Rufus Landing Recreation Area
Army Corps Of Engineers
Write a Review I-84 Rufus, OR 97050 541-506-7819 Official WebsiteGPS: 45.6932, -120.7553
Overview of Rufus Landing Recreation Area
Accessibility is not guaranteed, always scout ahead before driving down dirt roads.
Learn more: Boondocking 101
Last Price Paid: $0
Reported by camper-796293 on 4/12/2024
Longest RV Reported: 40 feet (Class C)
Reported by Tree Plant on 9/1/2022
Pad Type gravel
Open Seasonally April - Oct.
Elevation 164 ft / 49 m
Max Stay 14
Tent Camping Yes
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Q&A - Ask the Community about Rufus Landing Recreation Area
To ask questions of the owner or manager please contact the campground directly. 541-506-7819
roctobr asked on 5/11/2023
Does anyone know if there is a limit on the number of nights you can boondock?
Liscio asked on 7/15/2021
Planning at trip out west from Savannah GA. How many sites are at Rufus Landing? Or is this just open land you can ...
Reviews of Rufus Landing Recreation Area 44 people have reviewed this location.
Reviewed 4/12/2024
Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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Site Number: | 1 |
Pulled in at almost midnight. Lots of large open space to find your spot. A little road and train noise but not bad at all. Very clean area
camper-796293 would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Great Place To Boondook”
Reviewed 10/31/2023
Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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Days stayed: | 2 |
RV Length: | 33' (Travel Trailer) |
We stayed there two nights. Got out of the Portland area to try to see the eclipse. Nice place to Boondock for a couple of days. We found a spot right on the Columbia river. Little noisy with the trains and freeway traffic. Definitely bring earplugs!
Klove97220 would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Large, open space... busy”
Reviewed 6/22/2023
Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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Days stayed: | 7 |
RV Length: | 35' (Toy Hauler Travel Trailer) |
This is a multi-use area, popular for windsurfing, fishing, and camping. It's a large space and open for any size rig. The road in is paved. You can't find a much easier place to get to. It is next to the highway, so you get some road/semi noise. You'll hear the trains, but they're not as bad as the Avery park on the other side of the ... more
This is a multi-use area, popular for windsurfing, fishing, and camping. It's a large space and open for any size rig. The road in is paved. You can't find a much easier place to get to. It is next to the highway, so you get some road/semi noise. You'll hear the trains, but they're not as bad as the Avery park on the other side of the river.
It was very windy when I got here on a Thursday, and there were quite a few windsurfers here already. On Sunday, there must have been 50 cars and 15 campers. The car/van people have no problem parking right up next to you if you're anywhere near the beach. For this reason (I assume) the RVs tended to collect on the west side of a huge pile of rocks on the beach. You can park wherever you want, though (April - October).
A fair number of cars come in daily, park for maybe 30 minutes, then leave. I've seen a few of the same cars/vans come in, stay overnight, leave, then come back the next day and do that again. Only concern was/is one truck guy who is doing that day after day and slowly walking around the area in a moody sort of way. Sheriff passed through at least once.
Camping actually extends down the road all the way to the dam. The camping areas on that side have shade trees, are a bit smaller, and definitely have full-timers. Speaking of that, you'll find a dumpster in the parking area down there. I got yelled at for trying to put a bag of trash in the EZ Trip dumpster in Biggs (then crossed the street and spent $100... take that, trash monitor guy). The trash at the local gas station is locked.
There is an under-stocked market, gas station with propane, and restaurant/bar in the town of Rufus, less than a mile away. Biggs is about five miles west, has more stores, and is accessible via the highway or frontage road. I'll stay here again, but probably only as a three or four-day stopover on my way up to WA from AZ, mainly because it's so accessible but slightly sketchy and busy.
Verizon is good, ATT is 50mg down.
