Best Dispersed Camping near Chehalis, WA

It's ok just a spot to pull over and camp really. There is a trail next to it I don't know how far but, it's cool. The road up the Montana is dirt but some parts are very rocky. Not many dispersed camping spots just pullover spots really

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.

Great spot because it's so secluded in the forest. There's basically zero traffic on the dirt road near the campsite. A lot of the trees around seem to be new growth. Great view of the stars at night!

There are at least 4 other campsite off this road at different points if you keep driving. Some of them are more or less level and more or less muddy. This one was the best, but there are lots of options. All of them are commonly used because there are ashes from fires. There's a moderate amount of trash at most of them.

Requires a Discovery Pass. I bought a day pass for $12 online since I don't need the annual pass. They tell you to write the date and order number in large print on a piece of paper and put it on your dash. No one came to check my pass though (in January, so it's the off season)

You have to take a dirt road to reach the campsite, but it is pretty well maintained. The only difficulty I encountered were two points where a few inches of road were a bit washed out. They were small enough that I could manage them alright in a 2WD van that had normal clearance. So most cars could probably manage them.

There's a small trail behind this spot that that leads to the creek, which is nice. Other than that, you can hike along the dirt roads, but there aren't any actual hiking trails that I found. I saw a porcupine for the first time while wandering one of the side roads! I didn't drive up to Snag Lake.

Snag Lake and Western Lake Campgrounds were both full, so we explored and went to the top of the mountain/hill near the cell towers. It had cement for parking and seemed to be a viewing point so we called it good. Not sure if this is a “legal” campsite but it sure was beautiful.

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."

Right off the highway. Pit toilet and wooded areas. Can still hear highway from this exact GPS location, so I went further on up the road for a quieter spot. A few trucks did speed by in the middle of the night, but it was a Saturday and July 4th weekend. 5 bars of cell service.

Located just past the restaurant on the southbound side there is a drive that goes back into Rock Candy mountain Road trailhead. I drove 5 mi up the road. There are few houses on the side of the road. Speed limit is a maximum 15 mph. There are signs posted thinking drivers for slowing down. Mainly a logging Road well if you pull out to the right on the main road. I noticed a road that had a pipe gate that was closed and locked. It gets pretty steep going up the road. The right steep. They wrote it on barely white enough for two vehicles to safely pass each other. Not suitable for anything wider than a class B. In my opinion this area is not suitable for winter camping. In my opinion if this road got congested it would become pretty dangerous thus why caution is needed driving on the main road and on other roads leading from main road. Definitely not road you want to be intoxicated to drive on. There is a long drop if you lose control and fail off road. I feel if you did and survived the fall it would be expensive to recover your vehicle. To me it's to dangerous to risk trying to camp here if it ever became busy.

The trails are great and the waterfall is beautiful. The pulloff is muddy and hard but it's worth it.

A big pavement pull off on the ride of the road. The river is a walk down a very steep hill behind the pullout. No place to pitch a tent, best for car camping. Had some issues with people stopping and playing loud music, seems to be a hangout spot.

Relative to other options in Northwest Oregon this was an easy to find, plenty of space place to park the car. My partner and I angled our vehicle to block our tent from the road and slept like rocks.

Not scenic (though the waterfall that is a short hike away is). My only safety concern is someone taking the corner too fast running into your car.

This is what the title says. It's a large pull out on a quiet road in the woods.

There were other campers when we arrived. Very nice for a late night pull in. Not somewhere I would settle in for a few days, just a stop over.

The hike to the falls is to the far left of the pullout. Do NOT go down the super steep trails to the right. Beautiful waterfall after a short hike.

This place was beautiful!! Definitely best for car camping as the spots down by the river were pretty wet and muddy this time of year. The waterfall is amazing and only a 15 minute hike down! The only reason this place got lower than a 5 star is because of all the trash near the parking lot. Too beautiful of a place to be used as a dump!! Definitely used as a party spot but aside from this it’s worth the visit!

Great cell service! I was able to work remotely (teams calls) for 3 days with no issues. Also beautiful views! I went all the way to the top near the cell towers.