I really like this park. I used to live nearby and visited a few times, then I moved farther away…read moreand now I find us here again. This visit was a starting point for our river adventure. I saw a bunch of people fishing for crayfish at the launch site. I will be back for that alone. I do have several crayfish traps.

This is a massive park, and my singular experience is limited to the two boat ramps, since I was…read moreinvited by a friend who wanted to paddleboard down the river, dragging my wife, my son and I behind them on inflatable tubes, so I can only comment on this limited experience. However, based on these two sections alone, this is a fantastic park for any and all water-based activities. For once, the $5 day use fee seems justified, considering all the things that it offers. Additionally, there are miles of hiking and horseback trails, picnic areas, camp sites, and plenty of open green spaces (shaded or otherwise) for parties and other outdoor activities. It's a little far from home for us, but worth the trek!

This is a long, meandering river offering you a ton of recreationally minded activities. Much to…read moresee, much you can do and enjoy - worth your time to top in at one of the points you have access to stop in at along the river. The water is typically a perfect temp in the summer and the current is ideal for tubing - especially in the Clackamas area. Safe enough for the family, pretty enough you want to go alone and soak it in....

The Confession: I'm a masochist. Despite being clumsy and lacking any visual depth perception…read more(seriously, it's clinically proven), I can't really use those excuses when it comes to my persistent ability to get injured. If you see me, chances are I have band-aids on. So, I'm pretty sure it's just that I actually LIKE getting hurt. This is a case in point: The Prelude: Since I was about 3 years old, I have enjoyed exploring the depths of the woods, especially near some giant, rushing body of water that drowns out all the mundane commotion in my head. I like being surrounded by towering trees, waist-high ferns, and little, precious wildflowers. I've run into grizzly bears while huckleberry picking, yet never, ever have I been afraid in the woods. Not even at night when I have to go pee. I actually want to get lost and find my way home. This is my idea of fun, especially if I have a cold beer in hand. Problem is, I usually get hurt while I'm out there. In fact, I judge my excursions as such: the more I get hurt, the more fun I had. The Rub: This is where the Clackamas River is GOD to me. Yeah, I love to come here to swim, hike, camp, float down the river, picnic, etc. But I always leave with excessive scrapes, bruises, scratches, and bloodied body parts. Could be I just play hard. But I think it's more than that. It's as though the river gives me so much pleasure, it demands a little sacrifice from me. Not all rivers have this affect on me, mind you. Yesterday, it took a few pieces of skin from my arm when I fell down a hill, clambering to get to the water on a hot day. Last weekend, it took a chunk out of my leg when I foolishly attempted to mount a log in the river. Painful, yes. But these are battle scars of love, people. This is my idea of heaven. No other river has loved me this much and, I must say, vice versa. The 411: If you want to kayak, raft, camp, hike, lay on the rocks, float in an inner tube, or whatever...check out the Clackamas. Drive straight through Estacada and follow Hwy 224. Or take the fork at the Ranger Station and head down Forest Road 46. There are tons of campsites, both official and just off the road. The water is cold, but refreshing on a hot day. Or, you can head south on 46 to it up Bagby Hot Springs. But please be careful out there, kiddos. People do die on this river every year (in fact, a young woman just drowned 2 weeks ago), so treat it with respect and be aware of the dangers. And if you like getting (safely) beat up by nature, like me, take your neosporin and head out. You're going to get your ass kicked and you'll keep coming back for more.

We had our wedding here this past weekend and it was more amazing and beautiful than we ever…read moreimagined. We were looking for a venue that would be okay with us choosing the catering, and also definitely wanted BYOB to save on costs. Karen was extremely accommodating and excited from the very beginning! She was so easy to work with throughout the process and was super easy going and flexible. There were no hidden costs or unreasonable restrictions. Also having access to the venue on Friday to drop off all our stuff was a huge help! Our wedding was complicated, as we were blending Indian traditions with traditional wedding customs which involved a lot of planning and coordination, and everything went off without a hitch. When I arrived at the venue on the day of the wedding, everything looked more magical and perfect than we ever imagined. It was the best day of our lives and our guest could not stop commenting on how beautiful it was! The farm requires you to rent all your own tables, chairs, decor, etc - so be prepared to do some planning! We had a partial wedding planner - which was the best decision we made throughout the process - It would have been very stressful to make sure the wedding day went smoothly without some outside help. Clackamas River Farm was outstanding, from our first meeting to the end of the wedding - the day was perfection. Thank you Karen!!!

