Best Tent Camping near Chelan, WA

General: A variety of different campsites in two sections ranging from economy to basic to popular, with and without hookups, and priced according to peak or non-peak season. There are also three cabins and two group camp areas. 

Site Quality: We are happy we were able to book a basic tent site with our campervan (there were more than a few others with RVs in these sites). Parking was on grass and not completely level, but we made it work. Each site had a picnic table and fire ring (although there was a fire ban in effect when we were there). The sites with utilities had paved camper pads. 

Bath/Shower house: Clean with soap and air dryers. The showers are free but you are asked to not use more than three button pushes. My shower in the afternoon was completely COLD and I am not sure if it was the time of day, the particular shower, or user error. My husband’s shower got hot midway through. 

Activities/Amenities: All things water-based including jet skis, water skiing, kayaking, SUP, and fishing. There is also a boat wash. There are also numerous trails used for hiking, running, and mountain biking. Other activities include volleyball and horseshoes.

Despite my cold shower and the fact that state parks are becoming increasingly pricy (with reservation and out-of-state fees, we paid $ 77 for two nights for a tent site), we enjoyed our stay here.

This is a great state park to set up camp. It is always very busy. The sites are relatively spread out. There are two different sections for camping: an upper and lower. To me, the lower section doesn’t seem as nice. It has more trees, but the camp spots seem to be closer together. Likewise, the lower section just feels a little more rough than the upper section. The views are spectacular. There is a boat launch, and a swimming area. Furthermore, there is also a small store, and a mini-mart across the street. What makes this place great is the actual camp sites. They are huge. What makes it difficult for tent camping is there are a ton of sprinklers that turn on frequently. It is important to watch where you stake down your tent. For this trip, we brought our RV and a tent. During the summer, the temperatures during the daytime are hot! Luckily each site is equipped with water and electricity. There is no WiFi, but the cell service is outstanding.

This campground is better suited for tents, not RVs or camper vans. Many of the sites are small and lack privacy, especially those in the west end. We reserved on line and there was no notice that sites 30 and 31 share the vehicle space! Since we were camping in a van, we felt like we were in an ordinary parking lot and not camping. Two strange vehicles parked immediately next two us the whole time. There were some other shared parking sites too. Ok for tent camping because you can tent away from the parking area, but not ok for vehicles. 

In addition, people kept walking through our site (and we watched them walk through other occupied sites). One day, my hubby wasn't feeling well, so we took a nap only to be woken by our dog growling because a man and women were peering into the side window of our van! WTH! Numerous people walked through through our site even though the end was a restoration area clearly marked to stay off of, but people walked through it anyway. And, then there were the young men playing football in our site. Oh, and the dogs not on leashes. One knocked me over when it jumped on me from the bushes as I was heading to the restroom at night. 

The only good thing was that the vault toilet was the cleanest ever vault toilet. No odors!! Kudos to the guy who cleans it!

The campground is beautiful. Because of the fire that destroyed the campground, there is next to no privacy on each campsite.

Pros: -Stars were incredible- we saw the milky-way and a few shooting starts -clean flushable bathrooms -views, access to hikes -cool lake to swim in -cellphone service (although we opted to put our phones in airplane mode to unplug) -family friendly

Cons: -noise: during quiet hours there was zero enforcement of quiet time. We had a camp next to us partying until 1am and another group up at 6am putting up a canopy and being incredibly loud -no privacy at campsites -there is a fire ban, so if you are hoping for s’mores make sure to bring a propane stove (not a con for us, but may be for others) -bees: there were so many bees. If you are allergic I recommend staying away. We had a screened in canopy and still managed to get several inside -not a ton of shade, mostly because of precious fires

I stayed here one night in July 2021. The sites are in groups of four with one gravel/dirt parking spot for each campsite. Behind the parking spots are picnic tables, a tent area and a fire ring for each site. Generally the area is weedy, grassy or dry dirt/sand. Most sites have lake view / access, although it seemed grassy and muddy to get there. Probably ok to put in a kayak or a canoe. It seems like many people come here for fishing and boating.

Sites 8-18 weren’t open when I came.

-Vault toilets. I didn’t use, so I can’t comment. -No water or trash available

Verizon 1 bar 1x (useless?) ATT 2 bars LTE (decent) Both marginally better with a booster

The views were beautiful at sunset.

The larger campground to the south costs $37-$50 a night. That campground is more developed with amenities, grass but very close neighbors. Osbourne campground to the north is also primitive like Jones Bay and also $12 a night but the sites are in one giant parking lot all facing each other so you have lots of neighbors.

This is one of the most amazing campgrounds I’ve ever visited. It doesn’t look like much but it boasts waterfront tent camping and the showers and bathrooms are always clean and stocked. Sites are relatively small but big enough for two tents, their picnic table, fire pit, and some camping chairs. With two docks for fishing and floating as well as the adjascent boat launch, you’ll be able to play with all your water toys on Wapato Lake! I would highly recommend staying here if you want to visit the Chelan area without camping in downtown proper.

This is a small campground so you don't have to worry about too many people disturbing you. There are 12 sites available at this campground and each has a fire ring. Several of the sites are located along the creek. It's so peaceful to sit next to your campfire and hear both the crackling of the fire and the bubbling flow of the creek. Definitely some nice sounds to fall asleep to! There are also picnic tables at the site, so don't worry about bringing camp chairs unless that's your style.

I believe there is some RV access but I much prefer to tent camp so that's generally all that I pay attention to.

There are vault/pit toilets here which is a plus considering you're so far in the middle of nowhere. Great hiking is right outside your tent!