Best Dispersed Camping near Ariel, WA

This area of Gifford Pinchot National Forest has lots of dispersed camping spots but this area was a gem. To access it, as you are driving on NF 65 you will see a small road to the right just a bit before you see the parking for Panther Creek Falls also on the right. If you are at the parking area for Panther Creek Falls and look up you will see a huge wall of rock…the area is up there and you need to turn on the road before the parking area to access it. There are actually 3 areas where you could camp: As you drive up the small road, you will notice the first, pretty large area for camping straight ahead. It looks like a road continues up toward the right but that is actually blocked. If you go to the left you will see the road continues (and you might not think there is anything up there) and you will see one more spot straight ahead and then if you continue up toward the right (hitting some branches along the way) you will come up to a large, wide open area with tons of space for camping. We were pretty excited when we saw it!

We spent one night in that huge open area and it was beautiful - the stars were amazing. During the day we would go peek over the edge and could see people parking to go to the falls. You could hear a tiny bit of road noise from up there but it was very light. You can also hear the noise of the waterfall from up on the ridge. The only downfall about this spot is that there is no shade and it was very hot, so hot that we couldn't have a fire. The second night we spent in the spot just down a tad so that we could have some shade and a fire.

The hike down to Panther Creek Falls is literally right across the road and I think these falls may be the most beautiful falls I've seen in OR or WA. It's a short mile or so hike but really pretty scenery.

This dispersed camping is free, huge bonus in my book. While searching for our perfect spot we did come across a few large parties, making us apprehensive that we would experience our ideal peaceful experience, but we were wrong to be. There were dozens of open sites that we had our pick of. A handful of cars drove by throughout the evening and night, but not an outrageous amount. Pretty dang good for very accessible NF camping spots. There are a good deal of trailheads near by, meaning you're never too far from a pit toilet or a bulletin board with information.

We visited in early September and found the weather to be very pleasant. Our view of Mt. St Helen's was obscured by the tall trees that offered our site seclusion and privacy, but we relished the view of the active volcano while driving to and from our site.

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.

Pumice Butte is a dispersed camping area along the Loowit trail that circles Mt St Helens. If you're starting from Ape Canyon or June lake Pumice Butte is a great place to camp for your first night (about 5-6 miles in respectively) There is some tree cover here before you enter the Plains of Abraham that works for shade or a wind break - you mind need both.

There is not much water along the trail, but we found a small spring about 1 mile past Pumice Butte

This is my first wildcamping/boondocking location, but I loved it. It feels like you're right in the middle of the forest! It's a wide dirt pullout with room for 7-10 cars. And although it's right alongside the road, it's not a super busy road like some highway spots, so it felt pretty secluded and quiet. Very few cars at night.

No signs of any kind indicating "no parking." 1 bar of Verizon LTE.

The dirt was solid -- I wasn't worried at all about getting stuck in the mud (and I'm here in the middle of winter with tons of recent rain). Plenty of room to turn around with ease.

And you're right at a hiking trail that takes you to beautiful falls!! What more could you ask for? -- Don't make the mistake I did. The trail all the way on the left side of the parking lot takes you to the falls. The trails in the middle of the lot are super steep and muddy and don't lead to the falls.

Only downside is it's not perfectly flat. It wasn't too bad though. I just parked with my head pointing uphill when I go to bed, of course.

There is also another option down the road to the east about 500 feet. It's a paved pullout, but it is smaller so it doesn't have as much space to turnaround.

Good luck. This takes you to the middle of nowhere with no camping spots. You’ll have no service.

We wanted a beginner backpacking trip (10 to 12 miles round trip) close to town - this one is a pretty hike with views at the end (theoretically, we saw fog). We passed up the best camping spots because they were too early in the trail (at the creek) and ended up setting up camp in wider part of the trail (about 3 miles in, after night had fallen). The other hikers were friendly, though, and didn't seem to mind us making camp pretty much anywhere. In our situation the camping was definitely not the main event! We came for the hike and slept along the way. The camp spots at the creek would have been quite nice for camping itself though.

This is a dispersed campsite near the south side of Mount St. Helens. It's free, which is always great. The drive in is just off the highway and up a little hill, but my car had no problems with it. There's a lot of space here. From our spot, we saw at least a half a dozen fire pits, but we were the only ones there. It has some nice trees and a trail. Up the road is Lava Canyon, where there are toilets if you need. There are some decently flat spots for a tent and I felt was all around a good site.

Found this campsite when driving up to the south side of Mount St. Helens Hikes - it is situated between Ape Caves (farther away) and pretty close to Lava Canyon and Ape Canyon.

It is pretty close to the road, so we could hear road noise. However, there's nothing past the campsite really besides a couple more campsite spots and the hikes, so there really wasn't any road traffic at night.

It's easy enough for a car to pull in to - my honda fit had no problem. This spot on a circle pull-out that has a couple more sites, but this is the only one you drive right up to. The circle pull out looks like a spot for RVs. My hiking buddy said the middle of the pull-out had a fire ring, but I didn't go investigate.

Our spot had a fire ring, a nice flat spot for the tent and trees close enough together that we set up the hammock.

There is a little trail that I didn't use too much, except to find a place to use the bathroom. If you do this method, remember to bring a trowel and dig. Please practice this method and keep it nice for the next people. I did see a fair bit of TP on the trail :( There is also a toilet up the road at Lava Canyon, but despite a sign in the bathroom proclaiming it a smell-free toilet, it was frankly the worst smelling toilet I have ever experienced, so I preferred the outdoors.

