Rufus Landing Recreation Area

We'll echo most of the reviews here already: the views of the Columbia River can't be beat, and we were treated to a kite-surf expedition all afternoon. We stayed here mid-week and had easy access to a spot right on the river. Be ready for some highway and railroad noise and the wind blows pretty intensely. The Sinclair station across the highway has a dump station ($10) and the clerk told me that the water was potable ($5). We'll stay here again!

Huge area, level, not crowded, fun watching the kite surfers. Amazing sunsets and moon rises. Most of the time we had the beach all to ourselves.

Only negative for me were the frequent flies sneaking in the MH.

Sign says area closes for the season starting Nov. not sure if that is just the toilet facilities, the area closer to the dam, or the whole entire area from this location to the dam.

Ranger comes through once a day. Records the license plates. During my time most everyone was here for several days. Down closer to the dam I would say there are some that live FT there.

We stopped here on our way South.

There are signs everywhere that say "day use only" and "no camping". I'm not sure if those are new, but it certainly didn't stop 9 rigs from parking overnight.

The wind was pretty...windy, and the trains were pretty...trainy...but all in all, a really awesome spot. We parked right up by the river, and enjoyed watching all the kite surfers.

Dump, water, propane at Sinclairs.

Verizon was slow, even with a booster.
AT&T was significantly faster, no booster.

We chose this place vs Maryhill because of the views and remainder of the sun on our epic day. Huge lot with tons of room. Families swimming, people fishing and folks chilling by their RVs but It still wasn’t crowded. We had a rare not windy evening but it picked up after 1am. The trains were a constant and it wouldn’t have been too bad but the heat had us with our windows open all night. Amazing views, nice beaches and free! Signs that say “day use only” were ignored by all.

There was no wind at all when we stayed here (late June) in fact it was almost 90 degrees and no breeze! Huge open gravel lot with some pretty spots right along the water where you can walk in and swim. Giving this 4 stars though because the trains woke me up a few times at night. There was also a very aggressive goose that wouldn’t leave us alone haha.

We stayed here in January, 2020. Our original plan was to stay at Giles French Park (see our review), but moved here as it is just down the river road so there was no need to get back on I-84.

The area is large enough to put some space between you and the highway. Trains travel on both sides of the Columbia, but no horns were heard, so noise isn't much of an issue. The surface is hard gravel, and is somewhat uneven, so you may need to move around to find a level spot. It can get windy (explains the numerous wind generators); park with your rig facing southwest to minimize the impact.

Overall, this is a very good spot for an overnight or just to enjoy the river in this semi-desert setting.

Verizon - 13.5 Mbps down, 5.5 Mbps up (cell phone)
AT&T - 17 Mbps down, 1.8 Mbps up (MoFi router with roof mounted antenna)

This is an easy to access, near to attractions, dispersed site with a view! No more than a big parking lot next to the river really, but for free.... it can not be beat! Primitive camping with no amenities other than a vault toilet= no frills, but no fees(as of Feb 2018)! It could be windy and it could get very busy so keep those negatives in mind, however check out the positives! A nice waterfront view with lots of solar potential!

Well packed gravel area. Super large and easy for any rig. We were here in October and did not encounter any winds. Easy access!

Go to Stonehenge across the river in Maryhill on a clear day, early in the morning. The views were amazing! Our day was cloudy and it was still awesome.

The frontage road between Celilo and Rufus is very nice. Gets you away from the freeway bustle plus the bonus of a little different vantage point and views. Good 2 lane road.

There were a lot of trains that go by both on the Oregon and Washington side, but it was not necessarily unpleasant. Road noise also, but not bad.

I always like to start with the negatives cause that’s what I wanna know of first. If you have SMALL travel trailers or rigs 17-23 foot I would recommend the lower smaller spot behind the small hill that was man made to cover the wind. This time of year is beautiful but you are battling 20 mph winds on a constant with gusts up to 35-40 mph. Beautiful place was fun to walk around. Sinclair has .5 miles away with a couple of diners nearby as well! Safeway and Fred Meyer (frys food store/Ralph’s if you’re from AZ or SoCA) we are traveling Washington and Oregon look out for our posts we want to give more honest feedback for people!

Pros: 3 very clean vault bathroom with hand sanitizer
River stone everywhere easy to level, walk on and drive on.
Easy access
Beautiful views
People who maintain this place come once a day on patrol and another to clean bathroom or restock