Sunset Falls Campground

Great campground, at almost every site you could hear the river running. Very close walk to the falls. Camp host was very friendly. They sell firewood for $ 6 per bundle. Nice, small & quiet campground. Felt like we were the only ones there. Would totally go back. We stayed at site 12.

WARNING: DO NOT HAVE FUN. Let me start off first by saying that the campground seems cheap, 12 dollars a night, but you are paying for nothing. This section of the river is closed to fishing, the water is not deep enough to swim, and from the campground you must walk down an incredibly steep slope to even touch water. OK, back to the fun subject. I recently stayed here with 2 of my buddies and it was around 7:30 (This is a summer 7:30) so completely light outside. We were playing a game of cards and having a good time (not being very quiet) but the people camped next door were being a bit rowdy with us, a general good time. This is when it went down. The 140 year old witch goblin stormed down from the mountain to reign terror over us. «You are being to loud! Show some respect or you guys are out of here!» it let out a huge roar and flew away on its bat like wings. This put a damper on our trip. Next morning we were out of there by 8 o’ clock. I would highly recommend not to come here. This is one of few spots in the world where evil hags reek havoc upon those who dare try to have fun. Do yourself a favor and do not come here.
Regards,
–Darren

This campground is easy to find and nice because it’s so easy to get to. You can be there from pdx or Vancouver in less than an hour.
The sites are clean and cozy. You can hear the river while resting in your tent– very peaceful.
The camp hosts are friendly. They cruise around often to see if you need anything — firewood, directions to the falls, etc.
The falls are very close. If it’s warm you can jump off into the water or hang out in a raft. It’s all very dog friendly also.
No running water so be prepared to use a (clean) porta potty style bathroom but bring wipes for your hands and plenty of drinking water.
There’s no cell service but if you needed, you could drive a few miles back towards the highway to get reception.
It’s a gem of a spot — very relaxing. I had a great weekend unplugging from the world and relaxing.

Great site. Very close to the water with trails to falls and swimming holes. Super affordable. The camp host (don’t know her name) was awesome and very helpful. We definitely felt welcome.

We were very pleased by this small campground. It was a nice combination of space — well maintained yet still retaining its wild feel. The sound of the river can be heard from each site. These tent, non-​electric sites are easily accessible.
As stated in another review, the rough road that runs along the campground is not well traveled but a couple large trucks came through overnight and the noise woke me. Sites 1 — 5 back up to the road so sites 6 — 10 which are at the top of the embankment to the river are the preferred sites. It is a small campground so any traffic on the road will be heard.
With the complaint about the occasional noise aside, the river and waterfalls located in the park are wonderful. On this Thursday and Friday morning in mid-​September, we had the well-​maintained trails to ourselves. Our dog loved wading the river and climbing the rocky shores, The leaves were just beginning to change and the river looked beautiful.
We shared the campground with just one other couple but the other sites were almost all reserved for the weekend (the last weekend that they were reservable for the season, according to the camp host).
My site was #5, nice but the road could be seen behind our tent. My chioice for the best site would be #6. Its at the back of the loop and is spacious. The site backs up to a steep drop-​off to the river — I found it incredible and my dog found it challenging but I’d worry about small children at the site,
Sites 1 — 6 are good size (2 and 3 next to the outhouse but spacious) but 7 & 8 although along the river, I thought were small and 9 & 10 were very small.
I didn’t explore the walk-​in sites,
We’ll be back, possibly for the full fall color,

Positives — once we got there, the campsite was beautiful, clean, and spacious. Each site has enough foliage to be private but not too much if you want to combine camps and be friendly with neighbors. The park has a nice path to the river which leads to a very pretty swimming hole. Clean latrines.
Negatives — DO NOT use the directions or address included in your ReserveAmerica confirmation email. Both are wrong. The address will take you to the Mt. Hood National Monument headquarters, not the campground. The directions don’t reflect recent changes to I-​5 exiting and street renaming. Bring a map, not your phone — service is unavailable by the time you reach the wrong location.
Also, camp host did not allow purchase of firewood after dark. Reasons unclear (this was early, around 7:45 /​8pm just after sundown.) Which was a bummer, to say the least — if you follow the rules and don’t bring your own wood from elsewhere, prepare for a cold, dark night.
Finally, there is some local «flavor» in the area. Campers were woken around 3am when a truck full of locals drove through the area with horn blaring, lights flashing, screaming «the red coats are coming» So. That was. interesting.
It’s a pretty spot but not sure if we’ll be back.

