Free Camping Collection
Dispersed Camping
Mount St. Helens Dispersed Camping
About
National Forest
Forest Road 83 provides access to Mt St Helens campgrounds. There are dispersed sites along this road for camping, and the area provides access to Climber's Bivouac, Ape Cave, and Lava Canyon.
Camping near Mt St Helens is open from Memorial Day until snow blocks the roads. Food, lodging, gas, and other services are available in nearby communities.
Access
- Drive-InPark next to your site
- Walk-InPark in a lot, walk to your site.
Stay Connected
- WiFiUnknown
- VerizonUnknown
- AT&TUnknown
- T-MobileUnknown
Site Types
- Tent Sites
- Dispersed
Features
For Campers
- Alcohol
- Pets
- Fires
A little tricky to find, but stumbled upon a gem
A friend and I drove around for a campsite for hours because our original one was under 2 feet of snow (late April 2023). I was able to get a bar of service and found this area off 83. There’s a bunch of pull offs, we found one that was covered in twigs and brambles. It was easy to get back to the site once we moved the blockage. Great, quiet area. Clean and not much left behind. Bet it’s busy in the summer but we didn’t see anyone for miles in late April.
Mt. St. Helens camping
Primitive location, nothing there, but maybe a fire ring and a spot to park your vehicle. The road coming in the last 10 miles is rough in many spots. It’s hard to see the bumps and dips in the road in the early evening. There are many spots to choose from for cars, trucks, and vans. It doesn’t seem like it’s designed for RV’s and trailers. The spot I took was within the last 5 miles of the marked location, on the left hand side, up a rugged dirt road. My truck made it up in 2WD. During daylight hours, I could hear gunfire above my site. As the evening approached, peaceful. I would stay here again.
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Busy on weekends
There are a lot of places for dispersed camping along FS-83, but they do get pretty full on nice weekends. Overall enjoyable camping, just expect neighbors and some trash from previous occupants.
Location
Mount St. Helens Dispersed Camping is located in Washington
Coordinates
46.15185272877585 N
122.10755318242377 W