Alder Lake Campground

Alder Lake Campground is located near the forested terrain of Washington, offering a mix of wooded areas and open spaces. Temperatures range from lows in the 30s Fahrenheit during winter to highs in the 80s during summer. Nearby attractions include Mount Rainier National Park and the Nisqually River, providing opportunities for hiking and exploring nature.

Fee Info

Jan. 2 – May 14 Water/electric/sewer hookups – $37 Water/electric hookups – $35 Tent sites – $25

May 15 – Sept. 15 Water/electric/sewer hookups – $42 Water/electric hookups – $39 Tent sites – $27

Sept. 16 – Dec. 19 Water/electric/sewer hookups – $37 Water/electric hookups – $35 Tent sites – $25

Reservation Info

You can reserve a campsite up to nine months in advance for dates between May 15 and Sept. 15. Individual sites are available on a first-come, first-served basis the rest of the year except for Dec. 20 through Jan. 1 when the park is closed. Sites not reserved between May 15 and Sept. 15 are available for one-night stays on a first-come, first-served basis.

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Map & DirectionsAlder Lake Campground is located in Washington near La Grande

Detail location of campground
Public Campground

Coordinates

46.79978992830269 N
122.29760081899032 W

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Connectivity

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    T-MobileLTE
    Good Coverage
    Verified by 17 users
    Last on 5/13/26
  • signal strength bars
    VerizonLTE
    Good Coverage
    Verified by 12 users
    Last on 5/13/26
  • signal strength bars
    AT&TLTE
    Good Coverage
    Verified by 13 users
    Last on 5/13/26

Connectivity

Presented byT-MobileT-Mobile is introducing T-Satellite to extend coverage in the outdoors
  • signal strength bars
    T-MobileLTE
    Good Coverage
    Verified by 17 users
    Last on 5/13/26
  • signal strength bars
    VerizonLTE
    Good Coverage
    Verified by 12 users
    Last on 5/13/26
  • signal strength bars
    AT&TLTE
    Good Coverage
    Verified by 13 users
    Last on 5/13/26

Access

  • Drive-In
    Park next to your site
  • Walk-In
    Park in a lot, walk to your site.

Site Types

  • Tent Sites
  • RV Sites
  • Standard (Tent/RV)
  • Group

Features

For Campers

  • Market
  • ADA Access
  • Trash
  • Picnic Table
  • Firewood Available
  • Phone Service
  • Reservable
  • Showers
  • Drinking Water
  • Electric Hookups
  • Toilets
  • Alcohol
  • Pets
  • Fires

For Vehicles

  • Sanitary Dump
  • Sewer Hookups
  • Water Hookups
  • Big Rig Friendly

Drive Time


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Reviews35 Camper Reviews - Alder Lake Campground

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4.5

out of 5

35 Reviews

Guests commonly noted clean facilities and peaceful surroundings with good tree coverage. Several reviews mentioned site leveling issues requiring adjustments. Convenient location for accessing Mt. Rainier National Park.

Reviewed Nov. 24, 2025

Good base to explore Ranier

This is a small campground, so there's no playground and there not much of a loop to walk the dogs. However, it's a very convenient campground to head into Mt. Ranier. The older gentleman that....ran the place? Policed the place?....was a bit overzealous in yelling at people to slow down, whether it be in vehicles or on bikes. We were able to have a fire in August, which was nice.

Month of VisitAugust
Reviewed Jun. 24, 2024

2nd visit

This is our second trip here. Lovely trees and lake. Half the sites don’t have sewer hookup but dump station is free. Easy ride up to paradise to Rainier National Park

Site26
Month of VisitJune
Reviewed Jun. 24, 2024

Good times!

Big campground. Lots of loops and options, we had to hike to our site which isn’t bad. The overall campground isn’t woodsy. Also our site had a slope so the table and tent was on a tilt. Water nearby, bathrooms clean, trash picked up regularly, water was hot! Great lake for canoeing and Mt. Rainer is right there for a gorgeous view!

Site216
Month of VisitJune
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Eugene C., June 24, 2024
Reviewed Sep. 16, 2023

Campground from the 1990s

Very quiet at night. Trees throughout the campground. The bathroom was conveniently located and clean. Roads are a touch narrow in places. The 1-to-40 sites campground is laid out in a loop. The turn at the end is very tight for 35-foot motor home towing. Our site#10 dropped 13 inches between the rear and front axle. A few Lego blocks and jack pads addressed the problem. The campground is on a small hill. Few of the sites are level. Most have at least one slope of varying degrees. Double T Meats in Eatonville is worth a visit. We camped at Alder Lake Park in a Motorhome.

