Hood Park Campground

The sites seem spaced nicely. It is well kept. We have 50 amp. Nice views all around. Close to shopping.

No early arrivals. 2 pm and after. No exceptions. They lock the gate at 10 PM. No exceptions except an emergency. If you are going to be late, you can park just outside the gate and walk in. However, we were told someone tried to steal a catalytic converter last month.

It is buggy here. Tons of ants, spiders and moths. We would only stay here again if Plymouth Park in Plymouth, Wa was full. We come to Tri Cities to visit family. We paid $15 a night with senior discount.

We picked this due to its close proximity to Tri-Cities Washington. We live in NE Oregon & Richland has the closest eBike shop for what we wanted. I would like to give it 4 1/2 stars as the only drawback was that we didn’t know lengths of the sites when we booked. That would have saved us some aggravation but we did a walk to ensure we are prepared for the next time.

This was my first experience with a Corp of Engineers park and it was a great experience. Just a few things to remember. 1. When they say check in at 2pm, they mean 2 pm, not 1:56. Not a biggie but we felt bad holding up traffic for 4 minutes. 2. If you have a large trailer & truck check with them as to which sites you will fit. We have a 35’ TT & 22’ Truck. Our site fit the TT but was about 2’ short to fit our truck so we had to park it in the day camp area. They do have sites that fit both but there are some that will bot and some that just won’t fit the 35’ trailer comfortably. Their site doesn’t tell you which is which but you can call & ask (at least that is what they told me).

Nicely shaded sites for most of them. We didn’t use our Starlink as we were in a shaded site, but we plan on returning & identified about 7-8 sites that should accommodate Starlink. While I only had 2 bars for Verizon, my hot spot worked perfectly. Sites are well spaces for privacy and it’s a very beautiful peaceful place.

Looking forward to our next stay!

This is a very nice campground set in a park. Check-in was very pleasant. You can fill your freshwater at the dump station or you can fill using the water spigots located around the park. There was one close to our site, so we just filled with that as we carry a water can. Site 3 is a pull through, but on a bit of a slope. We had no issues leveling the motor home though. I think this loop is way nicer than the loop beyond as those sites are more cramped. Sites 3, 7, 10, 12, 16 are centered by a large grassy area that most campers on Memorial Day weekend respected and didn't walk through. Hood Park is very easy to find from Highway 12 and the signage is well marked. I did not notice anyone checking in earlier than 2pm, so they must be very strict about that. I observed maintenance watering sites after campers left, they didn't attempt to water at occupied sites. The showers were adequate (and free), but only 1 large restroom that has about 4 or 5 toilet stalls and 2 showers to serve 69 sites doesn't seem like enough, especially when every site was booked while we were there Memorial Day weekend. We sometimes walked to the bathroom in the park as it seemed closer to our site, but there are only toilets there. You can hear highway noise when outside, but I didn't hear it so much in the motor home, mostly because we had the AC on all day and that probably drowned out exterior noise. We explored the region from Hermiston to Richland and I found the campground to be relaxing while sitting outside watching the boats. We even saw a large cruise ship sail by! It was in the high 80s while we were here, so we were thankful for power and had no issues. We had cell service and were able to browse the internet seamlessly. For staying here on a very busy camping weekend, it was a very nice experience (I know your neighbors can either make or break a trip) and I am eager to come back next year.

Overall, a nice wooded low key park. Easy access from Hwy 395 and Hwy 12. Stop by kiosk to get your car tag. Park closes the gate between 10PM and 6AM, will open the gate only for emergencies. Many pull through and wooded sites, most are fairly level. Bathrooms and showers were adequate. Fairly close to restaurants and grocery stores. Campground roads were good with some high speed bumps.

No electric issues on site 53 (see older post below), it was over 100 degrees and we ran both AC units with no problem, but park was only 3/4 full. There is some noise, train horns, whistles, etc from the refinery across the river.

AT&T cell service was good, 3-4 bars of 5G, streamed easily without the WeBoost. Also, we tuned in about 15 local HDTV channels.

