From a Historic Columbia River Highway pull-out, Multnomah Falls comes down the gorge wall, and the Benson Bridge hangs in the spray partway up. The highway keeps going east along the Oregon side of the western Columbia River Gorge, stop after stop above the river. That wall of water is the reason to come, and the turnouts after it are the reason to keep driving.
Eagle Creek takes the same basalt and turns it into a trail cut into the cliffs, footbridges and cable handholds above the creek. Cascade Locks and the Bridge of the Gods mark the east end of this western run, a waypoint on I-84.
From late May into early September, Multnomah Falls takes a timed-use permit during daytime hours, as of September 2026. The visitor centers in Troutdale and Cascade Locks issue free same-day permits if you did not book ahead. The paved Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail is impassable between Eagle Creek and Cascade Locks after storm damage as of September 2026, which is the bike and walking path, not the scenic drive.
Ainsworth State Park's campground is the first night in the corridor. The campground has full-hookup sites on mixed pull-through and back-in loops, open from late March through October, and reservations open six months ahead. If you want more sleeping space than a campervan, start with RV rentals in Portland.
Oxbow Regional Park and the Sandy River
The Sandy cuts under a forested bluff at Oxbow Regional Park, and the campground walks down to a sandy river beach. This is the closer-in overnight when Ainsworth is already booked. Metro's pull-through RV sites have no hookups, and on summer weekends you lock that pad first, then the van. Reservations run from one day to nine months out.
Forest Park is the city trail day, and it has no camping.
Milo McIver State Park on the Clackamas
At Estacada, Milo McIver State Park spreads along the Clackamas through open fields and fir, with disc-golf fairways under the trees. The sites have electric and water without sewer, camping from late March through October.
Champoeg State Park
Champoeg State Park follows a paved riverside trail along the Willamette past the 1843 townsite, through oak savanna and wetland. Full-hookup sites and the B Loop stay open all year, and this is the wet-season night after the Gorge and Clackamas campgrounds close.
For the mountain, Hood River and ski season, start with Mt. Hood. The north coast is a Cannon Beach trip. Stub Stewart is the west-side night out of Hillsboro, and Silver Falls belongs to the rest of Oregon.
