I just wished we'd found it before day 5.
Written 5 July 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
lynnnddd
Portland48 contributions
Jun 2015 • Couples
Noisy spot in Columbia Gorge between Interstate & railroad track near road crossing so trains blow horns when passing. Volunteer didn't know which sites were open; after finding one & getting set up he stopped & said electric breaker kicked off regularly (no sign saying such). Set up at a second site & he came by to say electric didn' t work at all. We left. A couple simple notes on paper at sites would have saved us 45 minutes.
Written 30 June 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
HatRez
Vancouver, Canada386 contributions
Jun 2015 • Couples
If the thought of camping in a serene, quiet forest setting repulses you, then you will love Viento State Park. Nestled right next to an active railway line and the busy Interstate 84, there's no way you'll be able to camp in peace. With the railway as close as 30 feet to most sites in the park, you won't go 20 minutes without the blaring train horn, rumbling tracks and subsequent dog barking bonanza. Missing it already? Don't worry! The next train is due any moment now. But wait! There's more. As an added bonus, Viento State Park throws in an extra active railway directly across Columbia River on the Washington side, so 40 daily trains becomes 80, at no extra cost to you. Now you'll never have to get lost in your own thoughts, become engrossed in that book you bought especially for the trip, or even get a decent sleep at night.
All infomercial joking aside, this really is the noisiest, worst campground we've ever stayed in. (This coming from someone who camped under LAX airport.) And the 80 daily trains between the two tracks isn't an exaggeration. It was a fun factoid on the sightseeing excursion we took. They ease up at night, you may hear five or 10. But during the day, there's about four an hour. That's every 15 minutes. We have a double insulated RV and I wear earplugs, and it still woke me up every time it passed. I don't know how people in tents got any sleep at all.
Beyond that, there is no dump station for the campground. The Camp Host has one but otherwise you need to drive 6 miles into Hood River to dump at the Waste Treatment plant.
The website says a maximum of 8 people are allowed on a site. There was a convoy of people that may have technically rented separate sites but all converged on one for 18 hours a day. I counted 26 children in their entourage, never mind the adults. It was insanity. At least the trains drowned out their noise.
Apparently if an RV uses its air conditioning, it blows a breaker and shuts down power to half the campsites. They have a work order in so they're getting around to fixing that issue.
However, the location can't be beat. It's only 10 minutes into Hood River, close to the highway to Mt. Hood, 15 minutes to Cascade Lock and only about half an hour to the waterfall area. We rode our bikes one night to Starvation Creek falls, which was a nice little drive down a section of old, shaded highway.
We love Oregon and unfortunately, to enjoy the Gorge area you often need to stay in a campground with noise issues. Viento, though, takes the cake.
All infomercial joking aside, this really is the noisiest, worst campground we've ever stayed in. (This coming from someone who camped under LAX airport.) And the 80 daily trains between the two tracks isn't an exaggeration. It was a fun factoid on the sightseeing excursion we took. They ease up at night, you may hear five or 10. But during the day, there's about four an hour. That's every 15 minutes. We have a double insulated RV and I wear earplugs, and it still woke me up every time it passed. I don't know how people in tents got any sleep at all.
Beyond that, there is no dump station for the campground. The Camp Host has one but otherwise you need to drive 6 miles into Hood River to dump at the Waste Treatment plant.
The website says a maximum of 8 people are allowed on a site. There was a convoy of people that may have technically rented separate sites but all converged on one for 18 hours a day. I counted 26 children in their entourage, never mind the adults. It was insanity. At least the trains drowned out their noise.
Apparently if an RV uses its air conditioning, it blows a breaker and shuts down power to half the campsites. They have a work order in so they're getting around to fixing that issue.
However, the location can't be beat. It's only 10 minutes into Hood River, close to the highway to Mt. Hood, 15 minutes to Cascade Lock and only about half an hour to the waterfall area. We rode our bikes one night to Starvation Creek falls, which was a nice little drive down a section of old, shaded highway.
We love Oregon and unfortunately, to enjoy the Gorge area you often need to stay in a campground with noise issues. Viento, though, takes the cake.
Written 15 June 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Clayton G
12 contributions
Jul 2021
I'd give it a terrible except it was close enough to other interesting sites it made the awful condition of the campground tolerable.
We took out new RV on its maiden voyage to Viento state park. Upon arrival we were told by the "camp host" we could not use the water due to an E. coli contamination of the parks water supply. He just laughed when we asked about an adjustment on our bill! He also went berserk at campers who collected driftwood , stating it was illegal. I told him I was in law enforcement and knew of so such law. He crabbed a little at that time. Later I saw he had a little wood shop set up at his campsite so I guess he wanted to save the driftwood for his own projects.
Trains on one side and semi-trucks on the other side 24/7. What's not to enjoy! Fortunately there were a lot of good and interesting folks there that made it a nice visit.
We took out new RV on its maiden voyage to Viento state park. Upon arrival we were told by the "camp host" we could not use the water due to an E. coli contamination of the parks water supply. He just laughed when we asked about an adjustment on our bill! He also went berserk at campers who collected driftwood , stating it was illegal. I told him I was in law enforcement and knew of so such law. He crabbed a little at that time. Later I saw he had a little wood shop set up at his campsite so I guess he wanted to save the driftwood for his own projects.
