Established Camping
Big Pines Campground - Yakima River Canyon
About
Bureau of Land Management
The gentle Yakima River winds for 27 miles through massive basalt cliffs and rolling desert hills between Ellensburg and Yakima, Washington. This area is popular for wildlife viewing, fishing, and floating the river.
Recreation The Yakima River Canyon is a popular destination for plant and wildlife viewing, including bighorn sheep, various birds of prey, and mule deer. This section of the river is classified as a Blue Ribbon trout stream, but is catch and release only. One of the most popular summer activities is floating the river, which is a family friendly Class 1 river with no rapids. Rafters often put in at Umtanum and take out at Roza.
Facilities All four BLM-managed recreation sites offer picnic tables, fire rings, nearby dumpsters and vault toilets. Hookups and potable water are not provided. Big Pines campground is where the majority of the campsites are located, and contains two group campsites. Umtanum, Lmuma Creek, and Roza also offer campsites. Umtanum and Roza receive high day-use visitation during the summer months. Roza offers a concrete boat launch. Motorboats are prohibited upstream from Roza.
Reservation Info
Access
- Drive-InPark next to your site
- Walk-InPark in a lot, walk to your site.
- Boat-InSites accessible by watercraft.
Stay Connected
- WiFiUnknown
- VerizonUnknown
- AT&TUnknown
- T-MobileUnknown
Site Types
- Tent Sites
- RV Sites
- Standard (Tent/RV)
- Group
Features
For Campers
- ADA Access
- Trash
- Picnic Table
- Toilets
- Alcohol
- Pets
- Fires
For Vehicles
- Pull-Through Sites
- Big Rig Friendly
TravelerBig Pines
First time there and it was pretty, but completely without any way of communication, which is ok but not when you are with a 99 year old camping fanatic.
RangerYakima River Canyon Campgrounds (Umtanum, Lmuma Creek, Big Pines, Roza)
Yakima River Canyon Campgrounds offer 4 options to choose from, each of them a few miles apart. The other 3 options are quite small with only about 6 sites each, and Big Pines about 40 sites. All of them have vault toilets and NONE OF THEM HAVE WATER. We spend a weekend at Big Pines in September and really enjoyed our stay. The campground was quiet, many campers leaving during the day to go hiking or spend time on the river boating and/or fishing. We rode our bicycle on Canyon Road which at this time of the year was not busy. At 15$ per night or 7.50$ if you have the senior discount there is not much you can complain about. We plan in going back.
Some reviews mentioned the train waking them during the night. With that in mind we did bring ear plug and did hear any in our small trailer.
- (7) View All
GuideThe best CG in the area
Pleasantly surprised. Lots of sites, reasonably priced, paved roads, near the Yakima River. The train on the other side of the river will wake you once or twice during the night. A great stop from Bend to North Cascades.
Location
Big Pines Campground - Yakima River Canyon is located in Washington
Directions
From Ellensburg, Washington, take Hwy 821 (Canyon Road) south through the Yakima River Canyon. Big Pines is located at milepost 10.
Coordinates
46.79359257476418 N
120.45616629604979 W