Site10
Month of VisitSeptember
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Cande D., September 16, 2023
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Cande D., September 16, 2023
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Cande D., September 16, 2023
  • (7) View All
Reviewed Aug. 27, 2021

Small, well cared for campground

Only con is road noise from Hwy7. Main through fare to Mt Rainier south entrance and services. Sites may be too close together if park was full. We were one a few campers! We tent camped and had view of Lake Alder. Nice campground host. We'll cared for, clean, organized sites. No sewer or showers, pit toilets.

Site414
Month of VisitAugust
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Janell , August 27, 2021
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Janell , August 27, 2021
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Janell , August 27, 2021
Reviewed Aug. 20, 2021

Eh

Part of the “camping sites” are just a parking lot with the hang out spots being grass on the outside. There definitely are some cool spots but way too expensive for what it is. The lakes really pretty though! We had something chomping in the woods very loudly by our site so we headed in early lol. It was a cool spot to stay if you need somewhere within distance of rainier but I think anyone could find something better.

Month of VisitMay
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Cody W., August 20, 2021
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Cody W., August 20, 2021
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Cody W., August 20, 2021
  • (4) View All
Reviewed Jul. 8, 2021

Beautiful lake and nice facilities

We stayed at Alder Lake campground in a water and electric hookup site. The campsites are partly shaded with grass. The pad is paved but ours was not at all level. The bathrooms are very nice. They charge a nominal fee for the showers but they have great water pressure and hot water. A lovely lake is within a short walk and has a playground, a designated swim area and a large dock. I was impressed with how well everything was maintained.

Site50
Month of VisitJuly
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Kelli P., July 8, 2021
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Kelli P., July 8, 2021
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Kelli P., July 8, 2021
  • (6) View All
Reviewed Jun. 7, 2021

Pretty and clean, but a bit cramped

The campground in general was very nice: playgrounds and a lake nearby, and suitably close to a number of small towns and the Alder Lake Dam to have stuff to check out.

Unfortunately, our campsite (53) wasn't trimmed back sufficiently, so the grassy area where you'd normally put a tent was about 3-5 feet smaller than shown in the picture on Tacoma Power Parks' site, and we ended up having to place our tent half on gravel and half on grass for it to not be too close to the firepit.

The campsites in the main loop are much too close together and lack sufficient isolation via greenery, and the drunken revelry from four campsites away was close enough that it kept the four of us awake until just after midnight.

We'll definitely come here again, especially now that we have a list of good sites in our notes.

Sites to avoid: 53, 59, 60, 68.

Site53
Month of VisitJune
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Will , June 7, 2021
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Will , June 7, 2021
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Will , June 7, 2021
  • (6) View All
Reviewed May. 21, 2021

Beautiful and Spacious

We stayed for seven nights in this beautiful campground. Our spot was a very spacious pull through with water and electric. Campground was completely full on weekends but we had it to ourselves during the week. Walking distance to the day use beach area. Very clean showers. Well maintained sites and fire wood for sale with the camp host. A great spot for exploring near Mt. Rainer.

Site23
Month of VisitMay
Reviewed May. 29, 2020

Nice well maintained Campground

We stayed in Site # 77 it is a pull through with Full hook up, big & semi private. The lake is across t he street which the parking area can fill up quick. The boat launch is a zoo on the weekends there's is a long line to launch & take you boat out. During the week not so bad.  We had cell service yet some WIFI (which is in the truck) so when the truck was running we had Wifi.  We had a few baby deer in the campground always a pleasure. 

The camp hosts sell firewood

The lake is big & beautiful with great views of Mt Rainier. Good fishing and we found a lot of Lures on old tree stumps and along the shore while kayaking. There are a lot of motorboats with them pulling tubes and some that don't care if they swamp you or not. We saw several folks launch their boat & primitive camp. 

Mt. Rainier is amazing we enjoyed going into the park many times checking it all out. On the way to Mt. Rainier you pass a places called Ex-Nihilo Metal Sculpture Park which the guy dose a great job on big sculptures.  Donations welcome keeps him building more. 

We went to the grove of the Patriarchs with trees over 1000 years old. Big Pines, cedars & Dougless firs. 

Beautiful area, nice campground.

Site77
Month of VisitJuly
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by B M., May 29, 2020
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by B M., May 29, 2020
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by B M., May 29, 2020
  • (17) View All
Reviewed Apr. 6, 2020

Nice

Didn’t stay too long but it was nice. Very close to highway, sooo it was kind of loud, depending on the time of day. View of the lake was pretty. The campground and bathrooms were very tidy. Not too bad for a last minute decision to stay.

