Campground Review: Champoeg State Park, OR

Champoeg State Park, 30 minutes outside of Portland, Oregon, is a great spot to take the family for a long weekend away. This family-friendly location offers easy walking and bike trails within the park which follow along the Willamette River. Our favorite area to camp is in "B Loop". This loop offers larger spaces and is located near the walking trails. Below is a picture of our site for this trip, B12.

"A Loop" offers smaller sites yet is close to the LARGE play structure for kids which makes it a fantastic location for young families!

Below is an overview of the camping loops. I placed red signs next to a few spots in the "B Loop", which are all large pull-through sites. Please note: sites 20-28 are the only sites that offer sewer connections. Check carefully as you select a site, as there are only a small number that offer 50 amp service, most are only 30 amp.

The outer sites in "A Loop" will allow a larger RV to back in easily, as the sites are angled. However, we were surprised when scanning the inside camping spots. Although the reservation site has some inside spots listed at 40' long, I would HIGHLY recommend against any of the inside sites in the "A Loop" if you have an RV over 30' long. The sites are NOT angled...some seemed to be at a 90-degree angle to the road. Not Easy! To add, the road is narrow, which makes backing up even harder, as you need to avoid vehicles parked in sites across from you. I would say a small motor home or trailer under 30 feet would be fine. If you have anything larger than that, you may be very upset when you arrive and see what's in store for you.

While you're at the park, be sure to take the time to enjoy one of the best walking paths! The paths are wide and offer bikers, joggers, and walkers to share the space and pass each other easily. We followed the path out of the park to the local town of Butteville. The end of the trail led us to a cute little country store with snacks and drinks. This easy walk is just over 2 miles each way...nothing too extreme. It was a beautiful walk along the Willamette River and through the wooded area.

After our long walk, we were hungry for lunch! We needed to find a local spot with great food and beer. We found Chehalem Valley Brewing Company in Newberg, a quick 10-minute drive from the park. Such luck! This brewing company may be in a small location, but it had fantastic food and beer. To add, the outside tables allowed us to enjoy the beautiful weather. It was a winner all around!

Overall, we couldn't have asked for a better weekend!

For complete details and links to make a reservation, click here.

*A version of this article was originally published on www.rvwiththetanners.com. It is published here with permission. All opinions expressed are solely those of the author.*