Upper Campground — Beacon Rock State Park

Campground Review: Beacon Rock State Park

Beacon Rock State Campground is a very nice, small, looped campground located across the freeway and about a mile or two away from the amazing hike up Beacon Rock. There's trees galore and there's also several very nice hikes of various lengths that leave right from the campground. Camp sites vary greatly, and every time I've gone it's first-come, first-served, so it helps to come early to grab a spot, though even in summer we've had luck on an off-night (like Sunday or Wednesday) grabbing a decent site. This most recent trip was early in the season, so even though the weather was lovely, we had practically the entire campground to ourselves.

In addition to the 28-site campground, there's also two day-use areas that you'll pass on the way to the campground which are very nice and include basic kitchen set-ups built back in the 1930s by the CCC, bathrooms, and picnic tables. The first day use area on the right as you enter also has a playground, while the second area on the left has great views of Beacon Rock.

Pros: Great spot for heading out on hikes. Showers and decently clean bathrooms. Trees.

Cons: Definitely some spots better than others.

Overall, a great spot as a base camp for hikes in the area, but not a ton to do at the actual campground.

Campground video: https://thedyrt.com/member/corinna-b/reviews/44685/media/141684

Ranger Review: Wenzel Oversized Quad Chair

Stats: 22x22x36 inches, about 7.5 pounds. Supports up to 350 lbs.

The Wenzel Oversized Quad Chair is a well made, sturdy chair that works equally well for car camping or outdoor events. As a Dyrt Ranger, I was given a gift certificate to Wenzel in order to choose an item to review. We used it two purchase two of these Quad chairs, and they've quickly become the chairs everyone fights to sit in anytime we're at a kids' soccer game or camping. While they'd definitely be too heavy for walk-in campsites or hiking (about 7.5 pounds on a bathroom scale), the built-in strap makes them perfect for carrying a couple blocks. After almost two months of weekly use, the construction is holding up very well, unlike other chairs we've purchased from other companies in the past.

Pros:

• Well made, including arm rests and cup holder
• Very easy to set up and put away
• Good looking, with blue stripes and pattern
• Good price

Cons/Improvements:

• Somewhat heavy. Not made for carrying more than 5-10 blocks.
• While everyone else in my family loves the comfort of the chair, for me when I'm sitting forward, my thighs hit the hard plastic squares on either side of the seat.

Overall, the Wenzel Oversized Quad Chair is a very solid option at a good price. I've been impressed with how well they've held up so far. These have become a must-have addition to our car camping trips.

Wenzel chair video: https://thedyrt.com/camping/washington/washington-beacon-rock-state-park/review/44685/media/141685

We went over there after we went Easter egg hunting with the grandkids because camping season came early this year. Beacon Rock was as pretty as it always is and lots of people at the day-use area, but there were only a couple of other people at the campground.

Spring flowers and everything is pretty and blooming and it was a nice stay. Also what’s fun about the campground is that it's the starting point of a bunch of hikes that are anywhere from a quarter mile to several miles. One particular hike we like is the one to small Beacon Rock where you hike up and have a great view of the larger Beacon Rock.

One thing is that later in the season as far as hiking goes you do have to watch out for poison oak. And about the campground, while it’s not large (about thirty spots) you can get to the restrooms easy but you do have a certain amount of privacy, depending on which spot you get.

This campground is a good place to go in that it’s a place you can get close enough to other things when you can camp there and do quite a bit of exploring in the Gorge. So I guess the bottom line is I would recommend this campground at at least 4 stars and probably 5. It would only get 4 because some other campgrounds have a little more privacy.

There are at least four different campgrounds within Beacon Rock state park including the main camping site, an equestrian area with two spaces large enough for horse trailers, a group camp site that can hold up to 200 people, and a small 2-tent and 5-RV space down by the boat launch (at the base of Beacon Rock). This review is for the main "Beacon Rock" campground, which has 28 sites nestled in the woods including two walk/hike-in only sites. From the main road, head north directly across from Beacon rock until you come to a parking lot on the right that's the trailhead for Hamilton Mountain, Whispering Pool and others. Just past the parking lot (which also has a nice day-use picnic area and shelter) and on the right you'll come to the entrance of Beacon Rock campground.

Sites are a good size with lots and lots of beautiful trees, though the size and privacy varies greatly depending on which site you get. Ones on the right when you first enter are smaller since they butt up next to a ridge. For the most part the sites on the inside of the loop and especially the back side (it's a one-way counter-clockwise loop) are larger. Sites are first-come, first-served, and even on Memorial Day weekend there were several still available at 5pm on Sunday. Not sure if that was a fluke or we just got lucky. The campground and day use areas were built by the CCC in the 1930s so there's some beautiful rock work here and there, but it was not built with RVs in mind, so most people had tents, though a smaller trailer or pop-up might work depending on maneuverability.

Pros: Sweet little campground with lots of beautiful trees and greenery. Still had spots available on a busy weekend.

Cons: Best for tents only or a smaller trailer. Some sites are definitely better than others.