In fall of 2024 we stayed for two nights at River Bend County Park, in Linn County near Sweet Home, Oregon. We had a great time and absolutely loved this campground for its beautiful location by the river, its trails, its roads to bike, and its nice campsites.

About River Bend County Park

River Bend Country Park is a rather new campground, so it’s very nice! It’s very big and covers 90 acres within a bend of the South Santiam River, which is so beautiful. Here are the highlights to know:

• 84 campsites for RV/trailer/tent, with water
• electric hookups for all but 10 sites
• there are also group campsites, cabins, and yurts
• two playgrounds and a playing field
• bathrooms, showers
• lots of shade, you are in the woods
• all paved sites
• most sites are pretty private and spread apart
• activities: swim/wade in the river, hike the 1.4 mile trail around camp, fish, boat in the nearby Foster Reservoir

Camping at River Bend County Park

First off, this was our first trip with our new TruckFridge and with the third seat put in so we all could fit! Our youngest was 3 so we brought her toddler mattress to sleep across the front two seats and stowed it behind those seats for driving. We also used the trailer hitch cargo carrier to bring wood, a container of food, and the kids’ bikes. The kids are old enough to each have their own backpack so those had to go on the floor, as well as the outdoor rug. So, it was super exciting and super squished!

This is the toddler bed across the front two seats. It worked out great we just reminded her not to elbow the horn…

We were in site 10B, on the right side of the map, somewhat close to the bathrooms and the playground. And best of all, it was the only campsite on that side of the little road strip! Ee were surrounded by woods and it felt more secluded. There were even trails running behind us that the boys could bike on, they rode so many loops through the campsite, woods, and road. It was a great spot! There is a firepit behind the picnic table in the pic below.

This is what it looked like across the road from us – nice separated campsites. Note the trash can – there were trash cans, potable water spigots, and sink water disposal spots all over the campground.

This was the playground near us in the middle of the park, with a great big playing field behind it. Our kids loved this playground.

The campground hosts were very kind and drove their golf cart by every day to check in on campers and blow bubbles for the kids.

We stayed for two nights. The first day we arrived in the afternoon, set up camp, explored a little, had dinner and went to bed. The second day there we went on a hike in the morning, biked in the afternoon, and played in the river before dinner. The third day we had breakfast, one last river play, packed up and went home.

River Bend Loop Hike

The first half of our full day there we walked the River Bend Loop Hike, a 1.4 mile trail around the whole campsite. It connects at many points to the campgrounds so you can start anywhere. Half of it runs along a bluff above the river with little trails leading down to different riverbanks, the other half is through woods. The river was low enough that we could walk alongside it for some parts. It look us a long time because we kept playing in the river and skipping rocks.

We started the trail the trail south of our campsite, by campsite 6A, and headed right on the map (east). The trail looked mostly like this:

There were many entries to the river, mostly down dirt trails but this especially long downhill had stairs. Most of the river entries were shorter.

At this time of year (fall) the river was low enough there was plenty of exposed riverbed to walk along. We kept going down from the trail, exploring the river, then going back to the trail, but we could have easily just “creek” walked the whole river to the last trail re-entry.

Some areas of the river ran over big beautiful rock formations:

Other parts of the river were just rocks, which made for good stone skipping times.

When you come across this and wonder what it is, we were informed it’s where they put the fish into the river for fishing. You can see where the tube comes out into the river in the middle-left of the pic, the straight black tube beyond the trees.

After the riverside trail portion, the rest of the trail goes around the campgrounds through woods and behind campsites. The whole thing is pleasant and flat. At the end of our hike, near the campsite 6A entry, there’s this magical tree stump with painted rocks:

Biking

After hiking we had a late lunch, then the kids biked for a few hours. This was exciting because both boys learned to ride without training wheels. We slowly bent the training wheels up until they didn’t need them anymore, then took them off. They mostly biked up and down by our campsite, but we did do some walks around the campgrounds. The roads here numerous and mostly flat, and therefore perfect for kids biking.

River Play

Before dinner we took the kids down to the river for more water play. This time they took their shoes off and waded around. I brought my camp chair and chilled. The late afternoon light was beautiful.

Dinner + Bedtime

An easy camping meal is sausages and veggies cooked in tin foil, both on the firepit grate. We had sausages, zucchini, sweet potatoes, and corn.

When it got dark we roasted s’mores and set up the snow project toward the trees for some fun lights. One time we were at a campsite and someone a few sites down had one of these set up and it looked like dancing stars in the trees, it was so magical. I’m sure there are better ones, but I opted for a cheap one like this: snow projector (affiliate link).

Then bed. This is what bedtime stories look like in a Eurovan camper with a family of 5.

Morning River Play

The next day it was time to pack up and leave. We took one last river walk and play in the beautiful morning light.

To end, we loved River Bend County Park and highly recommend it! The kids have asked to go back and we plan to. Enjoy!