Memaloose State Park sits on the banks of the Columbia River between Hood River and The Dalles, offering one of the most underrated campgrounds in the entire Gorge. The park is accessible only from the westbound lanes of I-84, which keeps crowds thinner than you’d expect for a spot with views this good — the Columbia stretches wide here, framed by golden-brown basalt cliffs on both the Oregon and Washington sides.

The campground is the main draw, with full-hookup RV sites and shaded tent spots tucked among mature trees along the river. Sites fill on summer weekends but midweek stays in June or September hit the sweet spot — warm enough to swim, quiet enough to hear the wind through the oaks. The park takes its name from nearby Memaloose Island, historically significant as a sacred Native American burial site, visible from several points along the shoreline.

Activities center on the river and the Gorge itself. Windsurfers and kiteboarders launch from spots nearby, and the park makes a solid base camp for day trips to waterfall hikes west toward Multnomah Falls or wine tasting east in The Dalles. Fishing from the bank pulls in walleye and smallmouth bass. The on-site day-use area has picnic shelters and enough lawn for kids to run.

If you’re driving the Gorge and want a campground that trades resort-style amenities for genuine riverside calm and big eastern-Gorge skies, Memaloose delivers without the price tag or the reservations-months-ahead headache of the more famous stops.

Explore Nearby

• Little Mountain Covered Bridge — Covered Bridge in Washington
• Lower Deschutes River Back Country Byway — Public Land in Oregon
• Lost Lake sits within the Widow Mountain Wilderness Study Area — Public Land
• Historic Columbia River Highway — Scenic Byway in Oregon
• Mount Hood National Forest — National Forest in Oregon