  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Charyl B., April 6, 2020
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Charyl B., April 6, 2020
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Charyl B., April 6, 2020
Reviewed Oct. 4, 2019

Beautiful and clean

Loved it here. The campground was well maintained and sites were super nice. Lake was amazing as well.

  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Amy B., October 4, 2019
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Amy B., October 4, 2019
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Amy B., October 4, 2019
Reviewed Aug. 10, 2019

Up in the mountains on a lake!

Nice lake to swim in or boat. Fishing off docks lots of hiking and biking. Great park. Awesome group sites but haven’t used them yet

  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Brady N., August 10, 2019
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Brady N., August 10, 2019
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Brady N., August 10, 2019
  • (10) View All
Reviewed Jul. 30, 2019

Great space

Pretty cool lake. We went during a crazy drought so the lake was SUPER low, but folks were still catching fish. The sites are good, got some pull throughs. Pretty good for kids to ride bikes around. Otherwise pretty typical, on the high end.

Reviewed Jul. 5, 2019

Beautiful Clear lake

The campground is well maintained. There are lots of RV sites. The group sites are amazing, they have individual and large group fire pits. The bathrooms have been remodeled and are very clean. There is a nice park with a dedicated swim area, ticks for boats. The lake is crystal clear.

  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Rich M., July 5, 2019
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Rich M., July 5, 2019
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Rich M., July 5, 2019
  • (4) View All
Reviewed May. 27, 2019

Gem in the woods

Huge campground. Alder Dam is great to visit, camp sites are close but everyone including employees & campers were very friendly. Full hook ups.

  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Kari R., May 27, 2019
Reviewed Aug. 17, 2018

Awesome with 1 exception

Place is great for family and group camping.

Weve been coming back again and only damper to this year was the dam in Tacoma was partially drained causing a “low tide” which exposed the dirt and poor beach area... usually when water is at normal level the beach is all sand and water is clean and clear. Some camping sites have a steep walkway to them but each year we come we find a better spot and take it next year. Overall a great place to go!

Month of VisitJuly
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Natashinka C., August 17, 2018
Reviewed Aug. 16, 2018

Nice spot on Alder Lake

Alder Lake is an easy getaway from the city, about an hour twenty south on the 7. Alder Lake is surrounded by 4 year round campgrounds and many day use facilities. There are multiple camp sites for tents and RV hook ups.

Each site has a fire grate and picnic tables. There are water spickets throughout the park making water collection easy. The bathrooms are flushing and very clean and there are coin operated showers. Sites are maintained, a little close so privacy might be an issue.

The campsite was very clean and maintained, the hosts do a great job and you can tell they take pride in their duties. There is fire wood for sale at $5 a bundle. This is a must campground for an easy getaway.

  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Mary C., August 16, 2018
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Mary C., August 16, 2018
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Mary C., August 16, 2018
  • (4) View All
Reviewed Aug. 2, 2018

One of my favorite campgrounds

This place is beautiful!! There are trails to explore, a sandy beach area that is also for public access, a boat launch and boat dock. The water is that beautiful blue/green glacier water color. The campground we stayed at did not have designated fire rings, but did have a metal BBQ that we used for the kids to make s'mores on. Will definitely be going here again!

Site303
Month of VisitJune
Reviewed Jul. 17, 2018

Beautiful retreat

This campground is amazing. It has a great swimming area, dock for boats, trails to walk on, and amazing views around every corner. This is one of our favorite campgrounds. Alder lake is also very clean and the water color is gorgeous.

Site47
Month of VisitJuly
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Corey C., July 17, 2018
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Corey C., July 17, 2018
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Corey C., July 17, 2018
  • (5) View All
Reviewed Jul. 11, 2018

lots of space, not much for privacy

Came here as a last minute decision heading south to Mount St. Helens. Although there was plenty of spaces here, the campground seems very popular and only a few last minute spots available. Got a tent spot (#205) next to the restrooms, facilities were clean and there is a camp sink at each restroom. With that being said there isn’t much for privacy and we had pretty noisy neighbors who had a cat!!! that wandered into our campsite and tent. The lake was beautiful for being a reservoir but if your looking for solitude look further south into the woods for it.

  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Zach A., July 11, 2018
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Zach A., July 11, 2018
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Zach A., July 11, 2018
Reviewed Jun. 25, 2018

Easy getaway from Tacoma

Alder Lake is a quick getaway from the city, about an hour twenty south on the 7. Alder Lake is surrounded by 4 year round campgrounds and many day use facilities. There are multiple camp sites for tents and RV hook ups.

