Sly Park Recreation Area

I worked at Sly Park as the Rainbow Camp camphost from early June-mid September and had a fantastic experience. The park itself is gorgeous and well managed while the rangers and hosts are super friendly. Day use areas and day use parking fill up very quickly, especially on weekends, so arrive early if you want a good spot. The hiking trails around the lake are beautiful and easy to traverse. I’m in my mid 40’s and walked the south side waterfall trail from Hazel Creek to the first dam and back in about 3 hours…and I’m by no means a regular hiker. The rangers and camp hosts alike make regular rounds to insure that there is no picnicking/day use or day use parking going on in the numbered camp sites and to make sure the park rules are being followed. Numbered sights are available by reservation only.
Rainbow, Kam Loop, Dogwood and Hazel Creek camping loops are nicely shaded and stay much cooler than the camping loops toward the front of the park but it can be tough to get a larger motorhome or travel trailer into the back of the park. The roads are very narrow with plenty of blind corners. Unsupervised children on bicycles, hikers, and other campers walking dogs on the roads is very common, unfortunately so are speeding cars. Be cautious on the roads and keep a close eye out. There is plenty of potable water spigots available throughout the park and plenty of pit toilets. There is also a lovely, short hike to a waterfall! It’s just a 1 mile walk along the lakeshore from the Hazel Creek day use parking area. I definitely recommend this campground. It does get very busy on weekends, so if you would rather not deal with the “Weekend Warrior” type of campers, book your stay for mid-week (Mon-Thurs) and probably avoid camping in July altogether.

We stayed here the last weekend of June and it was a really warm weekend. Friday was 82 at its highest so it was actually really comfortable since our site was shaded fairly well. Lake jenkinson is right across from our campsite so access was really easy! Saturday we walked over and set up our canopy to cool down by the lake. There are some rentals for water activity and this lake seems very popular for water skiing and tubing! Great way to cool down. Site 33 has an outhouse right at the top of the site so that was convenient! Across from our site was also a water spigot. There are no showers here and during the hot weather that honestly sucks! But moist towelettes work well to just cleanse your body. They sell firewood at the host area for $7 a bundle. Safeway is an 8 minute drive away so you can run there for ice and groceries. There’s a nice perimeter hike around the lake that is pretty shaded also! Overall the campground is awesome. I did wish they had actual restrooms so that we could use a sink. I took my 8 month old son for the first time and it was a great experience for him, especially playing in the lake.

Our group has been camping at Sly Park together and respectively since 1996, and we can't ever get enough. It's a very popular camping spot, so I recommend planning and reserving sometimes several months in advance. Weekends book up quickly, but weekday camping is easy to find.

They have several different campsite areas, and we typically frequent Pinecone Strip in the 30+ numbered sites. They have several water view sites, and many others deeper into the area. The lake is GORGEOUS and amazingly cool during the summer, and we also love winter camping in the snow as well. Sites have fire rings and picnic tables, and the reservation page has detailed descriptions of each site for you. Lots of hiking, biking, and equine camping which is so fun to see.

The stars are breathtaking at night. Gotta be my favorite part. It's also fun to look across the lake and see all of the campfires sparkling in the distance. That said, they also follow fire season safety and you should plan for that.

There's a little general store across the street from the entrance with essentials and camping basics, and loads of places nearby for firewood and more specific purchases.

Access to the lake is relatively easy, and they have a day use area separate from the camping areas.