The site is sheltered by large trees which gave it a nice feel of privacy.

We went camping twice this past week because it was so beautiful! We entered near Cougar and passed Lower Lewis Falls. There are multiple sites along the road, some have plenty of room for RVs but I wouldn't want to drive one on the roads. We explored the Forrest and ended up driving all the way to Trout Lake. Found great sites for multiple people, on the river or off the river, and multiple sites that are smaller and more secluded.

This camp site is overlooking the parking lot. It's a wide-open rocky area. Close enough to hear the falls. Super dark at night with plenty of stars.

No mosquitos up here! We didn't camp at the very top of Big Huckleberry Mountain because there were already a couple other parties, so we decided to camp at the base of the last ascent to the top. I'm glad we did because the grass was lush from having rain a couple days before and we had clear blue skies that gave a beautiful, uninterrupted view of Mt. Adams.

We met some PCT hikers along the way; some were heading towards the Crest Camp Trailhead. This was the trail we followed: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/washington/big-huckleberry-mountain-via-pacific-crest-trail

Bring your trowel and TP to stay at these dispersed sites. There are two main water sources on the trail so be sure to stop at one before you arrive. We brought a 6L and filtered it before getting to the top and it was enough to last us for our group only 1 night. The first water source is a PVC pipe that trickles water out; making it easy to fill up your filtered water bottle or a small camelbak. The other is a stream (you'll see a sign made of wood with the word "WATER" and an arrow carved into it) that you'll have to stick your filter bag into. The water is cold; I think it may be snow melt.

The night was peaceful; I bet you could see stars but we camped close to a full moon so it didn't get very dark. I would definitely come back here again.

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.

We tried 3 campgrounds that were all full and then found this free site right next to the road. Luckily, we were able to buy "US National Forrest camping passes" from the gas station in Carson. It ended up working great for us to have a trailer, 2 cars, several dogs, kids, and an SUV tent.

This location has 2-3 free sites you can drive in and, 2 more walk-in sites near the bridge. It was so nice on a super hot day and there is a nearby latrine at the trailhead! Perfect for a group. There is also a nearby paid camp so, if you're a solo traveler, you will feel safe knowing there are other campers nearby. No cell service! And, these sites require a US National Forrest camping pass.

I have camped here twice now, once during a scouting trip in 2016 with my boys and again in September 2024 with just me and my dog :).  I could pull my 17' pop-up "A" frame trailer and back into one of the two spots with no problem.  Due to the narrow road, it may be a bit more snug with bigger rigs (25+ feet long and anything more than 8+ feet wide).  I would scout the road and area before committing; however, there is a turnaround that you could use to maneuver the trailer to drive out.  It's plenty big to accommodate a few trucks/cars and one, maybe two towable trailers.  If you're going tent camping, there are about four flat places for tents.  The area has no trails, so you would not have to worry about people wandering into the campsite. The Ape Caves is a small drive away. The town of Cougar, WA. is about 10 miles away if you need gas or food.  There is a lot of shade, and it is not solar-friendly.  The main road is about 100 feet away, relatively quiet, and very private.  There was a large rock fire pit in the middle. There is no cell phone reception; however, if you drive East for a few miles, you may be able to get 2 bars with Verizon.

Per the state website, "On the southwest side of Mount St. Helens, Forest Road 81 provides an experience away from crowds. On this road, access Kalama Horse Camp, Red Rock Pass, and Forest Road 830, the road to Climber's Bivouac, and the start of the summer climbing route. From the west, the road begins on Forest Road 90, near Cougar, WA, and travels through private timberlands and state lands before entering Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. The road connects with Forest Road 83 on its east side. While mostly paved, be prepared for several miles of gravel(between Forest Road 830 and 8123) and a road that is sometimes very rough."

my father, my dog, and I chose this campground for its small crowds. we had no neighbors in the nearby sites, but it was forecasted to rain, which could explain the low numbers. It drizzled on us, but that wasn’t anything our rain tarps couldn’t handle.

He’s out there 👽

Road got a little bumpy getting out here but once we found a spot right near the riverbank, you felt like you were deep in it. Saw a few people on the way out. Really relaxing next to the sound of the river. Would definitely recommend sleeping mats if you’re in a tent as the grounds rather hard. The spot we went didn’t really have anywhere for hammocks but saw a couple on the way out. “Spaces” were far enough apart that you couldn’t even tell anyone else was out there. Wood was kinda sparse in the spot we were in too but you’re close enough to your car that you can just bring some. Would definitely recommend for a quick and convenient spot.

The site was great honestly, nice flat pads for tents, plenty of room for a trailer if you’re brave enough to bring it down about 5 miles of rough rough gravel road. For being such a remote location it was very busy this weekend lots of cars, foot traffic, and fishermen. It’s beautiful u can’t blame anyone for wanting to come but i was surprised by the volume. Maybe try a weekday for less crowds.

We had a private trail (about a country block in length), we quickly realized it was a “shitty” trail, a trail of Turds😭😭💩🧻

Other then that water and surrounding scenery was breath taking..

The area around mount Saint Helens is beautiful, tons of space to park any rig, tent, or vehicle. The forest has majestic trees and when it rains, it resembles a rainforest. During August and September, you can find tons of edible mushrooms.

Right off forest road 81. Group camping with 4-5 places for tents and 2 maybe 3 spots for travel trailers but will need to back in. 2 fire pits and a few walking trails. Solar friendly and level. No bathroom. 1-2 bars with Verizon.