Trains on one side and semi-trucks on the other side 24/7. What's not to enjoy! Fortunately there were a lot of good and interesting folks there that made it a nice visit.
Written 16 December 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Don H
Kirkland, WA889 contributions
Oct 2019 • Couples
This campground is small with nice parking pads in one large loop. North side is immediately adjacent to the busy railroad, while the Southside is adjacent to the interstate, so take your pick, nose from trucks or noise from trains 😁.
All else ok.
All else ok.
Written 4 October 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CinWryter
Warrenton, OR9 contributions
Sept 2019
This campground was situated perfectly for our Hood River/The Dalles/Cascade Locks visit. It's small, yet sites aren't too close to each other. The river and train tracks are on one side and Interstate 84 is on the other.
Yes. It's quite loud all night long with semi trucks buzzing by on the freeway and noisy trains with horns on the other side. I used noise-cancelling earbuds and we were able to sleep (my husband grew up in boarding homes and can sleep through anything!)
It was our first trip with a 1964 Winnebago we're restoring. First time towing it and the site I selected was A26 because it was the ADA (disabled) site. Extremely difficult angle for backing in a trailer! My husband hasn't backed up a trailer in 20 years and this angle was really difficult. The ranger told him they often block off the road to allow those who stay in A26 to drive in the opposite direction to park their rig because of the angle. Wish we'd known THAT ahead of time.
Also, I chose that site because I'm handicapped and I'm thinking it would be closest to restrooms, no steps, bathroom facilities that will be helpful to me.
Yet there were no ADA toilets or showers... what? I mentioned this to the ranger when I saw her and she said there was an ADA stall (with a shower, toilet, bench & sink), but it's on the other side of the building and was being kept locked because the shower was broken. She readily unlocked it so I could at least use that toilet. Grateful for that. But showering remained problematic. There were closer camping spaces to the restroom than A26 (at least it seemed to me) and the paved walkway from our space was extremely uneven because of tree roots. EXTREMELY uneven... hard to walk on with canes or roll across with a wheelchair or motorized scooter.
That aside, the camping area has a beautiful canopy of trees and even though it was hot one of the nights, we stayed cool because of this and the nice breeze from the river.
Easy reservation system online. Nice price ($24 per night). Nice rangers.
Yes. It's quite loud all night long with semi trucks buzzing by on the freeway and noisy trains with horns on the other side. I used noise-cancelling earbuds and we were able to sleep (my husband grew up in boarding homes and can sleep through anything!)
It was our first trip with a 1964 Winnebago we're restoring. First time towing it and the site I selected was A26 because it was the ADA (disabled) site. Extremely difficult angle for backing in a trailer! My husband hasn't backed up a trailer in 20 years and this angle was really difficult. The ranger told him they often block off the road to allow those who stay in A26 to drive in the opposite direction to park their rig because of the angle. Wish we'd known THAT ahead of time.
Also, I chose that site because I'm handicapped and I'm thinking it would be closest to restrooms, no steps, bathroom facilities that will be helpful to me.
Yet there were no ADA toilets or showers... what? I mentioned this to the ranger when I saw her and she said there was an ADA stall (with a shower, toilet, bench & sink), but it's on the other side of the building and was being kept locked because the shower was broken. She readily unlocked it so I could at least use that toilet. Grateful for that. But showering remained problematic. There were closer camping spaces to the restroom than A26 (at least it seemed to me) and the paved walkway from our space was extremely uneven because of tree roots. EXTREMELY uneven... hard to walk on with canes or roll across with a wheelchair or motorized scooter.
That aside, the camping area has a beautiful canopy of trees and even though it was hot one of the nights, we stayed cool because of this and the nice breeze from the river.
Easy reservation system online. Nice price ($24 per night). Nice rangers.
Written 10 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
GregTrav28
Orlando, FL685 contributions
Jul 2019 • Couples
Great side trip in the Columbia River Valley. It did not have very many people when we visited on the day after July 4th holiday. It made it great for just driving right near the river and spending a half hour here. Great place to relax, picnic, or if you are adventurous wind surf. $5 entrance fee was well worth it. I did not notice it being too noisy as some people complained.
Written 28 August 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Brenda300
British Columbia, Canada109 contributions
Jun 2019 • Friends
The Viento State campground and bathrooms were exceptionally clean and well-run. Our group of 24 campers enjoyed our camping experience here. The gorgeous Columbia River is a 3 minute walk from the campsite and we spent an afternoon there watching the kite surfers, outriggers and paddle boarders from the rocky beach. It's a nice spot to spend some time in the sunshine close to the water. The camp volunteer (Shari) was fun, kind and helpful and the park ranger (Robert) was attentive, efficient and organized. He even did a quick demo for us on how to make 'camp peach cobbler' (canned peaches, cinnamon, allspice, vanilla extract, brown sugar, white sugar and yellow cake mix) in a Dutch oven over our fire pit. It was so good! It's loud here. The train rips through day & night and the rigs on the highway can be heard too. Just bring ear plugs or do a couple of shots before bed to knock you out. Through the noise beauty does surround you. I stayed in Site A18 and it was perfect. We went on a wonderful day trip (30 minute drive from the campsite) to Horsetail Falls and to Multnomah Falls. Both were stunning!
Written 8 June 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
If we want to camp here, can we come at any time of the day or does it close at certain time ?
Written 25 June 2016
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