Skamokawa Vista City Park

This is a nice quiet park with great views if you’re along the river. Additional sites up in the trees for those who like a little more privacy and full hookups. I stayed here for a total of 5 nights this winter while traveling between Longview and Ilwaco. Super nice folks that check you in, dump station, trash, water, restrooms and a single shower. Great beach to walk on although it’s not very long. I stayed down I the beach area and was never bothered by wind. That being said, if it’s super windy, I certainly wouldn’t want to be in the trees and would still stay in the beach sites. I know what a downed tree or branch can do to a rig. Both sites I used required leveling blocks, but not extreme. If you have a compression fridge instead of an absorption you’re fine without levelers. There are a few dry camping sites in the beach area that have concrete pads and wind breaks, but the views aren’t as good in my opinion. As mentioned by a previous poster, there are sand spurs so watch where you walk your dog. It was quite cold when I was there, but in warmer weather sitting outside with a pair of binoculars will keep you busy. Saw multiple seals, lots of birds, and of course ships of every imaginable size. So much better than TV! I think it’s pretty spendy to pay $30 for dry camping, which is the reason for 4 stars.

Happy to say that a June 2022 visit matches earlier reviews. Chose site V15 based on Campendium reviews (thanks!). Riverside campsite. It rained, but we still enjoyed river watching. Barges, tankers, paddlewheelers, even one huge cruise ship. The Columbia is vast and views of Oregon across the river are great. Couple of nature trails and a good general store nearby. Other than that...enjoy the quiet and the view.
Clean, well-managed. Hot coin operated showers.
Wooded sites on the hill are private and shady, but no view. Choose a V site.

This is a well maintained campground operated by the local port district. The park is very quiet with no road or train noise. Sites V15 and V4 - V8 have the best view of the Columbia River. Sites V3 and V9 - V13 have a partial view of the River with some of the view blocked by trees and the RV in site V15. We were in site V13 and a good portion of the view of the River was blocked by trees and the truck and trailer in site V15. There is a stairway down to the beach behind site V11. We were told that the only way to change sites once you have arrived is to reserve a new site online and then cancel your original site (subject to the campground's cancellation policy).

Stayed in 3 sites over the course of my 12 days. 1 site up in the woods (freaky parking my rig there, because the road has some pitch, trees are a little low and road is narrow but I backed her in on the first try). 2 other sites were along the river. So much fun watching the ships. Very empty during my stay. Often had the beach all to myself.

Staff are very chill and friendly. Verizon and tmobile cell service was exceptional.

Only negative is at my last site (V4) the flies were insane. I have no idea how they were getting in, but swarms (50+) each day. Never experienced anything like it. Only thing I am not going to miss about this location. I would go out of my way (I5) to stay here again.

All the sites seemed to have a river view of some kind. Site V15 is definitely the best one but all the river front sites are nice. The power and water hookups are located in the middle of most of the water front sites. So you might need some extra depending on your size and placement. We stayed in early September when wildfire smoke was everywhere but we just pretended it was coastal fog. The park and beach are very clean. We enjoyed playing on the beach and watching the huge ships sail by. The ships are maybe 30ft off shore and the wake/surge they create is super fun to watch. When the wind was calm we were even able to use our paddle boards. The cell coverage was good 2 to 4 bars depending on where you were at in the park. The Wi-Fi was good but only the first 2 hours are free. After that you can pay 5 bucks for 72 hours of connection PER device. The check in office was well marked and the dump station is located behind the check in building.

We had site 1-PUH which was behind the office and off the river, but still had a great view of the river. Electric only. There is a dump station and also water spigots around the park. AT&T and Verizon worked very well and we were able to stream on both. The staff are very friendly and the park is well maintained. We will absolutely come back here when in the area!

We shouldn’t rate this place or we’ll never get to book again.

Definitely hidden gem if you’re looking for spacious, clean, woodsy campground feel with beyond belief access to Columbia River fishing and beach access.

Sites have plenty of room for boat parking in addition to your truck w/camper.

Despite not having water nor dump at each site, they offer firewood delivery (quality wood). There are intermittent spigots to fill water (bring a 20-30’ hose) and a dump site on your way out. Fire pits at each site.

Minimal noise; only passing blow horns. We were there on a reunion weekend, so slightly more noisy. 10pm curfew softly enforced.

Full hookup spots near camp host are a bit crowded; V sites are backed up to the beach.