Best Dispersed Camping near Buckley, WA

Ranger Review: GCI Waterside Pod Rocker with Sunshade at French Cabin Creek Dispersed Camping

Camping Review: 5 stars

We have nothing but love for French Cabin Creek (F.C.C.) dispersed camping zone!

From our home (Seattle area) to the camp zone typically takes less than 2 hours to arrive, horrific I-90 weekend traffic not included.

The F.C.C. dispersed camping zone can be found by crossing the first bridge off the Salmon la Sac Road, located between the Cle Elum River and Red Mountain Campgrounds. 

Once you arrive in the zone most of the camps are located along either Howson Creek, Little Salmon la Sac River or the backside of Lake Cle Elum.  They are available for camping from May to mid-November. Each camp we’ve stayed in offers waterfront camping, at least 2 parking spots, 2+ cleared spots for tents, trees for hammocks, usually 1 fire ring or more, and a honey-bucket somewhere nearby. 

We really enjoy camping here because it’s off the main road so it’s much quieter than the campgrounds right off Salmon la Sac Road, plus the river drowns out most of the noise from any loud camp neighbors.

The F.C.C. dispersed camping zone is located nearby the local Salmon la Sac swimming hole and Lake Cle Elum, so you have plenty of water activity options close at hand. We typically see folks’ kayak, raft, even SUP-board by our camp on their way down to the lake. Kayak and SUP rentals are available in the towns of Cle Elum and Roslyn for $50 daily.

Did I mention there are several hiking trails located close to the F.C.C. camp zone as well; Pete Lake trail, Salmon la Sac trail, Domerie Peak trail, French Cabin Creek trail and Thorp Creek/Little Joe Lake trail, just to name a few.

No forest passes are needed to stay in the F.C.C. dispersed camping zone so camping is truly free (unless you find yourself at a trailhead, then you will need a Northwest Forest Pass for the Wenatchee-Okanogan National Forest, be warned)!

Now just a few last-minute gentle reminders (since this is a dispersed camping zone) that there will be NO: running water, RV hookups or dump stations, no trash bins (pack it in/pack it out), picnic tables, fire pit grills, and on occasion a few more campfire restrictions than in the local campgrounds.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/okawen/recarea/?recid=57515

Gear Review: 4.5 stars

As a Ranger for the Dyrt, I occasionally get to test out products to review – I recently tested the GCI Pod Rocker with Sunshade and boy am I in love with this chair!

The chair is as described, a beachside rocking chair with a positional SPF sun blocking shade but GCI did a really great job designing this chair! 

The chair has a large comfortable seat holding up to a 250 lb. adult. The rocking mechanism is fantastic, rocking smoothly and quietly all weekend long on my first trip out. I was even able to set the chair up on uneven ground and continue rocking away while watching the river and kayakers float past our camp. 

I am super fair skinned and tend to burn through clothing and sunscreen, so having an extra layer of protection from the sun in the form of the SPF UV blocking sunshade is a real-life saver for me! My husband laughed all weekend at me, as I happily readjusted my sunshade time and again to stay safe and sunburn-free. 

Another little plus I love about the GCI Pod Rocker with Sunshade is the cool side pouch made to hold your phone and a beverage, which is super convenient for all-day lounging.  

When you are done using your Pod Rocker for the day, the chair easily folds up and fits into a travel bag with shoulder strap for opportune travel capability. 

Now the only complaint I have with the chair is the color.  After a weekend camping, leaving it out overnight, I awoke to the seat covered in sticky pine needles that left slight stains on the light aqua colored fabric.  Then there was the wild incident when our ketchup bottle lid flew off and sprayed me and the chair in ketchup, that also left its mark on the light-colored chair fabric.

My husband’s complaint with the chair is that he feels too hunched over when sitting in it for long periods of time. He said he feels like the chair won’t allow him to sit up straight. Now I don’t know if that is because he is so tall, at 6’4” or just how he fit in the chair but I am 5’6” and didn’t experience this problem. So, I’m guessing it’s more him and his height or long skinny frame?

For dispersed camping you gotta get out of the main "campground". Tons of options just off the beaten path. This is another gateway location which holds entrances to dozens of roads each with their own selection of dry camp sites.

