Best Tent Camping near Aberdeen, WA

Being a new visitor to WA, we wanted to spend our first night in the middle of nowhere and this did it.

A bit of a climb for our truck camper so 4x4 was handy. There were some lower tree branches but easy to (delicately) pull to the side to get by. The road is 1 lane, gravel but nicely maintained. Not many areas to pull over so go slow and prepare to back up if necessary.

It's first come, first serve with no hookups or trash service but there is a bathroom. There's a couple spots for a bigger truck camper like ours and a handful of secluded tent sites you can walk to from the parking area. The tent sites we saw had a fire ring (fire ban in place right now) and a picnic table all nestled in the trees and ferns. There's 1 main place to fish from and several little nooks as well. There's a LOT of old, picturesque trees/ stumps in the lake, hence the name. A gentleman we met said the lake is stocked and our son caught some rainbow trout (approx 8 inches) so we put them back to get bigger for the next person.

There's also paths to enjoy a walk through the trees.

As far as cell service, we had great Verizon signal and there's a cell tower over the top of the trees so that explains that. 🙂

You need a Discovery Pass to camp here but it's either $10 a night at various campgrounds around WA (so I read) or $30 for the annual pass.

Enjoy and please pack it in, pack it out. It was a really nice campsite so let's keep it that way. Thanks!

Snag Lake Campground (360) 577-2025 https://maps.app.goo.gl/VmQbRypN42ciJemCA

arrived at the farm and were greeted by the owners. they got on their quads and led us down a private road through a super nice cedar gated entry and showed us our spot. they gave us a quick run down of the place and let us be. our spot was the Trillium site which has a few hundred foot hike from where you park your car and the portable toilet. the site was pretty cool and very secluded. it had a fire ring with some sawn cedar benches, a pile of firewood and a giant old spool for a table. we threw our marmot up and took a closer look. there is a camp box with info, instant coffee, guides to area sight seeing and food along with a log book to write about your stay. there were also some cool led lighting which was great at night. fire ban was on but they put a big candle on the grate of the fire pit so we had something. we kicked around on the trails which look like they are used by horses and motorcycles but not heavily. some interesting plants in the area. they were working on a new trail that is supposed to eventually lead out to the lake but it wasnt complete yet. however it was covered with wood chips and had a hand cut cedar bridge built on it. you gotta see it. sounds like they are constantly evolving the farm looked like a lot of things in the works. definitely will come back for more time here. night time got spooky with coyotes howling in the distance but the morning there were so many birds chirping and singing you couldnt hear yourself think! oh we found a corn hole game in an open area that they have several picnic tables staged at.

I just completed my third stay at Dragon's Gate, and I've now stayed in each of the different sections (Moon Meadow, Giant Crystal, Jessie's Camp). Each gives a completely different but wonderous experience, either with open views of flower pastures and woods, or a more insular green surrounded by trees. Each reservable space is massive.... 4-5 times the size of most campsites. While you may reasonably run into other campers within each section if you go for a walk, you won't even know anyone is in the other sections, its so private. Sing at the top of your lungs or let your dog roam, they won't run into anyone. 

Its just SO pretty. Each campsite is really well maintained- the roads and campsites are mowed, carving into the meadows. There are porta potties and access to drinking water and a great deal on both wood and eggs. Wooden picnic tables are in each site, and a well appointed fire ring. The hosts are really lovely as well, and overly accommodating. The entire site is organic, so they do ask that you participate in their policies of no charcoal usage and leave no trace.

Tenino itself is a cute little historic town, with a surprisingly well appointed supermarket and hardware store, and on Saturdays there's a farmers market. 

Mostly, I love how my dog can safely roam, and how, even when I am completely by myself camping, I still feel safe.

Campground

Fairly large campground, free as long as you have a discover pass! Close to town yet still secluded in the woods. Tons of trails for hiking, horses and dirt bikes! Plenty of sites for trailers and tents. Vault toilets, picnic tables, fire rings and water hook ups. The camp host even had free bottled water for guest if needed. There was a creek near by with people panning for gold which was interesting!

Product Review

Being a ranger I get to test some products from time to time! Today's product is the LEDlenser MH2 Headlamp!

This headlamp is very impressive! Certainly the brightest light I have ever explored with. It comes in a very nice package with a charging cord, two different colored lens attachments, a carrying pouch and a battery. My only complaint is that the headlamp itself doesn't fit very well in the carrying pouch but I made it work! It was also a little heavy and I had to adjust the strap to fit my head more often then I would have preferred. The brightness of the light made up for the flaws completely!

Coho campground is a forested campground overlooking a large alpine lake. Lots of old growth forest, birds and squirrels live in the campground. The sites are large with a paved drive that can accommodate several vehicles and trailers. Large picnic tables and a fire pit on each site with an area for tents. No electric, water or sewer on the site. There are several flush toilets that are well kept. Bathrooms have an electrical outlet if you need to charge something. Faucets with drinking water. No showers. No cell service and starlink doesn’t work due to trees. Nearest gas station and stores about 35 minutes away. There is a boat ramp and a nice lake for kayaking. Several trails around the lake and campground.

Location: Beautiful. There's forest sites and creek sites with a few sites in between on the inner loop. You can hear the creek at all times and it's very calming. Huge trees everywhere and mountain views. The mist on the mountains at daybreak was gorgeous. We had a water facing site and drank our coffee on the creek. I can see why fishers come to the area, we spotted many large trout in the clear waters of the creek.

Getting there: Mostly flat, not particularly difficult road in dry conditions. However, do not be arrogant about this road. When you see signs that say "Unsuitable for RVs and trailers" they mean it. On day one of our visit, a tree fell in the middle of the road. Though it wasn't particularly big, we couldn't lift it and it still made the road impassible. Later that day, a fellow camper with an axe cleared a small path but the whole three days we were there, no one came to remove it or any of the debris. The road itself doesn't have proper gravel size variation, which forms miles worth of something that feels like rumble strips. On the last day, it rained lightly for a mere five or six hours and the road's otherwise manageable potholes became big ponds and there's also a spot that floods quickly (there's a sign to warn you). It was still fine, I have 4W drive and a high clearance car, but just be warned that conditions can change quickly there.

A word in regards to another poster who said it looked like they were building bathrooms. Quite the opposite, it seems. There had been two different bathroom buildings but they were obviously quite old and were boarded up. No big deal, right? At first I thought so too, but I've kind of changed my mind about it. This campground has way too many sites for there to be one vault toilet. The math just doesn't work out. There are too many people at this campground for that. Any time you need to use it, someone is in there. There was an ACTUAL line at one point. The vault itself was nearly full (puke). It wasn't until we'd set up our site and it was dark that we discovered poopy wipes close to our site. Yes, wipes that don't biodegrade.

Which leads me to another issue...trash. This campground is not pack in, pack out. But the bear proof dumpster was packed in so tightly, it looked like it hadn't been cleared in weeks. Fine, we kept our trash in the car, but it would've been nice to know that the campground is basically not being serviced at all. Why is there a ranger station at Graves Creek at all?

Lastly, our stay was during the fire ban. I can live without a campfire, but it does have its benefits. There were tons of mosquitoes and...other wildlife! In addition to the warnings about bears and cougars, there was a hand written sign warning campers that a bear was in the area and to watch your food. We were very diligent and kept everything locked away in the car (which yes, I know they can still smell). On our first night we had two coyotes sniffing our tent and peeing on the site! They were easy to scare off, but definitely gave us a bit of a scare.

I'll still go back to Graves Creek now that I know what to expect. It's a beautiful place and hopefully next time the fire ban will be lifted.