Camping in a private wooded oasis

They are in the process of renovating the building on this location and it gave extreme squatter vibes I was concerned the whole time that I was there that one of the times that I went into the house to go to the bathroom there would be someone in the house also they are not living on the location at the moment and just give a code for the key to get into the house which is very odd in my opinion and I'm not sure if they are changing it regularly or not so other people may have access to the house who you would not want to run into also If you had a large vehicle you would not be able to park easily you cannot park on the grass that is shown It is a separate fenced-in area as an individual person looking for a place to stay I felt very unsafe here I imagine if you are in a larger group this would be a fine place to stay but it was definitely a very weird feeling and I wouldn't recommend it I actually left a day early and booked a second camp instead because I didn't want to have to stay there the second night that I'd had booked I stayed the first night just because I could only change my plans so quickly

The good:
- Azarah responded quickly and answered the questions that I had.
- The parking area is level and can fit up to two small-to-medium vehicles.

The bad:
- The house is a total construction zone right now. It's quite a mess (which I was warned about, but I hadn't expected it to be on the level that it is). There's no kitchen. Neither of the bathroom sinks are working, so we wound up brushing our teeth in the bathtub (which works, but was full of drywall). Everything I took into the bathroom wound up covered in a layer of dust. The toilet was covered in pee.
- I was told we'd have the house to ourselves, so when I got there I went inside, and there was someone in the bathroom.
- We were double-booked. A few hours after we arrived, another group showed up and also had a reservation. We technically could have all squeezed into the spot, but they were sketched out enough by the state of the house that they canceled and left.
- A lot about the listing is either not true now or never has been. There's definitely no hammock/fire pit area. There's no kitchen. There's just barely a working bathroom. I'm not sure how authentic the reviews are that mention any of these things.

All in all, if you're just looking for somewhere cheap to park overnight, this might be fine for you. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone looking to use the house facilities.

Great escape within reasonable drive from PDX. Azarah was very prompt in communication and embodied a generous spirit. I felt spiritually nourished after one night on Azarah’s land. I would recommend.

Thanks for everything was a great quick trip.
Amazing how many stars you can see from there and sooooo quiet.

Refreshing and comfortable spot for our tent stay. We loved the fire pit and hammock outside. Nice to have hot water shower and WiFi. All around great stay thank you so much !

Response from Azarah, the Host, on August 25th, 2021

Thank you so much Nika! I’m happy you enjoyed your stay and I look forward to having you again sometime! Safe travels.

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Remove vote :(

I was really excited for my first HipCamp experience. My family and I just took our pop up camper out of storage and we wanted to try something new so we booked a site titled “private wooded oasis”. Excitedly, we packed up the Toyota and drove an hour out to Longview. We found the address with few issues (no service whatsoever after you start heading deep in the Longview mountainside) and took a turn on a one lane dirt road. We saw a house right away and what looked to be the fire pit from the pictures online but we thought noooo, that can’t be it. That’s just someone’s small backyard that looks like the campsite. Besides, there was no way to enter the yard with my full size SUV towing a 16 foot pop up. We passed it, sure it was not the site, only to find ourselves going up a tiny one lane dirt hill into someone else’s yard. With great difficulty, we managed to turn around and get back down the hill. I stopped at house with the small yard. There was also a large tent in the middle of the small yard. Confused, I messaged the owner. She said “the gate to the yard opens enough for you to pull a car in”. I told her we could not fit, I was so disappointed when she suggested we camp outside the yard, in little gravel parking spot near the end of the dirt road. That was the last I heard from her. We left. Found a dispersed area to camp for the night. I hope no one makes the same mistake we did. That little yard with its little gate might suffice for tent campers but in no way should a full size truck or SUV attempt to use her road let alone her camp site. No attempt to resolve the issue, no apology, no money reimbursement, nothing. Zero stars for you, Azarah.

Response from Azarah, the Host, on July 31st, 2021

I’m sorry you had a negative experience- I provided the WiFi info- it’s in the woods and the listing clearly states that there isn’t cell service- I tried to resolve your issue by telling you how to access the yard campsite by opening the gate- the listing also states it’s gravel parking for trailers and RVs with a max length of 20 feet. The yard is not small, I have almost an entire acre of fenced land that’s available for use. Again, I’m sincerely sorry you didn’t enjoy your time.

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Remove vote :(

Nice, quiet spot. Generous host. The firepit is great.