Allied Cloud Adventures would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Beautiful with trains going by ”
Reviewed 5/20/2023
Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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Days stayed: | 2 |
Site Number: | na |
RV Length: | 29' (Travel Trailer) |
We stayed here for two nights and heard the trains at various times of the day. If you don't mind that then this is a good place. You can be next to the river with awesome views or choose a flat spot away from the water. For ATT, you get 50 mbps down and 41 mbps up. It can be quite windy sometimes too. Free dump is in Hoodriver, ... more
We stayed here for two nights and heard the trains at various times of the day. If you don't mind that then this is a good place. You can be next to the river with awesome views or choose a flat spot away from the water. For ATT, you get 50 mbps down and 41 mbps up. It can be quite windy sometimes too. Free dump is in Hoodriver, GPS: 45.7135, -121.5195. Free potable water is at Pilot Travel Center in Wasco. Thank you COE.
Eugene would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Great experience!”
Reviewed 5/13/2023
Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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Days stayed: | 4 |
We were only going to stay 1 night but had a hard time leaving. Stayed for 4. Felt perfectly safe. Clean. Saw some great fish come out of the Columbia River. Easy to access for any vehicle. Dump station not too far away. Never got too crowded even with perfect spring weather. Verizon cell service good. Trains going by frequently but ... more
We were only going to stay 1 night but had a hard time leaving. Stayed for 4. Felt perfectly safe. Clean. Saw some great fish come out of the Columbia River. Easy to access for any vehicle. Dump station not too far away. Never got too crowded even with perfect spring weather. Verizon cell service good. Trains going by frequently but fun to watch. Didn't disturb my sleep.
camper-811975 would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Excellent Spot To Overnight ”
Reviewed 4/8/2023
Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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Days stayed: | 1 |
We were lucky to get one of the spots right on the river. We were entertained by bald eagles and enjoyed watching the trains go by. The place was clean and we felt very safe.
Damaris would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Excellent Spot Lots To See In Area”
Reviewed 9/29/2022
Days stayed: | 6 |
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RV Length: | 33' (Class A) |
Excellent location right in the river and lots to see and do in area.
Jim would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Great spot for boondocking; a bit windy for tenting”
Reviewed 9/16/2022
Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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Days stayed: | 1 |
Site Number: | 0 |
The windmills on the north shore of the Columbia tell the tale — it’s a windy place! Great for overnighting in your vehicle. Good swimming!
Andrew would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Excellent boondocking along Columbia River”
Reviewed 9/1/2022
Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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Days stayed: | 3 |
RV Length: | 40' (Class C) |
Large, flat, and easily accessible for any size rig. Plenty of space for a bunch of RVs, trailers, vans, etc. There’s a pit toilet but no other services. If you happen to visit on windy days (over 30mph) you’ll likely be treated to watching a bunch of wind surfers and kite boarders out on the water. We happened to get there the day... more
Large, flat, and easily accessible for any size rig. Plenty of space for a bunch of RVs, trailers, vans, etc. There’s a pit toilet but no other services.
If you happen to visit on windy days (over 30mph) you’ll likely be treated to watching a bunch of wind surfers and kite boarders out on the water. We happened to get there the day before 2 solid days of wind and there had to be 100 people out there!
Train (no horns) and highway noise was minimal. Didn’t bother us at all.
Not much close by besides a couple gas stations and some burger/deli places. The Dalles is about 20 minutes away for groceries. Oh, and there’s a great fruit stand just across the bridge on the WA side which is only about 10 minutes away. Best watermelon we’ve ever had came from there!
Great AT&T download and upload speeds. Verizon cell signal strong as well.
Tree Plant would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Amazing View ”
Reviewed 7/20/2022
Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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Days stayed: | 2 |
Very nice area to camp. Got here about 8pm. There was about 5 campers but plenty of room to get up to the water to stay. Yes there was plenty of trains that went through at night and during the day but didn’t bother us any. We stayed two nights and we didn’t have a problem with anyone bothering anything as we had a generator propane an... more
Very nice area to camp. Got here about 8pm. There was about 5 campers but plenty of room to get up to the water to stay. Yes there was plenty of trains that went through at night and during the day but didn’t bother us any. We stayed two nights and we didn’t have a problem with anyone bothering anything as we had a generator propane and chairs out.
camper-719117 would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
noted 9/2/2020
Was going to overnight there in September 2020, now only day use only... Thank you, COVID-19!
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Amenities
Hookups
- dry camping
- Dispersed Camping
Recreation
- fishing
- water access
Site Amenities
- big rig
Facilities
- restrooms: vault
Pets
- pets
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