Best Glamping near Ariel, WA

The park just added two nature playgrounds that are pretty fantastic. One of the new playgrounds, right before the boat launch, features a trail with a mud kitchen, two a-frame tents and a big area where you can use fallen logs and branches to build shelters.

The other nature playground is right across from the old playground (still in use) and has a wooden water course with a hand pump and an elevated wooden plank course.

Camping can be a little loud since it's a popular spot and there are no pets allowed, but it's barely 30 minutes away from Portland and right on the Sandy River.

There are 8 walk in sites and one drive up site, all first come first serve discovery pass required. Some sites are larger than others, but in ours we were able to fit two 6ptents and one 2p tent. All campsites have a fire ring and picnic table. You’ll still see and hear your fellow campers, but it does seem semi private. Make sure to bring toilet paper, the bathroom seems to never be stocked. Make sure to haul out all trash.

You can’t use motorized boats and can only fly fish in the lake, but a very nice 1 mile hike is adjacent to the day use area. Also very close to Cougar for gas and supplies for emergencies. Driving distance to popular day hikes. No cell service.

This place is incredible. First to cover the basics.

The internet is super fast - I was getting 75mbps up/down when I was in my tent.

They have power/water hookups at each parking spot. The glamping tents have heaters, lights etc. There are heated indoor bathrooms with nice free hot water showers just a short walk away.

This place is at a year round camp/school that has multiple skate parks, trampolines, mountain biking courses, all season ski jumps etc. it’s an action sports camp.

They provide things like firewood and ice which they put in your cooler.

The people are super nice and accommodating. Ask for Jim - he handles all the camping stuff.

This campground is under very new ownership and the owners are some of the friendliest we’ve met to date. They are also in the process of renovating the property to make improvements. So as I review this it is with the anticipation of all the great changes to come.

Most of the tent sites had a decent amount of space, and the perimeter ones were a little more private too. We did see some campers set up on the roadside—not sure if they knew what they were getting at the time (I wouldn’t want to be right on the road).

There were some decently sized RV spots, but the pull through spaces looked a little crowded.

There are only two bathrooms, each having a toilet and shower in a self contained unit. Naturally, if two people are showering this means that all flush toilets are also occupied. There are two porta-potties to accommodate for this. The owners did keep the bathrooms as clean as possible—but the bathrooms could use some renovating themselves and have a musty smell. There is laundry on site. It’s not the quietest campground we’ve stayed at (not the noisiest either) and it might benefits from clearly defined quiet hours.

Two blocks away there are two gas stations with mini-markets.

Only a few minutes away are the Cougar and Beaver recreation areas in the Lewis River. It only takes 10 minutes to get to Mt St Helens Ape Cave, Trail of Two Forests and Lava Canyon area.

When venturing to Mount St Helens area I wanted to find a campground relatively close by to stay before visiting the next day. I found Lewis and Clark State Park along the way and opted to give it a shot for an overnight. The site looked comfortable and quiet and was well shaded and welcoming. 

Pulling into the campground I noticed several areas to enjoy recreationally alongside camping including public park areas with covered outdoor kitchen zones perfect for those enjoying the area for day use. Additionally there were several areas with play equipment and outdoor activities for singles or the family to enjoy. 

Pulling into the camping loop area sites were well spaced and shaded by large vibrant trees. Soft mosses lined walkways and created a feeling of being deep into the forest without being far removed from actual civilization and it was a nice departure from many of the more commercial looking camps of the area which lacked the forest feel. 

The camp site I chose was equipped with the standard amenities of a picnic table and fire ring and the pull in section was just large enough for my smaller car. Throughout camp I did notice some sites were designed specifically for tent campers while others would cater better to larger units. Something unique about this location was it offered bike in campers sites as well with much smaller pull in areas but just as much space to spread out and set up their tents. 

The bath house was very nice as it was heated and had hot water, though when I was there I did encounter a slight concern with using this bathhouse because there was a current e coli water warning which was displayed throughout camp on all water spigots. This left me more than a little leary about using the water in the bathroom turning what could have been a warm amazing shower into a bit of a concerning experience. 

Because of this concern I noticed they had hand sanitizer placed in the restrooms, which was a great concession considering the issue at hand. 

While this was a campsite I did enjoy, I feel as though with the water concerns I could not fully embrace all the features of camp which did hinder me slightly from fully being able to embrace all of the options. Should I return to this area I would check in advance to see if the water was a concern before staying another night. 

The campground, like many in the area, advocate recycling.  Not only will you find trash cans and dumpsters throughout camp but you will also find recycling barrels scattered throughout camp.    I truly enjoyed this feature of the park as it is making a difference in the bigger picture and you can commonly find items created from recycled items such as benches and tables located throughout various state parks as continued improvements occur.

All in all, for someone just wanting to enjoy a night at a quiet campground this would be a great one to check out in the area. While it lacks some of the amenities of other campgrounds in the area which are more destination style camps it has a lot of charm for those wanting to enjoy fun with family or friends in a more traditional camping style. 

TIPS:

• Check in advance for water related issues not only at this campground but others in the area. 
• Make a stop just before the entrance of the park at the Jackson House Historic Site. This site is a major portion of the area’s rich history and with several unique signs which walk you through the significance of the area you will be enriched by this short stop.
• Make sure you have a Discover Pass!! Any stay in Washington you will want to make sure you have this pass.

This is a campground on one of the roads leading to Mt. Saint Helen's. It was a decent sized campground with RV spots, tent spots, group spots, and walk-in spots. It had a huge playground area as well as a day use site with covered shelters within the park. The visitor center was a short 1 mile walk from the campground that had an under road tunnel leading under the highway. From the visitor center here was an additional path through the marsh with views of Mt. Saint Helen's, or at least I think there are views the smoke was so thick we could not see the mountain. At night the campground had a great Junior Ranger program with a very enthusiastic park ranger that kept the almost 50 people/kids entertained. She was great at engaging all the kids and teaching them about the park, highly recommend this for anyone bringing kids. For being completely full the nights we were there it was pretty quiet with only the occasional noise coming from the nearby highway.

We stayed in the group site, spot 60/61. Since we booked the group site we were required to book both of the spots at the same time. It was the smallest group site I have ever seen. There was barely room for the 3 tents we set up and originally we would have had almost 6, which would not have fit in this spot. There were 2 large tables as well as 2 fire pits, however 1 fire pit was inches away from the bushes and would not have been good for people to sit around. Luckily the other fire pit was great and we were all able to sit around it. The bathrooms and water were close by.

There were other sites that were much bigger and would be able to accommodate larger groups. I would not waste my money on the group site if you need more then 4 tents, honestly 3 was a squeeze. It's a great campground for those that are spending multiple days in Mt. Saint Helen's since it was a very short drive away.