PDX bike camping destinations

[maxadders]

It's finally nice out, and I'd like to drag a tent and gear out to some sort of nearby campground for a little overnight adventure. Any suggestions on where to go?

Maybe within 10 miles of urban portland and the suburbs?

[specialed]

There's a group of people going to Milo McIver near Estacada this weekend.

I think the closest park to Portland is Oxbow Regional park in Gresham, which is around 12 miles from the max station, but there's also a huge hill getting out of there so I would say that it is actually more of a challenge with camping gear.

Heres the post from cycle wild;

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NEXT weekend - Saturday and Sunday, April 25-26:
Camping at Milo McIver State Park
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If you've been waiting for something close-by to come bike camping,
here you go! Milo McIver State Park is right outside Estacada, only
21 miles from our starting point at the Gresham Cleveland avenue MAX
station. This park has river access to the Clackamas River, disc
golf, showers, flush toilets, and on-site firewood and ice. Estacada
is less than 2 miles away, so you can buy your food at the Estacada
Thriftway and avoid hauling it the whole 20+ miles. Alcohol is
permitted in the park but let's keep it responsible.

Meet: Gresham - Cleveland Ave MAX Station
Saturday, April 25th 10am (prompt)
Expected arrival at park: 1pm
Expected departure time Sunday: 1pm
Expected arrival back at Gresham: 3:30pm

Difficulty: Easy (there is one large hill on the return trip)

Note: If you're bringing kids, be aware that there will likely be some
alcohol in camp, and a reasonable amount of semi-irresponsible
behavior.

[jr98664]

Champoeg is rather close too. They even have hiker-biker sites. The regular one is closed until May or so, but even now they still have a designated hiker-biker site at only $4 per person. If cutting down on distance is important, you could ride from the Wilsonville WES station (or else take a TriMet bus to SMART) for just over ten miles, if you don't mind riding on the shoulder of I-5 on the Boone bridge over the Willamette. It's really not that bad, and it's only one exit to the next, so there are no ramps to cross.

If I-5 would be an issue, riding from Canby wouldn't add more than a mile, and the bus from Oregon City to Canby is fareless. You could even get to either Wilsonville or Canby and then take the bus in between them and start at Charbonneau for a ride of under 9 miles. The nice thing about riding from the east is that there's a nice, forested bicycle path into the park from just out of Butteville.

Another option would be just under 15 miles by riding the 12 to the end of the line in Sherwood and then heading there via Newburg.

[lynnef]

you can also ride from Wilsonville to Canby and take the Canby Ferry. Take care on the steep downhill to the ferry, though. Really, really steep.

But really, the Boone Bridge (I-5 shoulder) isn't that bad. The shoulder is quite wide. You get on and get off; no crossing of any other on/off ramps.

It is kind of noisy, but other than that...

[vincentpaul]

Big Eddy County Park is about 7 miles past Vernonia, and is a nice place to stay as well. Right on the Nehalem River. I camped there last fall on my way to Astoria during the first leg of my coast loop. Early September on a Sunday night there was only one other site occupied. Probably gets a lot of RV traffic in the summer though. There is some road noise, but on a Sunday night there wasn't much traffic going by.

[bikieboy]

...is a very nice spot. Showers, too! Good halfway point for a ride to Astoria - the road from here on to Astoria is really quiet; also the ride from here on up to Clatskanie is similarly quiet & scenic.