We could not have been happier to get married at Clackamas River Farm. Immediately upon driving…read moredown the driveway when we first visited the venue, we knew it was the spot. Karen and Michael put so much heart and hard work into creating an idyllic and stunning setting. The venue is yours all weekend, which allowed us to take our time setting things up. The flowers and string lights against the backdrop of greenery makes for an easy layout with no extra decor needed! They were easy to work with throughout the whole planning process, and I could not recommend this gorgeous place enough.

Not sure why everyone has reviewed this place horribly, I can tell you from my experience here it's…read moresimply perfect. There isn't showers but who cares we are camping. The river runs right by the campsite, simply perfect! You don't have any cell service, which makes this place even better! This is our second year back.

This park had so much potential! The scenery is beautiful located right along the Clackamas River…read morebut fell short of my expectations. We reserved campsite #4 in an attempt to get out of the city for a taste of Mother Nature's beauty and fresh air. Although the location is great the site was horrible. We arrived to a big open area for the "tent-only" spots where there were no trees or anything dividing the 3 spots from one another. Spots #5,4,and 3 are less than acceptable. Meanwhile, the entire rest of the campground was descent. So, If you are a tent camper and want a little privacy don't rent any of these 3 spots, but instead get a trailer spot so you can have some privacy where your neighboring campers cant see everything you have and watch you eat dinner and build a fire! We may return for the beautiful view and a cold river swim, but have learned our lesson. $17/night was a total ripoff.

If you arrive at the crack of dawn and get a good spot, this can be a great fishing spot. The…read morereally good spots for catching trout here is limited, so if you don't get one of those spots, I suggest trying somewhere else nearby. The North Fork boat launch/park and Promontory Park have port-a-potty restrooms that are well maintained and don't smell too bad, even on a hot day. On the weekends, the boat launch areas are overrun with teenagers, jets skiers, loud music, definitely not a quiet peaceful spot to fish or relax, but perfect for partying or working on your tan. Occasionally, there are people in canoes and kayaks. The water is pretty clean and the surrounding trees and mountains are beautiful. We've seen bald eagles, deer, coyotes, and other wildlife.

Do not trust them or their 'reservations'. Beautiful place, but never wasting our time driving…read morethere again. We reserved a pontoon for the day, & on the way there we called again to double check our reservation & make sure all was in check & they reassured us our rental will be waiting for us when we arrived. So we drove TWO hours to get there with all our children, friends & their children, just to have them say 'sorry' because they have rented out the pontoon to someone else. So we had to drive around for sometime looking for some other way to enjoy our holiday.

This is more of a fishing spot than a park. Its located under and around a bridge. There is a short…read moretrail that takes you down to several spots along the river. I'm sure if you're a sport fisherman this is the place for you. There is absolutely nothing here to do. We did a quick walk around and left.

My Chihuahua and I were attacked today on the trail at the State recreation area, headed for the…read moreClackamas river. The other dog was off leash, very large, and appeared to be some sort of a pitbull and maybe cane Corso mix. My dog was on a leash as we were coming down the trail. As soon as this other dog saw us, it immediately attacked and we were both injured as I tried to get it off of my dog. My poor dog is now at the emergency vet with severe injuries and a fractured leg that may necessitate an amputation. This woman was so unable to control her massive dog, and did not have a leash that once I got my dog away from hers I was afraid for my life that it would try to attack again and so we ran the mile back to our car so we could speed to the emergency vet. I was unable to get any of her information or pictures. I will not be coming back here. If anyone was in the vicinity of this trail fishing this morning and heard the screaming in the woods or saw anything I would appreciate help finding this woman and her dog as I am now looking at $6000 in vet bills. My hand also required 13 stitches.

A lovely campground on the Clackamas river. It can be a bit noisy in early spring because you're…read moreright on the river, but as the name implies this site gets a nice little slice of sun during the day that cannot be beat. The only downside is that many of the sites are next to each other, so this campground doesn't afford much privacy.

The only reason I am giving this campground a one star is so that the review will be read, as a…read morecaution to camping anywhere near to Estacada, Or. The camp sight is small, gorgeous and overlooks the river. Clean and well kept. We felt fortunate to find a spot, last minute, on a Friday in August. The off site camp host (from Lazy Bend) is a lovely man. Very kind and seems to love his job. The issue was: we were robbed at 3 am. We left our cooler on the picnic table, packed all other things away (thank goodness) and our cooler was stolen. Upon discovery, we walked around and asked if anyone else had things stolen and 2 other camp sights (that we spoke with) had coolers with beer stolen. Yeah, so our cooler had our beer and food. All of our food. Several people heard and saw a few cars driving around at 3 am but didn't realize what was going on. I've told several people about this experience and apparently this is common when camping near Estacada. I guess my one-star review is really for the town of Estacada but I don't think Yelp has a review options for an entire town.