Each site has a fire grate and picnic tables. There are water spickets throughout the park making water collection easy. The bathrooms are flushing and there are coin operated showers.

Alder lake is a great spot for both swim play and boating. The lake has a blocked off no wake area for those that wish to have swim fun and the rest of the lake is for small motorized water craft.

Reviewed Aug. 29, 2017

Beautiful campground

We stayed 2 nights here and have 2 boys, ages, 11 & 8. Our site was site #38 and was perfect for our 24 foot RV. It was flat and easy to get into. Our boys had the best time here, exploring on their bikes and roller blades and made some friends. We went down to the public area to swim every day and had a blast. Beautiful clean and clear water and the lake wasn't too low. This place is on the top of my list for returning next year.

SiteSite #38, we noticed 1-40 was flatter than the other sites for RV's
Month of VisitJuly
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Tiphanie  B., August 29, 2017
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Tiphanie  B., August 29, 2017
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by Tiphanie  B., August 29, 2017
Reviewed Jul. 20, 2017

Great alternative to Mount Rainier camping in the Spring

When we visited Mount Rainier in the early season, we quickly discovered that not too many trails and activities throughout the park would be accessible. That included the developed campgrounds.

We found Rocky Point out of necessity, but we stayed because we loved it. The sites were adequate; not too scenic, but we had almost the entire campground to ourselves. There were even cheap coin-operated showers for our use, and after eight months on the road, this was amazing.

Because the Longmire and Paradise areas were the only areas open at that time of the season, Rocky Point gave us great access to what we could explore. Our favorite hikes of our time there included Rampart Ridge Trail and a long hike to a suspension bridge along the Wonderland Trail. We also spent some time playing in the snow and walking up as far as we could at Paradise.

You can read much more about our five days in the park on our blog: Switchback Kids (Mount Rainier)

Month of VisitApril
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by SwitchbackKids , July 20, 2017
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by SwitchbackKids , July 20, 2017
  • Review photo of Alder Lake Campground by SwitchbackKids , July 20, 2017
  • (6) View All

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a map available for Alder Lake Campground?

Alder Lake Campground is laid out in a loop configuration with sites numbered 1-40. The campground features a circular design with some narrow roads in places, particularly at the end of the loop where larger RVs might find turning challenging. For official maps, check with Tacoma Public Utilities who manages the campground or visit their website. Having a map is helpful for navigating between the various loops and finding amenities like bathrooms, which are conveniently located throughout the campground.

What reviews and ratings do visitors give Alder Lake Park Campground?

Alder Lake Campground generally receives positive ratings, with many visitors giving it 4 or 5 stars. Campers appreciate the quiet atmosphere, especially at night, and the abundant trees throughout the grounds. The clean bathrooms with hot water are frequently mentioned as a plus. Some sites have a slope, which can affect tent placement and table use. The proximity to Mount Rainier National Park is considered a major advantage. While the campground is spacious with multiple loops, some campers note it isn't as densely wooded as other Washington campgrounds.

Are there photos available of Alder Lake Campground facilities?

Photos of Alder Lake Campground are available on The Dyrt and other camping websites. These images typically showcase the campground's tree-lined sites, bathroom facilities, and views of the lake. Many photos also highlight the beautiful setting with Mount Rainier visible in the background. To view the most current photos of the facilities, check The Dyrt's campground page or the official Tacoma Public Utilities website, which manages the property.

How do I make reservations at Alder Lake Campground in Washington?

Reservations for Alder Lake Campground can be made through Tacoma Public Utilities, who manages the campground. The campground offers a variety of sites, some with and some without sewer hookups. Due to its popularity, especially during summer months and its proximity to Mount Rainier National Park, advance reservations are recommended. Contact Tacoma Public Utilities directly or visit their website to check availability and secure your spot.

How much does camping at Alder Lake Park cost?

While specific pricing isn't detailed, Alder Lake Campground offers a range of sites with varying amenities that affect cost. Some sites include hookups for RVs (water and electric), while only about half have sewer connections. The dump station is available free of charge for campers. For current and specific pricing information, contact Tacoma Public Utilities who manages the campground or check their official website.

Where is Alder Lake located in Washington state?

Alder Lake is located in west-central Washington state, positioned conveniently near Mount Rainier National Park. This makes it an excellent base camp for those planning to visit Paradise and other areas of the national park. The lake itself is a popular recreation destination, perfect for canoeing and enjoying water activities with beautiful views of Mount Rainier in the background. The surrounding area features forested terrain typical of the Cascade foothills region.