Viento State Park

We were actually booked for 3 nights, but only stayed for 2. This is a very small campground sandwiched between the I84 interstate and the Trans Pacific railroad. Both are literally a stones throw away from the any RV site on either side. The train comes through about every 30 to 60 minutes throughout the night with horns blasting due to a nearby RR crossing in the campground. Once that wakes you up, you will enjoy the sound of semi trucks rolling down the highway on the other side.

There is a nice bike path nearby along what use to be historic Hwy 30 with some waterfalls to see, but most of the path parallels the I84, so you will have to contend with the traffic noise once again. Not exactly a serine experience.

If sleeping isn't a big deal to you, then you might be ok with this place. We would have left after the first night, but we had a prior commitment that kept us there for the second night. However, there was no way we were willing to hang out for a third night.

On the positive side, the camp host and rangers were very nice as always, it was very clean, and there was adequate cell coverage for both T-mobile and Verizon.

We had pre-registered for this park and used it as a one-day rest stop on our way home from a number of days at another state park. Viento State Park is a rather small campground with a handful of tent sites, and most other sites being RV oriented with partial hookups, 30 amp power and water. As others have noted there are no hookups and there is no dump station on site. Restrooms and showers are typical of Oregon state parks, presentable, usable and well maintained. The camp hosts were very nice and they were certainly doing a lot of work around the campground. Our site had a huge grass camping area and a nicely angled back in. Fellow campers were super friendly. I'm not sure if it was the campground or who was there, but less than 24 hours at the campground we met numerous people that we are still in contact with today.

The power pedestal and water source were in good condition and worked great. The pavement of our parking slot on the site was very wobbly to drive into because the asphalt was being uplifted by the roots of a nearby tree, but we were able to get parked and reasonably level. The picnic table on site was very nice and we could move it around. Our site was very large, however the tent area was on a bit of a curve, so although the site was large, the flat area was limited.

Oregon State parks was planing new trees and vegetation on nearly all of the camp sites. There were 3 or 4 new trees that appeared to have been planted this year on the lower edge of our campsite. In a few years these trees will provide additional shade and privacy for campsites. There is a very small playground in the day use area, it is basically only a swing set. The day use area looks, well, used. There isn't a lot of maintenance going on over there, and for some odd reason the BBQs were all wrapped in plastic wrap. The day use area and the playground weren't really being used by anyone during our visit in spite of the proximity to the campground loop.

Lack of both sewer hookups and/or a dump station is curious at best. So, if you need to dump your tanks you'll have to go looking for a dump station. Hood River has a dump station at their municipal treatment plant. The Hood River public dump station is about a 10-12 mile drive, but is the closest one I'm aware of.

AT&T cell service is acceptable and you can get data. It helps that the state park is located along the Interstate.

I also fail to mention that the state park straddles the Interstate. The RV loop, A loop, is located on the north side of the Interstate closest to the river. There is a B loop on the south side of the Interstate which is tent/car camper only. I can't provide any insights on those campsites or the condition of the loop.

Others have already mentioned the combination of road noise from I-84 south of the A loop, and the UP rail line on the north side of the campground. Yes, both make noise. The highway is your typical highway white noise. The rail line has not only engine noise, but horn because there is a controlled crossing over the rail line from the campground down to the day use area much closer to the river. That said, neither set of sounds bothered us much overnight. How much you are bothered by ambient noises when you sleep will determine how tolerable this location is.

Trains and freeway noise is LOUD. I read the reviews about this and thought, it’ll be fine. I wish I had stuck with the reviews. VERY loud.

FYI. No sewer hook ups or a dump station.

Decent cell service, enough to do what we needed working.

And lots of trees. One giant limb fell on our camper roof and put a hole in it. It wasn’t windy or storming. Chance accident but a downside to the many many trees.

GREAT River view with a quick walk. Best part! Close to Hood River and not far from many trails around Mt Hood.

Ok, so when reviews say there’s some noise at a campground but it is ok, I am not deterred because we aren’t usually bothered by some noise. Crank up a movie or turn on the a/c, whatever. Plus, why would someone put a campground right on some train tracks if it was super loud? We also got the last spot, so it must be ok.

It’s a pretty campground, nice shade and lovely trees with a mix of tent campers and RVs. We booked site A12 with a 30’ travel trailer and a long bed truck. We figured out once there that the site was going to be a definite no-go (almost 90 degree angle to road and not much room for maneuvers) but thankfully a fellow camper told us to ask the campground host to switch us with a different site that was reserved by the park. Elizabeth was very nice and allowed us to move. We took site A13 across the road, backing up directly to the tracks. Cool, turn on the AC and it’ll be good.

I can still see the hilarious look on my husband’s face when the first train came through. His eyes were wide and I busted out laughing because we were sitting in the slide out dinette and I got a massage to the gluts from the train going down the track. We COULDN’T HEAR each other talking across the table.

Holy cow. SO LOUD, even with 2 non-ducted a/c units on the whole time. Wakes you up from a dead sleep as you wonder if it’s coming through the camper or just going by. Multiple times a night. It was insane.

This was an overnight stop so we rode it out and looked forward to sleep the next night. But no. This is a no.

We knew about the train ahead of time and just accepted it would be fine for one night, but the site we chose backed directly up to the tracks and the train does blow its horn about every hour coming through which makes for a restless night unless you sleep like a log!

If you come here, you have to do the 2 mile walk to starvation Creek Falls. It’s along the Columbia River Highway State Trail and the walk alone is beautiful!

Stayed here for 3 days in July. The biggest drawback is the road noise. If you stay on the side near the interstate you cannot hear your companion unless you are 1 foot away. Look at the map and stay on the side near the river. It is close to railroad tracks, but trains come through less often than semi trucks. The campground is really nice however. It just in a very bad spot. Close to Hood river, Multnomah falls, bridge of the gods, and other visual attractions. Would have given them a 4 if not for the location.

Great little spot. As others have said, active train line and 84 behind :D. With aircon's on, we could barely here - if you are tenting, that will be a different story (I also don't mind trains...)

Would have stayed longer if there was a vacancy.

NO DUMP. Be prepared :D. The parks either side have one, but Viento does not. Host super helpful; good location on the gorge.

Site was super level as well.