Cascade Locks / Portland East KOA

We had standard cabin Father’s Day weekend and it was great. The train sounds actually were kind of nice, not too close to be annoying. Overall the staff were super friendly and fun. The highlight had to be the pancakes Saturday morning.

Train runs all night. Extremely loud. I imagine this is what camping in a busy train yard is like. If you would like to sleep, find another spot.

We stayed here for a week after Labor Day. Beautiful weather and close to all the fruit stands in Hood River. So many to stop and visit. Also not far from Mt. Hood. The trains required ear plugs but oh well. The rest of stay was peaceful and lovely.

This is the worst KOA I have ever stayed at. It is beside a train track and the trains run constantly. The worst part of my experience here is the cranky woman working in the office. She has no idea on how to be pleasant and make the customer feel welcome. The one positive thing is that they do have clean bathrooms and showers.

well at least we’re not close to the railroad tracks. That is all I can say. Cable channels are so fuzzy you would think we were back in the 1950s. also we only found 5 of the 20 channels they said we would get. For what we were charged they could at least spend some of that money and upgrade the cable.

Was not impressed by this place. We made reservations months in advance but when we arrived they didn’t have site promised. Very frustrating. Too much dirt and not enough grass to enjoy. Had to leave early due to conditions.

I wouldn’t recommend this specific KOA for many reasons. There were employees driving around in carts smoking, the playground is in a high traffic area, the restrooms and playground are not well kept up, the management seems angry most of the time, the employees go around yelling at children rather than respectfully making their requests (we’re talking about all weekend long… not just one incident) and the owner refuses to hear feedback and is extremely disrespectful to guests overall. Lastly, the owner made me very uncomfortable while I was breastfeeding my infant — and I was completely covered. We won’t be back to this KOA. I’d rather sleep with my family in our vehicle.

If you can take the train noise its not a bad place to stay. They average 40 trains a day ²⁴⁄₇ and yes the blow the whistle loud as they go by R v spots are bit close together for me. Clean and well taken care of.

I feel at this point I’m some what an expert on this koa. We stayed for a month. Very thankful to Kevin the owner for giving us a great month long deal as we just transfered jobs to here from another state. Dawn is as awesome as Kevin. The grounds are clean and well taken care of. Bathrooms as well. They also have 3 showers which is awesome. A little store. It doesn’t offer much. Propane very fairly priced. Nice rv sites. Most are pretty big. Some not. Depending on your rig id check prior to insure your in a spot that fits your rig and vehicle. Beautiful trees every where. Right in cascade locks and 10 min across the bridge to stevenson wa. Both are beautiful and have lots to do. Stay away from cascade locks store. Gross! Go to the store across the bridge.
The train… lordy I now hate trains!!! All day. All night trains blaring horns. Horrible. Lighting. Non existent. Its pitch black out there so have a good flashlight. There are lights but they don’t work. There’s an older man who works there who is rude. Avoid him. I helped him one day by holding the freezer door for him and he never said thank you and snatched the door out of my hand and slammed it. A few days later his dog got loose from the dog park and ran to my site next door and he never said sorry or thx for catching my dog. Instead pretty much blanked me by saying I probably have treats and he’s looking for them. What ever. There are people who live there. No biggie. Most are older and just traveling and staying places for longer periods. You probably would never even know. One younger couple who lives there the guy stayed working there. He’s an odd ball. I hear them getting rowdy a lot while drinking. My main issue with them is the dogs. 2 huge pit bulls. Which I thought weren’t allowed… neither can control the dogs. The dogs see you or your dog and immediately start freaking out and growling and trying to get away from the couple. That makes me nervous. Nothing against the dogs. But rules are rules. I would definitely go back. So beautiful there. I would just ask to be as far from the train tracks as possible. Leaving there I had never been so tired in my life from being woke up 5 times a night every night from the trains blowing horns. I recommend if you need anything to talk to Kevin or dawn.

Yikes! Not a place to tent camp. The sites have 360 exposure to other campers. Everything closes 8:25 pm. Never ending trains blowing whistles.

My wife and I stayed here two nights on on our honeymoon, and we were quite pleased. As everyone has mentioned, the train tracks are very lively and active, and that train does love its air horn, no joke! All hours of the day and night, *HONK HOOOOONK!* That being said, the campground is old but well cared for, the bathrooms were in pretty decent shape for the number of people using them, and the showers were clean and good. Lovey tree-​shaded sites, too, and the hosts were very friendly. Not the greatest KOA ever, but certainly one I’d visit again.

I was happily raised a tent camper, but having married a New Yorker that thinks a three star hotel is roughing it, we had to find a compromise. We agreed to buy a travel trailer so I could enjoy the camping life and he could enjoy the luxuries of a bathroom, real bed, and air conditioning.
We took our maiden voyage in our new RV to this KOA because living in Portland it was close, so if disaster struck we were less than an hour from home.
I was pleasantly surprised. It had a great campground feel, with lots of trees, plenty of space between spots, and fire pits. A good amount of the spots are extremely level pull throughs, so you don’t need to do anything fancy to get set up.
A minor disaster did strike when the water hookup at the site didn’t work properly. We notified the front desk, and they sent a maintenance person to fix it right away. Unfortunately he broke off the entire spigot, flooding the site, but the staff offered us three replacement sites to choose from, and we were moved immediately without hassle and they apologized profusely for the remainder of our stay.
The only reason I cannot give them five stars is because a train track is adjacent to the property. I personally love the sound of trains, even up close, but I don’t think many people are like minded in that sense and would need to be given fair warning that you may literally be rattled awake in the morning.
Over all a great experience. I think it will be a nice quick weekend getaway for us in the future.
This campground includes a pool (that as of May 2015 is getting a whole resurfacing), camp store, showers and bathrooms, wifi, cable, fire pits and full hookups.

