Best Cabin Camping near Colville National Forest

We have stayed here two times, with our little starlight Tent Trailers. Almost a week each time. The setting is beautiful. The lake is clean and full of fish!!

Bald eagles, Loons, turtles, even Moose & Bears ! The resort office has a small cafe and store. This resort has been around for many years and is a bit run-down. Some their old log cabins are looking like very old log cabins. Wonderful if you don't care about level floors. They also have a multi-room motel if you want that instead. Common Bathrooms that also show their age. 

There are boat docks, with slips for rent. Paying the dock fee or camping covers the Indian reservation recreation fee. An Indian reservation fishing license is required here, but not a Washington State License. If you have a WA license, you still need the Reservation License.

We found Bonaparte Lake Campground through Dyrt when sites were not available at Curlew State Park and we needed some place in that Okanagon/Ferry County area of Washington. Part of Bonaparte Lake is available by reservation. We lucked out at the time and found what ended up being the perfect site. It had plenty of room for our A Frame trailer and truck and could have fit another vehicle on the site. The table/fire ring area was generous and private, with space for our dog to be on a 25 ft lead. In fact, the whole site was very private with the campers to the right of us at least 50 feet away from us and no one to the back of us or to the left of us directly. I guess I should stop saying how great our site was so we can get it again sometime! In our loop we only had pit toilets. In the non-reservation loop there was one restroom with flush toilets and then other pit toilets. No showers available. The non-reservation loop had lovely sites as well with some right on the lake. Our loop had lake sites, too. The camp host was amazingly helpful and friendly, giving us maps of things to do in the area. We took a loop to find old ghost towns and remnants in the area plus other loops. We tried to schedule our trip up this way in July to beat the smoke from forest fires but unfortunately due to early heat conditions and dryness forest fires started early this year. We ran into some smoke the 2nd day of our trip there but the third day was clearer. It never got bad while we were at Bonaparte Lake but just over the mountains in Oroville where we went to get gas, it was in the unhealthy range of the Air Quality Index. We will definitely go back to Bonaparte again sometime. It would make a beautiful trip in the early fall.

 My boyfriend and I stayed at Tiffany's resort this weekend , August 28, 2021, for one night at Cabin 5. We found the place dirty to the level of being worried for our health and safety and the only positive was the lake view. We arrived at 5:15 pm, we brought our stuff in the cabin and had to leave and returned at 8:00 pm. The owners leave at 5:30 pm, thus, when we came back there was no one to contact about the state of the cabin. The cabins have obviously been constructed at time when lead paint was used in these facilities. The cabin has tons of decaying wood peeling paint and obvious mold growing in and around the sink area. The caulking was little to nonexistent there was cracks in the concrete floor in the living room and bathroom, the floors were so dirty that we had to wear our shoes and there were light fixtures that did not work. The windows did not stay open and if they did they had, there were broken screens which were duck taped to seal the screen. There was a serious gap in the door which allowed the outside wind and air to enter the cabin including bugs. When we looked up at the light at night there were tons of little green flies around the light. The beds were covered with old, motel like cover, which was not clean, smelled like bio, and the bed was covered with thin sheets, on an old mattress. I checked for bed bugs... did not see anything, but who knows? All of the furniture in this cabin, was old, dirty and run down; bed side tables were missing handles. In the bathroom we found two soaps and no shampoo. The gas heater in the living room did not work, and had slimy dust in it the couches were filthy, and all stained and dusty, God knows what was on them...You would not want to bring a blue light in this cabin. There is no doubt when the facilities were originally constructed, they were fantastic and were the place to build family memories. In the review book, people reference those magical times, but now these cabins pose a serious health hazard to those hoping to enjoy the lake. There's a serious concern of mold spores, being dirty, lack of sanitation, period, not to mention the required sanitation due to COVID-19 protocols, the structures severely asked the question should they be condemned for health and safety purposes? We understand staying in a rustic cabin, we also do not mind an older cabin, but we have not agreed to pay to stay in filthy and condemned place. We rented it as a choice for staying in a tent, as the nights are getting cold and we knew we were coming in late, but this type of facility looks like something that you would find abandoned with no maintenance being done for years. And all this for the price of$118.00 plus tax, per night, when the state park across the way charges$30 a night for a tent spot and the grounds there are spotless, pristine and maintained amazingly. While the cabins are decaying slowly, the owner is building a new building and their current home, which is right on the property, oozes with the fanciness and richness of a Beverly Hills like mansion with big expensive looking signs with warning of no soliciting or trespassing on their private property with "top of the line quality" sectional on their porch. At check out we provided the feedback about the cabins. The owners were only concerned because another potential client was in the room at the same time with me and heard what I was saying about the state of the cabins. Moreover, owners continue asking me why we didn't leave when it was so bad...or why didn't we say anything. How can one provide feedback when no one is available after 5:30 pm. The owners responded that they are sorry, and as soon as I walked out, I herd them excusing themselves to the client in the room, saying that they were sorry the client had to hear what I had to say. They did not seem to see that this was a health and safety concern, especially in the world of COVID-19. We won't be back!

The people of deer lake resort are very rude and unprofessioal to say the least. "The owner' opened the door to our condo without knocking,forcefully pushed past one of the ladies that was staying in the bedroom #2.  I asked her who she was and her reply was a rude "I own this place and I'm checking to see if they put the new bed in this bedroom Geez , wouldn't the polite way have been to knock on the door and say, excuse me I'm the owner and I would like to see if the new bed has been set up in that bedroom ,do you mind if I look? Very rude and unprofessional to say the least. The rest of the staff had the same attitude... Like they were doing is a favor buy letting us stay in their condo.  We were not offered clean towels or linen the entire 3 1/2 days. I would not recommend this place nor would I ever go back. I could write a book here about everything I am unhappy with but will just leave it as a pretty campground that the new owners will probably run in the ground.

Ski touring into the Snow Peak Cabin in the winter/spring has become an annual tradition for me and my friends. The cabin is cozy and well stocked with cots, chairs, pots and pans, firewood, and solar lights! All you really need to pack in besides the basic necessities are your sleeping bag, ski apres, and a good water filter. There's also some good skiing near the cabin and at Sherman Pass proper near where you park, as well as plenty of conservative terrain options if the avalanche forecast dictates that for you.

Snow Peak Cabin never disappoints so if you want to get a reservation, make sure you get on it early. Reservations are first-come-first-served at least 6 months out. If you are curious about the current conditions up there, the Panhandle Backcountry website is a great resource for you, as it frequently has the most current trip reports and observations.