Columbia Hills State Park

Columbia Hills S.P., Klickitat Co., Washington. What do you get when you build a State Park on an ancient Indian Village, flood the Columbia River to give the perfect swimming and kayaking lake, move the Indian petroglyphs to within easy walking distance, and add on the 3,000 acre Dalles Mt Ranch for good measure? (There, I've done all the work -- you're going to have to figure this one out on your own). For more info, contact http://campeverycountywa.com/klickitat-county.html

Take this for what it is. My honest pros and cons:

Pro:
a state park = known entity and safe
Nice grounds. Green with grass. Close to the water
Clean and well kept.
Windy so no mosquitoes!!
Pretty views within a minute walk
Connivence and close to the highway

Cons:
Spots are super close together
Number of spots-12 for vehicles. 3 for tents
Showers broken as of posting date
Cost-32 for our site because???? 27.50 for others because?? (They have electric sites that are more $$)
Train close by. It doesn’t bug us but may other people.

I’d stay here again if I was passing through and didn’t mind the price.

As others have stated, the place is well kept and the hosts are very friendly. Even decent cell signal here. It’s a bit of a green oasis in the middle of an otherwise desert atmosphere and we thought the scenery was just beautiful along the lake. It's close by The Dalles so lots of shopping available for forgotten items or just eating out instead of cooking.

If there was a “maybe” choice for “would I camp here again” I would choose it but we're fairly sensitive to noise and, like much of the gorge (on both sides), there are active train tracks here. When I say active, I mean a train about every hour and that includes all hours of the night. It wouldn't be as bad if they didn't blow their horns right next to the campground when they go by. So if you’re hoping for for birds chirping you’ll get that but you'll also hear planes, trains, and automobiles. Including semi's on the main highway using their jake brakes. If you're not noise sensitive or are just looking for an overnight, we recommend this place.

We were here during a bit of a heat wave so there was almost no wind, but we've heard that it gets quite windy here (as does a lot of the gorge). Bridges were a little bit tight width-wise for our rig - especially the Hood River toll bridge. We found that the Dalles bridge was not only closer but a better fit for us. This was our second attempt at a Gorge campground and we've solidly learned our train lesson. For us, the noise kicked it down 2 stars. Otherwise it would be five all the way.

Any camp site available. Im a tent camper and it was a bit of a walk in but flat and green. Bathrooms are very clean. I recommend.

The pros: it’s quieter than Maryhill State Park. The day-use area is nice and green. There’s a boat launch. There are family bathrooms, with (temporarily) free showers. They have some really interesting petroglyphs.

The cons: The powered sites are basically a gravel parking lot, with absolutely no privacy. It’s windy and dusty. The power pedestals don’t have 110 outlets. There’s no gas for 80 miles east of the I-97 bridge.