Turkey Hole

We spent a night here on a Saturday of the Memorial Day weekend. Crowd level was about medium. Other campers were pretty respectful and it was very quiet at night (other than the noise from the river and some traffic). It was a pleasant stay and we’d stay again. Free with a discover pass. It has a bathroom that was pretty disgusting, but it’s there if you really need it.

Snagged a site down by the river. Good large park with a variety of options. It was close to the highway but didn’t bother us!

We were able to get 1mb down .5 up on our boosted Verizon modem (Note I’m on a government plan and may different roaming options than most) modem showed it was roaming on US Cellular.

Easy access for us in our 30’ travel trailer only saw 3 others camping.

Turkey Hole is actually an angler's water access site on the Klickitat River but we used it for a dispersed campsite in winter while enjoying the wine areas of the gorge & post skiing at Mt Hood. Since it is free (as of 2018 for up to 14 nights) I would guess it can become quite busy at certain times of the year. We visited in Feb on a cold snowy weekend and there was only one other camper. There is a bathroom there also, but no running water.

We rolled in on a calm Friday night in April and had a great time. We were set up on the southern end of the campground with two truck campers. The road was noticeable, I wasn't expecting that much traffic but it was maybe 10 cars an hour for most of the evening. The hike along the Klickitat (on the other side of the river) was great but when we got back to the campground we were attacked by ticks. Thankfully only two of our party had ticks on us but we pulled off over 40 of them from one of the dogs. I'd definitely go back when it isn't tick season.

1x cell coverage with Google Fi (T-Mobile/Sprint/US Cellular)

We stayed at Turkey Hole for two nights at the end of March while mountain biking in the area. Turkey Hole is an easy hour and a half from Portland, 4 miles from Lyle, Washington. We arrived on Friday night and had the camp ground to our selves. There were plenty of level, spacious and clean sites right on the river with tree coverage and fire pit. This is a rustic campground with one vault toilet that was pretty clean and well maintained, it had no trash disposal but the campground was spotless, it seems that everyone was adhering to the leave-no-trace mantra.The campground is right on WA-142 but for the two nights we stayed we didn't notice heavy traffic on this road. A few more campers arrived on Saturday but the campground was big enough for plenty of privacy, by Saturday night the campground was still pretty empty. We purchased an annual discover pass for $35 at the grocery store in Lyle but saw no checks for this pass while we were there. Lyle has almost everything you would need but I saw no firewood for sale so make sure to bring with you. The Klickitat Trail that runs parallel to the Klickitat river on the opposite side of the river to the campground was a perfect biking trail for families and an easy, fun mountain biking trail for bikers wanting a break from Syncline. Access to the trail is either from Lyle or about 3 miles south of Turkey Hole at Fisher Hill road. There was no cell service at all in this campground.

This little gem is a great if you’re looking for a free place to crash or a nice quiet getaway. This place does have a sign explaining that a Discover Pass is required for use. The Discover Pass is $35 for the whole year of access to Washington Public Land. Honestly, in an off season, I highly doubt you'll be checked. We came in February and didn't see anyone else the whole time. We camped here on our way to Portland for just one night. We arrived pretty late, and we still had the whole place to ourselves. There are plenty of wide, flat areas that an RV or camper could fit easily. We camp in our 4 wheel drive Honda Element, so we found a little less accessible spot and backed right up to the river. It was really nice, it blocked out the sound of any passing cars. It’s not very far off the road, so headlights are still visible, but you couldn’t hear them. Overall, great site. The only amenities there is one vault toilet that is in great shape. It was clean and had toilet paper. We didn’t see any dumpsters, so pack out what you pack in. The whole site was nice and clean, be sure to abide by LNT principles! :)

Mostly enjoyed my stay here in early April. I was the only camper present and my dog and I had free run of the place. This is essentially a river turnout with a nice pit toilet, and a few dispersed camping spots with impromptu fire pits. The roar of the swift moving Klickitat River is ever present.

It is not free but requires a discovery pass which I purchased for $35 (good for one year) in the nearby town of Lyle. There was evidence of frequent use including some significant trash in one spot near the river. Hwy 142 is about 75 feet away and has a traffic every 10-15 minutes.

We enjoyed a lovely campfire and a pleasant, cool evening. However, I was startled out of a sound sleep just around midnight when a vehicle pulled into the camping area shining lights on my camper. Turns out it was the local deputy using the restroom.

Pros: near the river, lots of space, nice facilities, generally well kept, sheriff patrolled

Cons: Nearby Hwy 142 has more traffic than I expected. The local deputies use the restroom including at odd hours. Probably busy in the warmer months.