Best Campgrounds near Ariel, WA

Absolutely loved the spot. There were about three sites. I believe from what I saw. I stayed at the first site when you first get there back there on the right hand side. It's a short hike down to the creek. It looks like there might be two walk-in campsites as well and I believe there might be one if you walk across the Creek. It's very close to trapper Creek trailhead and there is a vault toilet there. Minimal bugs didn't get any bug bites and it was in the '90s while I was there. Very little traffic. Not far from the highway just in case of emergencies. Absolutely no cell service. You must have a Northwest Forest pass or America the beautiful pass. Forest service does drive through there frequently to check

So I want to start out by saying this campground was not bad but I had the impression from the pictures I saw beforehand that the campsites were pretty well spaced out, not the case. At all. They are practically connected, only a few trees between each site. We don’t go camping to socialize, we go camping to get away from everyone and enjoy nature, that’s really hard to do when people are set up barely 30 feet from you. I want to hear birds and the trees and other nature sounds not other people’s conversations, music, cars etc. so having booked this site months in advance I was upset with the situation and lack of privacy we ended up leaving. We did go down the trail to the lower falls which were very beautiful and maybe this kind of campground with the sites all crammed together is other people’s idea of camping but not ours. I would like to add the campground host was very nice and also helpful.

Absolutely beautiful campground in Washington state nestled into the woods between Randall and Morton on the Cowlitz River. 4 loops to choose from. 2 with electric and water, 2 geared to tent or dry trailer camping. Loop A & D have utilities for camping with the water Spicket and drains in each loop. Nice, clean bathrooms with showers in every loop. Boat ramp and dump station available for campers. Recreation fields and trails nicely groomed. Very attentive staff regularly driving around cleaning and checking on the campground. I would say the only drawback is that they don’t have sewer hook ups. We stayed Friday to Monday trying to be moderately careful filling our tanks and did just fine dumping tanks on our way out. We will definitely be back to this PNW Beauty.

This is the second time I've camped at Mossyrock Park, 1st time in a group camp. There are 2 group campsites. G1 is only for tents. G2 will accommodate tents and RVs. We were in G2. It does look a little lack luster at first glance. G2 is a large gravel lot with 12 narrowly spaced picnic tables, grassy areas on the perimeter, and a large firepit at one end. There are no hook-ups, but there is a water spigot for the group campsite and bathrooms with showers near-by and a kitchen shelter. I did not use the bathrooms so can not comment on those and I'm not sure if we would have been able to use the kitchen shelter or if that was a separate reservation. Our group was originally to be full with all 12 parties attending, but 2 parties ended up canceling. We also had people arriving on different days and leaving early. The full booking was for Thursday-Monday over Memorial Day weekend. We had almost every manner and size of equipment there as well from a 5th wheel, various size bumper pulls, a truck camper, class A motorhome, and tents. It was a bit tight once more people started showing up so bringing a larger rig in once people are in there could be hard to do. One of the parties that brought their boat would actually back in from the entrance since it would have been hard to get in and turn around. Since it was a holiday weekend, the park was pretty full, but I couldn't really tell from where we were. It was surprisingly quiet in G2. The consensus was that people enjoyed the trip and would like to do it again next year.

I have Verizon and was able to call and text my husband and occassionally use messenger. I had one or two bars. Probably would have been better with a cell booster.

This campground is extremely well run and organized. The entire campground and park are absolutely beautiful. The sites are large, shaded and quiet. Many are pull through. If you want a water view you will find full hook up does inn loop A, or no hook up sites on loop C. T-Mobile access was ok, not great. Showers were free and very warm. The campground has numerous cabins for rent many with water views . The natural flora and fauna in late May/early June are amazing. There is not much beach access from the campground that we saw, but there’s a lovely beach area with boat landing and playground in a separate part of the park.