I’m not too sure about the negative reviews of this place. It’s all in perspective. Like momma always said, you never know what you’re going to get.
Yea sure the place was by the train tracks, but scope it out people! You can tell on Google maps what you might be up against. Ie busy roads or train tracks. It was raining and we were by the train, but overall wasn’t too bad. We stayed in our Travel trailer. Nice site, just be warned, it’s kind of tight weaving in and out if you have a huge rig and while no one was there really when we went, I’m sure summer is very full and makes it even more difficult. Would be cautious on that side.
The little cabin things look great, as we spied them from across the way. Would be a good place to go with a group as they have something for everyone RV, Cabins and tent area. The current hosts were quite lovely and very accommodating. Enjoyed the little bit of quiet we got and the fire ring! Firewood is 6 bucks a bundle if you want to buy some here. Also remember if you are planning on going into town, that most everything rolls up early! So make sure to eat dinner or whatever before 8.
Lots and lots of pine needles too, if you have a rig that has slideouts make sure to sweep or spray down before you leave. Have fun!

One of 5 different parks we stayed at during our first RV trip which took us along the Oregon coast & thru Washington. Compared to other parks this was cramped and generic. But the worst part about this park by far was the trains that blare their horns as they pass the park all night long. This is no exaggeration… the train passes directly on the other side of the park fence and runs all night long… and for some reason blows the horn when passing the park… terrible. Don’t do it!

Looking to get away for the weekend before nursing school started back up, I searched for cheap places that were somewhat relative to camping. (Cabins, yurts, etc.) I found the KOA at Cascade Locks and booked almost immediately.
For some shameful reason, I didn’t check the Unilocal reviews before I booked!
Fortunately, things worked out just fine. We were in Cabin 10. It came complete with a full size bed, a picnic table, fire pit, clean propane grill, cable tv, spacious bathroom, a space heater, porch swing, and trains.
It’s close to the PCT, a «general store» that really does have everything (including weird yellow light), and a brewery (Thunder Island Brewing).
I can understand everyone’s hatred of the trains. Especially if you’re in a tent! I don’t know if it’s because I like a little noise when I sleep, if I’m just used to it (we have trains coming through the valley near where I live), or if the rain sounds app I have kept my brain occupied… but they didn’t wake me up once. And we were there for 3 nights.
I’ll admit that it’s not the «normal» camping that I’m used to when I was growing up– there are houses across the street (behind the cabins) and the trains and while there are a lot of beautiful trees IN the campground, the campground is not in a forest. BUT it served my purpose very well.
If you need a place to stay along the Gorge that is cute on the inside and you’re mostly going to be out and about hiking or sightseeing, and you’re not a light sleeper, this is not a bad place. I’d stay again… in a cabin.
Oh! And bring your own towels and sheets.

The campground has some nice spots but they were near the train. The train comes thru every day and night blowing its horn. The train alone is reason not to come back. The office is only open 4 hours a day and very minimal wood for purchase. The bathrooms were mostly clean but the showers were dirty. The creepy factor comes from the guy who lived across the street from the campground who stood outside smoking in his driveway watching me camp. It also backs up a subdivision on one side. Strange place to have a campground.

I paid over a $ 100 for two nights. the pool & jacuzzi was closed, & the pancake breakfast was closed. I asked for a credit, and was simply told n, with no eyed contact. It is beautiful there, found a great site. However The women that work there were rude!!!, they shut the bathrooms down for 2 hrs to clean? seriously! I got married there sat night and the women didn’t even say congratulations. I should have camped where it was free. Horrible camping! trains go by in the middle of the night and blow there horn right at the campsite. There were screaming children everywhere, and barking dogs constantly! I have camped throughout Oregon and this was by far the most expensive and worst peaceful camping anywhere. What a RIP OFF!!! The men that work there were friendly! But those women should be fired!!!

What a nightmare!
At $ 30/​night, this campground is literally adjacent to railroad tracks. The trains did not run during the day so I wasn’t expecting to hear much at night. Boy, was I wrong!
There is a freight train at least every 30 mins and they thoroughly enjoy blowing their horns.
It is impossible to sleep at this place. No amount of wifi can make up for it. Worst camping experience ever! Whomever built a campsite here is an idiot.

Another KOA next to train tracks!
Camp ground is shaded, lots of trees.
Looks like their getting ready to close for the season.
But no excuse for a pool looking like this on Sept 16 !! Look at picture I posted

It had been years since I had stayed at a KOA. Sue’s boss was getting married in Hood River and Cascade Locks was the closest place we were able to find a room at. That room turned out to be a KOA Kabin. Both of us were quite pleased with it.
The cabin we stayed in was towards the back of the place. There was only one other cabin in this part of the campground and I’m pretty sure it was empty for the night we stayed. Cabin 81 was very clean (save for the spider and web hanging from the ceiling fan) and looked pretty new. You do have to bring your own bed sheets and towels, but aside from that we didn’t really need anything else.
There is a grill and a porch swing on the front porch. We used the swing, but not the grill. Had we been there another day, we probably would have made use of it.
KOA also offers $ 1.99 all you can eat pancakes Thursday-​Sunday. We took advantage of that the one morning we were there.