Camas is a city in Clark County, Washington, with a population of 26,065 at the 2020 census. The east side of town borders the city of Washougal, Washington, and the west side of town borders Vancouver, Washington. Camas lies along the Washington side of the Columbia River, across from Troutdale, Oregon, and is part of the Portland metropolitan area.
One of the major geographical features of the city is Prune Hill. Prune Hill is an extinct volcanic vent and is part of the Boring Lava Field of northwest Oregon and southwest Washington.
History
Officially incorporated on June 18, 1906, the city is named after the camas lily, a plant with an onion-like bulb prized by Native Americans. A paper mill was first established in the city in 1883 with the support of Henry Pittock, a wealthy entrepreneur from England who had settled in Portland, Oregon, where he published The Oregonian. At the west end of downtown Camas is the large Georgia-Pacific paper mill from which Camas High School sports teams get their name, "the Papermakers".
By 1971, there had been four attempts to merge Camas and Washougal that were denied by voters.
Mill history
Pittock's LaCamas Colony bought 2,600 acres in 1883, forming the Columbia River Paper Company the following year to begin production in 1885, before merging with Oregon City's Crown Paper Company to form Crown Columbia Paper in 1905. After converting from steam to electricity in 1913, Crown merged with Willamette Paper in 1914 and then with Zellerbach Paper in 1928. Crown Zellerbach became the largest paper manufacturer on the west coast and the Camas mill the largest of its type in the world.
During World War II, the Camas mill temporarily manufactured parts and components for US Naval vessels produced at the nearby Kaiser Shipyards. In 1950, the Camas mill was the first factory to produce folded paper napkins. "Crown Z" was the area's biggest employer in 1971, with 2,643 of approximately 3,700 Clark County paper mill workers. In 1986, Crown Zellerbach was absorbed by James River Corporation; after further mergers with the Fort Howard Paper Company in 1997 and Georgia-Pacific in 2000, Koch Industries acquired Georgia-Pacific and the Camas mill in 2005. In 2018, Koch announced plans to lay off approximately 200–300 workers, shutting down all equipment related to communications paper, fine paper conversion and pulping operations.
Historically, the commercial base of the city was almost entirely the paper mill; In recent years, however, the diversity of industries in and near Camas has been enhanced considerably by the influx of several high-tech, white-collar companies. These include Hewlett-Packard, Linear Technology, WaferTech and Underwriters Laboratories.
As of 2026, plans to demolish the mill have proceeded, and work is expected to finish by 2027. The area is expected to become a waterfront on the Camas Slough (Small offshoot of the Columbia River) and will be an expansion to the already existing Downtown District.
Geography
, the city had a total area of , of which was land and was water. There are numerous bodies of water within the city limits, including Lacamas Lake, Lacamas Creek, Round Lake, Fallen Leaf Lake, Tug Lake, the Washougal River, and the Columbia River.
Camas is approximately northeast of Portland, Oregon.
Government
The City of Camas operates as a mayor–council government with an elected mayor and 7 elected council members, who appoint an administrator to supervise operations, including emergency services, judicial services, public parks and utilities, and a cemetery. , the city operated on a $153 million budget and employed approximately 267 staff.
Arts and culture
Annual events include the summer "Camas Days", as well as other festivals and celebrations.
Parks and recreation
thumb|Entrance sign at Lacamas Park
There are numerous parks in Camas and within the Camas area, including:
Lacamas Park encompasses Round Lake and runs against SR 500 on its west side. Across SR 500 is Lacamas Lake. The park is open year-round and includes barbecues, a playground, trails around the park and lake, and access to the Camas Potholes. The park includes trails which lead to the Camas Potholes and the Camas lily fields, as well as a loop around Round Lake. Water activities in Round Lake are also common around summer time. Bathrooms are available on a seasonal basis only.
Heritage Park has facilities for launching boats into Lacamas Lake, a playground, much open field, and trails through the trees. The parking lot is large and includes numerous long parking stalls to accommodate vehicles with trailers.
Economy
Employment
, Camas had an unemployment rate of 4.5%; the top employers were:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Rank !! Employer
! Employees in 2024 !! Employees in 2015
! 2024 Share !! 2015 Share
|-
| 1 || Fisher Investment
| 1,771 || 975
| 19.6% || 13.0%
|-
| 2 || Camas School District
| 1,011 || 811
| 11.2% || 10.9%
|-
| 3 || TSMC Washington (Wafertech)
| 1,000 || 1,050
| 11.1% || 14.1%
|-
| 4 || Analog Devices (Linear Technology)
| 349 || 292
| 3.9% || 3.9%
|-
| 5 || nLight Technology
| 273 || 189
| 3.0% || 2.5%
|-
| 6 || City of Camas
| 268 || -
| 3.0% || -
|-
| 7 || Sigma Design
| 261 || 450
| 2.9% || 6.0%
|-
| 8 || Plexsys
| 174 || -
| 1.9% || -
|-
| 9 || Georgia Pacific
| 150 || -
| 1.7% || -
|-
| 10 || Fuel Medical
| 111 || -
| 1.2% || -
|}