Nice place for dispersed camping and only 5$! close the NP entrance and plenty of space here

Lots of space for big groups, but it does get crowded on the weekend. Lots of little secluded spots which are more quite at night. Easy river access from all camp spots. Great trees for hammocks, ect. Would not recommend a low clearance vehicle; big rocks and roots on most roads.

You can hear the road from most camping spots. When we arrived at our site there was garbage all over the place in a fire pit so we cleaned it up.

There was a nice long trail that took us to the river. That was nice. Cleaning up sucked because the floor got muddy.

Lots of mosquitoes.

Lots of camping spots. We left Friday evening and most spots were taken.

Got here around sunset. Looks like some good camping spots to walk into. Beautiful view of Rainier. There was a little bit of traffic but nothing crazy. Would stay here again.

Nice secluded camp site. Pros: privacy, river access, sunny. Cons: trash and glass scattered throughout the site. Freeway noise is very loud

The campsites aren’t bad. There in heavy wooded areas. If you get here early enough you can get a good secluded site on an offshoot, but most sites are just right off the road. Some sites are really close together with like 50 yards.

There wasn’t a lot of shade, so definitely bring a canopy if you have one. We camped along the river, and had absolutely no cell phone service while we were there. There was a dog fight, people partying loudly all night, and people trying to peek into our tents. The campsites were not as “dispersed” as I thought they’d be. Overall, it was just a bad experience. The view was nice though

This is such a cool place to camp! You are literally right on an active airstrip. There are roughly 40 sites spread out along a long narrow loop, with some walk in sites. There are no services here- no water, no, wifi, no trash pick up, no campground host(there is a moderately clean vault toilet). But it’s also free, or a$5 donation at the iron ranger. It was a little confusing. AND IT'S ON AN ACTIVE AIRSTRIP!! Most sites have good trees for hammocks. I strongly suggest you have a way to secure your food and trash as there are lots of squirrels and raccoons. Did I mention it's on an active airstrip? While no planes came in while I was there, I walked across the airstrip to the“comfort station” for fliers and read the log book. Two planes had flown in earlier in the day and left nice messages. It looked like 3-5 planes used the airstip a week in the warm months. The White River is between the campground/airstrip and the highway and it drowns out most of the road noise. I didn’t check things out on the other side of the airstrip too much, but it looked like there were some dispersed sites there as well.

This is near the Tinkham Campground. Plenty of dispersed sites with fire pits. Some sites are close together however if you keep going down the road you'll find plenty of quiet and private places. They also are redoing the roads as I'm here so little to no potholes.

Lots of campsites along the White River right outside of Rainier National Park. Lots of campsites throughout the area. We arrived mid afternoon on a Friday and there were plenty of options to pick from but it did fill up by around 9pm.

First of all, this is western Washington: it rains! We had two days and two nights of rain. Snow was still on the ground, and it was cold. Fortunately we were in an RV. There are only one or two sites on this logging road that are available for RVs our size (ours is a Class A 35') about a mile up the compacted gravel road from the lake. Road is packed well, washboard in some sections. Great for vans. Secondly, the site was trashed. We picked up a full garbage bag of trash. On the upside, it was very peaceful, and there are very cute little critters--chipmonks, humming birds, and butterflies. Beautiful wildflowers and a beautiful creek running behind the campsite. There are three fire rings, and plenty of places for tents. No water. No electricity.  We enjoyed our stay and we sat outside for a couple of hours in the sunshine on our last day.

This was a large pull-off right off of NF-52, so there was no privacy from the hwy but at least the area was big enough to be a little distanced from traffic. The spots on the river were already occupied when I was looking late on a Sat afternoon, this is a popular dispersed area. The entire area was littered with toilet paper and discarded furniture. There was also a memorial hidden in some trees just out of sight of 52. Wouldn't have been a bad spot if people had picked up after themselves, but the trash situation was over the top. Thankful to have in a pinch but def wouldn't camp there again. (The pull off is right off the highway from what the coordinates show).

So dark I couldnt even see my own hand in front of my face! I loved it. Quiet enough, could hear gentle highway hum but cant see anything but trees n nature. Earplugs ftw. Some bugs but nothing major. Plenty of spots along the road. U dont need to go all the way to coords. Just pick a spot along road n park. Some wild raspberries at our spot :) firepit nice, a little trash but not much. Thats the cost of free. Spot is free, the cost is picking up a few pieces of trash. Seems fair to me!