Best Cabin Camping near Ardenvoir, WA

Quite liked this campground, a few things to note first about the site then the park.

Site: 31 Great distance between tent pad and picnic table with a few well placed trees for hammock/ clothing line Fire ring was great distance from picnic table. Great privacy (granted the people in the site next to us weren’t there) Close walk to bathroom/showers & Trash Short 5 minute walk to the lake.

Park: Showers were actually free Normally it is pretty windy, but there was no wind both days we were present Mosquitos were worse than usual, but a constant cost of DEET and a anti mosquito candle kept them at bay, still got bit up a bit There is a pretty legit store with camping stuff, espresso, and ice cream Playground near beach area By the beach there was a dude selling kayak/ paddle board rentals, he does not come on especially windy days Kind Staff, met camp hosts dog

I’ve also attached some photos of the RV sites from the north campground

Definitely will come back

I recently rented the cabin for the weekend in February. I've already made a reservation for a summer weekend, but this review is based on winter use.

The cabin comes with a stove & a battery lantern, with the expectation that you'll provide the fuel & the batteries. A previous user had left a propane canister and left the batteries in the lantern. It's a nice gesture, but come prepared with your own. I'd also brought along a propane lantern, and I'm glad I did. (Although this did violate the "no open flames in the cabin" rule - more on that later.) The interior of the cabin is very dark, and while the battery lantern provides light, it's only bright up close. Plan to bring your own lanterns, especially in the winter when the night's dark comes early. There are some board games and books in the cupboard, as well.

The bunkbeds are covered in plastic, but it's a thin cellophane so it wasn't noisy. There are provided pillows; I didn't use them. The bunks' mattresses are comfortable. Because of the way the Forest Service installed the bunkbed & the cupboards, the bunkbeds don't fully benefit from the heat of the woodstove. In the winter, you'll want a warm sleeping bag.

I broke the "no open flames in the cabin" rule because it was 16°F outside, and my meals needed to simmer. I imagine this rule is designed to protect the cabin as well as to protect visitors from CO poisoning. I placed the stove near a window and opened the window a crack, and I never turned my back on the stove. There's a CO monitor in the cabin, and truth be told, the cabin's drafty. But if you're going to break the rule, understand the risk you're taking, and for the love of all that is holy do not burn down this cabin.

The lock on the woodshed is the kind that the tumblers need to be lined up before you take the key out, but it's also a little worn so it's possible to take the key out without it being lined up. If that happens - as it did with me - it's really difficult to get the key back into the lock far enough to unlock it. (I had to heat up the lock & the key with a candle to get the tumblers "unstuck.") Be very careful with the lock, or you may find yourself having a chilly night. (Wood is only provided during winter rentals, so this doesn't apply for the summer folks.)

The toilet paper in the vault toilet is kept in a heavy plastic tote. My guess is this is to protect it from rodents. Please keep the lid on tight.

I wish I'd brought along a pair of camp shoes to keep my bed socks clean. There's a warning that you should expect every surface in the cabin has been contaminated by mouse urine & droppings. Consider that during food preparation. (I used some plastic wrap to cover the countertop to give me some clean space to work.) I didn't see any rodents while I was there, but there were droppings in a few places. There's no running water, so I'd recommend bringing hand sanitizer as well.

I was carrying more than my usual backpacking load, and I'd planned to haul things in on a sled. Unfortunately, I failed to test out my sled setup & practice pulling a sled, and on the trail it turned out to be a dismal failure. I got very lucky in that a nearby cabin owner saw me, took pity on me, and hauled my gear in & back out for me. However, his was the only one of the cabins along the road in use that weekend. If you're going to do something similar, be smarter than I was and test out your gear & your technique ahead of time.

Although the river is nearby, it has a steep bank and I wouldn't risk trying to get water out of it during the winter. I utilized the woodstove's cooktop & melted snow. It's not the tastiest, but it's fine for cooking with.

I will definitely come back, and next time I will be better prepared. I enjoyed the brief glimpse of life in a remote cabin: splitting wood & kindling, needing to keep the woodstove going through the night, et cetera. But I'm grateful someone else cut the wood and stocked the shed, and that I had access to modern winter clothing & recreation devices like lightweight snowshoes & waxless skis.

