Bear Creek Campground

Stayed for 2 nights. Campground in just off highway 101, so there is a bit of road noise. We stayed in site 8, a pull through that could accommodate a much longer trailer than our 20 ft. Site 8 has a river view. We stayed at the end of December, midweek and there were only a couple of other campers. Nice fire pits and picnic tables. No water and pit toilets.

This is a DNR land campground that requires a Discover Pass to stay, but you can buy a day or year pass online and just post your info on a paper in your dash. The sites are decently secluded from one another, some more than others. We got there around 2:30pm and had a bunch to choose from but by 7:30 they seemed to be full. We stayed 2 nights and although it's close to the road, there isn't much traffic noise at night, which was nice. I didn't think there were toilets, so the vault toilets were a plus, but they were absolutely disgusting & without toilet paper. The stream was a short walk down a trail right next to our site and my husband almost caught a salmon with his bare hands, it was the highlight of his stay for sure ! Sites include a picnic table and fire ring. Everyone at this site was super quiet so probably not the right place for party campers. We did hear a lot of gunshots nearby which was a little concerning since we had our doggos with us but with the Olympic national forest right there, it wasn't super surprising. Overall great place to camp on a roadtrip!

Under the guidance of The Dyrt, we came to this campground yesterday afternoon. It's almost full. Luckily we got the last one, site 14. Later the RV at site 9 left and we moved here. The environment is really nice , the trees are towering, and it is very hidden. Although it is close to us 101, the sound of traffic does not affect sleep. We were camping for the first time and still fell asleep. Left early the next morning

We enjoyed our stay at the Bear Creek Campground, we will definitely be back again. It was quiet besides road noise here. A couple trails to walk on and pit toilets, we didn't not use pit toilets but we checked them out and they weren't clean(just as a heads up). We loved how close it was to Sol Duc.

Free camping review on youtube under Abe and Mel | Vantravels

: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp3Vz0R1QwI

I visited on a weekend in early April, and pulled into this camp just before sunset. I was lucky to have my pick of a few different sites. There is a little traffic noise from Hwy 101, but if you park near the creek, you notice the creek sounds more. It snowed a little overnight, and I woke up in a beautiful frosted scene from a postcard.

DNR managed campsite right off highway 101 about 20 minutes west of Sol Duc-Hot Springs Road. It has 9 campsites, first come first served (free with an Adventure Pass) with picnic tables, fire rings and a couple of fairly gross vault toilets. The sites can accommodate medium (~30ft) RVs but there aren’t any hookups. Primitive camping at it’s best. I stayed in site #8 which overlooks the Sol Duc River. There is a good bit of road noise being this close to the highway, but as a cheap spot to overnight close to Olympic NP it’s super convenient.

This DNR managed land is the perfect stopping point for you if your looking for a cheap and easy spot directly off Highway 101 and don't mind staying too close to the highway. The 18 or so spots are pretty well hidden within the trees so you are not on top of your neighbor as well as being tucked back from the road through the campground. 

As far as facilities go I only saw one vault toilet but there may be another somewhere within the park. There's a trail that takes you down to Bear Creek at the south end of the campground and a few spots that have a partial view of the ravine down below. 

By far the biggest draw is the fact that you only really need a Discovery Pass to camp here, which is only $30 for the year and essentially pays for itself with two nights at any State-managed land. Beware though that this basically free camping can draw some sketchy people and if there isn't a camp host around I wouldn't leave any valuables out of your car (Iknow from experience) but most campgrounds do have host in the summer months. Added bonus here is the Hungry Bear restaurant is literally right next door so you can eat out if you get sick of camp cooking.

Great spot, right on the river. Small (16 spots I believe), first come, no running water, discover pass required but free! Pros- right next to Hungry Bear Cafe if you don't want to cook, Cons- Bathrooms here are only for those with strong stomachs and lungs to hold your breath