Stayed here on the 4th of July 2022 and there were firecrackers and fireworks going off well into the night and early morning. Our site had ample grass area for playing and the Snake River is about 200 feet away but it is part of the public park so you can expect activity that some kids would be playing there. There is a large playground which was very popular with the kiddos; one of the swings squeaked loudly when in use and it reminded me of a horror movie setting (but was not too disturbing). Lots of trees and shady areas, firepits are well maintained, and the hosts take good care of the place too. Mostly level sites (mine did require leveling blocks) and there are pull throughs and back-ins. Lots of boat traffic on the river too so pick your site accordingly.

My biggest problem was the power: I hooked up my 50amp connector and turned on my AC because it was nearing 100, but the park was almost full and I'm sure that everyone else that could be using AC, was using AC. The lights flickered in my rig and my refrigerator wasn't too happy so I switched it to propane. The AC never went out and I didn't have a surge protector or monitor between the park power and my rig so I couldn't monitor the voltage. It eventually stabilized enough to not constantly concern me but watching my own internal battery/power monitors, voltage didn't appear stable at all as my power convertor kept sending different amps to my battery as the park power fluctuated. Not fun and multiple AC units might not be able to keep up.

T-Mobile service at site 53 was bad, but did connect for a slow connection. Reception got to 2 bars 5G near the parking lot entrance but closer to the water got worse. It's about 15 minutes into town if you need gas or groceries/supplies with plenty of bridges to cross. Tons of earwigs (as previously mentioned) on the ground and the ants are huge (but not bothersome).

Recreation.gov or the app is the only way to reserve sites here now. $15 I paid is indicative of the discount I get through my Access Pass.

I would stay here again.

This was a nice, clean, affordable campground to stop at on our cross country trip. We stayed two sites at Site 35. The site had electricity but no water hookup or sewer connection. The campground does have water spigots throughout to fill up your tank on your way in and it does have a dump station. The campground did have bathroom but we didn’t use them so I’m not sure of the condition. Most sites are pull through with plenty of grassy area and some trees, and spaced out from your neighbors. Each site had a fire ring with a grill but there was a fire ban when we visited.

Our site had a dumpster on it which was a bit annoying with people walking over and making a lot of noise opening and closing the dumpster (mostly it bothered our dog). A few other sites had dumpsters as well so next time we would be sure to pick a site without a dumpster.

The park is right by the river and there is boating access and a swimming area. It would be a great place to visit with family and kids!

We enjoyed our stay and would stay again!

Location – The campground is located on highway 12 and 124 along the Snake River. The campground is convenient to the Tri-Cities area. We enjoyed touring the Ice Harbor Dam and visiting Richmond. There was a nice u-pick blueberry farm a couple miles east of the campground on highway 124. Directly across the river from the campground is a fuel tank farm. This is where tanker trucks come to fill with fuel to deliver to gas stations.
 
Access – The campground entrance was well marked and the roads were easy to navigate.
 
Cleanliness - The park is clean with nice rest room and shower facilities.
 
Site Quality – The sites are paved and there were large trees at most sites. There is no vegetation between sites for privacy but there was good spacing between most sites. The grass is mostly green in this campground. When a camper leaves, the lawn irrigation is turned on at that site. No one is allowed to check-in before 2:00 PM so the irrigation can run.
 
Noise - This was my primary dislike of the campground. The campground is beside highway 12, so there is some road noise. This is mostly noticeable at night. The campground is across the river from a fuel tank farm. At night, train engines will sometimes move train cars around and blow their horn. Whenever there is a fuel tank problem an alarm will sound. It is a loud alarm. The sound of the horns and alarms easily carry across the river to the campground. Again, mostly noticeable at night when you are trying to sleep.

Hood Park is a combination day-use and campground. Gates are locked at 10pm each night so campers aren’t disturbed by party groups. The campground is very attractive, perched on Lake Wallula. It’s sprawling lawns are shaded by mature trees. The sites are level and plenty spacious with electric hook ups. They accept the NP Access pass, thus 50% discount on site fee. The park is very strict about check-in time. No early entry.
Space 6 is close to the lake and also close to the highway interchange... noisy at night. Trains too. There were signs recommending that you don’t swim but that didn’t stop others. Across the lake are industrial facilities but they were not operating during our stay.
Bathroom/shower facility was across the campground. It was clean and had lots of hot water.
Hood Park was a fine place to stopover.