I've stayed at several KOA's over the years and this KOA is very nice. It has a great playground for the kids, a pool, shower stations, a coffee and ice cream bar, and a great general store. The safe was super friendly and helpful. The reason we stayed here specifically was its close proximity to downtown Leavenworth. When booking my stay, it was an additional$30 dollars to select my site and for a two-night stay, I felt that was too much. I quickly found out why they can charge$30 dollars. The first site we were placed in, site 20, could not even fit my 20-foot trailer. The second site, site 22, was a little longer and I could fit my trailer and truck into the site. The sites were so tight that we could barely fit the provided picnic table next to our trailer. As our neighbors arrived, they made a joke that their site was barely a driveway. That said, there were numerous spacious sites available if you were willing to spend the extra money.

I really like this place, but a lot of it depends on which level site you want to spring for. I’ll start with the cons: camp sites are pretty close together. Tents sites are real close RV sites are so close that or picnic table was only 6 ft from the sewer connect for the next site. No grass at the mid level trailer hook ups, either. Also the dock was down (I blame COVID), but I can’t hold it against them. Fire pits at each site. Tons of amenities: Pool and hot tub (also COVIDized) shuffle board basketball court, Kids play structure, mini golf board and boat rentals, a store... The lake is great, though, once you get past the first 6 feet of muck. It’s warm, shallow, but appropriately named. The water tastes soap and has a film, but that’s the “healing” part, right? The premium RV sites are great. Bigger, some grassy areas, at least one even has a hot tub. There are also teepees and cabins. It’s a cool little space.

We have been to the Blue Lake Resort during June 2021. The location is awesome, quiet and peaceful for a relaxing vacation. The breeze is welcoming& gentle enough to get fresh air. Very friendly staff, good walking, can get out onto calm rides on water, get some fresh water swimming, catch good fish. Newly added Domes and Glamping sites are nice and they are more attrea We stayed in newly renovated cabin. Very clean with new management upgraded everything they can think of. Cabin has all the amenities including full kitchen. The location is awesome, quiet and peaceful for a relaxing vacation. New Management renovated the entire reort including RV, Camping spots, Cabins and especaially bathrooms. All the amenties water/electric, showers, kayak and motor boats rental are included in rental price. So no surprises at the end. It's a must visit stay place for camping/glamping and dome experience

The campground for being Thousand Trails was pleasant. We were able to find a spot easily enough. Our issue was finding availability for us and our daughter arriving the next day. The full hookup sites are close together and not great IMHO. We settled for the spore in the Lakeview area. This area of the campground will accommodate up to 22’ RV’s. Water and 110 electric. Quite dusty but it worked. The lake is nice, the trails around the grounds are fun. For the grandkids there is a lot to do and that was the draw for us this time. We prefer disbursed off grid most of the time to this type of campground.

Normally I don't camp at KOA's but if you are trying to camp and ALSO do some usual Leavenworth things this is the perfect spot.  It is walking and biking distance from town, right behind the Safeway, and has lots of amenities.  Great place for kids especially there's tons of activities, playground and even a pool.  There are 4 or 5 free activities daily and even a couple for 21+ which I appreciated as a visitor without kids.

We stayed in a tent site and it was small and dusty but had a private trail to the river which totally made up for the more cramped quarters.  Quiet hours were observed and the staff was ultra friendly.  Picked up our propane and filled it for us and everything!

I will definitely go back here during shoulder season and rent a cabin.

I have stayed at both. Both are excellent! The resort is clean, comfortable, shaded green grass, and the mechanical hook ups for RV’s are in good working order. Plenty of amenities to make your extended stay enjoyable.

The state park pads are decent. Fire ring and picnic table are provided at no extra cost. Most of the pads are very level. Grass is green, bathrooms clean, and the kids run wild. Close enough to the water to have easy access. There are RV spots in the back that are new. I haven’t stayed there yet, but I’ve driven through. It’s far enough from the main campground to be a lot more relaxed, and more suited for people that do not enjoy the kids running rampant.

Two things that neither place have any control over: wind and mosquitoes. The wind will blow hard at night. It doesn’t matter if it was dead calm when you went to sleep at 2am. Pick up and secure anything that will blow away or be damaged by high wind.

When check out time comes around, the day use area has lots of parking to finish the day in the water.