Love this place. Its a beautiful location. The owner was super nice. When you go you are able to buy firewood there as well and I highly recommend it. The firewood I bought from winco had too big of pieces and one of them was rotten. The campsites was perfect and easy to burn. Its near Sunset falls which is beautiful and has a bench where you can stare at the beauty for as long as you want. Some of the campsites are a little close together but there are some that are secluded and are in the middle of the forest. Will be back within the next few weeks.

UPDATE: it took complaining to the BBB and three other agencies, and about 2 dozen phone calls, but almost A MONTH LATER I have the refund I was promised. Insane. These people feel no remorse or guilt at all for their crappy customer service.
I made reservations through
in March for a July weekend. This was my anniversary weekend, but also ended up being the weekend of the 4^th of July. I made it so early so we would have someplace to stay. Two weeks before my trip I get an email from Hoodoo saying that they mislabeled the site as a trailer site and it was tent only. The email said to call and cancel if I could not bring a trailer. Why it took so many months to catch their error, I don’t know. I called and clarified WITH HOODOO CORPORATE AND RESERVE AMERICA that I had a tent, I was coming, and gave them my updated phone number. I drove two hours with all my stuff packed and my family crammed in my car to the campsite only to find it was already give to someone else. According to them, I was «supposed to call and didn’t». I pointed out the email did not say I needed to call, and that I DID call anyway. Didn’t matter, I had to drive ANOTHER two hours home. It was the holiday weekend and there was no one to call to ask for help or escalate this to. Finally, after the weekend, I call and call and get no answer from Hoodoo Corporate. I email and no answer. I send a form through their website and no answer. I finally send a tweet through twitter and get a response. I’m told that I need to call Reserve America and request a refund for Hoodoo’s mistake before they will refund it. I call the number, I’m on the phone, transferred twice for an hour before the request is made. It is a week later and I still don’t have a refund. I was told that a campsite manager would contact me about all of this because I told them that making ME do the work to get a refund when THEY canceled my reservation by mistake was completely unacceptable and they needed to make that right. A week after they said a manger would contact me, I heard nothing and asked why I had never heard. I was told that the refund is «being processed» and they «consider the matter closed». NEVER EVER EVER give these people your money.

The camp ground was fantastic! The camp ground manger was delightful and she came and had a brew with us.

Sunset Falls is a pretty decent campground just inside Gifford Pinchot National Forest on the Lewis River in SW Washington. With easy access from Portland, it’s a good place to get out of cell range and into the woods without giving up a couple of the basic amenities like toilets.
For $ 12/​night you can get a spacious campsite that’s actually fairly well-​insulated from neighboring slips. Each site has your standard picnic table and fire pit as well as one sand pad for a large size tent. There is no electricity or running water (as opposed to what the website says) but there are vaulted pit toilets, which on a busy weekend are pretty rough.
The location of the campground is great, right alongside the river and near Sunset Falls, a great day-​use spot for swimming and jumping and floating. The road is paved all the way to the campground so it’s easy for cars and RV’s.
A review of this campsite wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the camp host — Ron. Ron is probably about 100 years old and he runs one hell of a tight ship. You won’t be in your site more than a minute or two before Ron comes rolling up on his John Deere and signs you in. He doesn’t miss a beat. And he’ll be happy to tell you about how he has security onsite, he’s had people arrested before for being too drunk, and how he’s kicked people out for smoking marijuana, and all sorts of fun time stories. But don’t worry if he goes on about his business too soon… you’re sure to see him come rolling by your site on regular rounds. He’ll offer up any info you want, and plenty you don’t. And when you leave, he’s quick to cruise in and turn over your site, getting it ready for the next tenants.
But in the end, Ron is harmless, and the fact that the campsites are spaced out makes for a decently private (for organized campground standards) stay. I’d return!