Best Dispersed Camping near Cougar, WA

Recent Dispersed Reviews in Cougar

50 Reviews of 30 Cougar Campgrounds

• 

  Isaac H.

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 8, 2024

  Panther Creek Creekside Camp

  PNW road trip 🏕️

  A great spot with privacy ! Lots of turnouts along the road with river accesses just steps away ! Definitely recommend!

• 

  Jeffrey P.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 31, 2024

  Little Soda Springs Rd Dispersed

  Easy Get Away

  A couple spots right off the road for car camping or small campers. There was an “official” camp sight more near the Dry Creek Trail (has a bathroom). We opted to walk south along the river to try and find a space. Ended up crossing the river where there are a couple more hidden spots. We found out later that there is a trail right before you cross Trapper Creek that leads you to the spot we were at. There were a few people out and you can sometimes hear cars but overall it was an easy stay with some nice views. The river drowns out most the noise. Would definitely come back here

• 

  Kevin W.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 20, 2024

  McBride Lake NF-81 Dispersed

  Lots of shade, very private and trailer friendly.

  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."

• 

  Mouni

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 18, 2024

  NF-65 National Forest Dispersed Site

  Don’t recommend

  Good luck. This takes you to the middle of nowhere with no camping spots. You’ll have no service.

• 

  John P.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 14, 2024

  Beaver Falls Trailhead - Overnight

  Easy Car Camp

  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.

• M

  Melissa B.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 29, 2024

  Gifford Pinchot National Forest-Canyon Creek Dispersed Camping

  Trail of Turds…

  The site was great honestly, nice flat pads for tents, plenty of room for a trailer if you’re brave enough to bring it down about 5 miles of rough rough gravel road. For being such a remote location it was very busy this weekend lots of cars, foot traffic, and fishermen. It’s beautiful u can’t blame anyone for wanting to come but i was surprised by the volume. Maybe try a weekday for less crowds.

  We had a private trail (about a country block in length), we quickly realized it was a “shitty” trail, a trail of Turds😭😭💩🧻

  Other then that water and surrounding scenery was breath taking..

• 

  Bobby J.

  Ranger

  

  Jul. 18, 2024

  Panther Creek Creekside Camp

  Awesome stay on the creek

  This was an awesome stay right on the creek which was secluded and nice to hear the rushing water of the creek

• 

  Ashlyn C.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 1, 2024

  FR-604 Dispersed Site

  Private and spacious campsite!

  The campsite was nice, right off the road but there wasn’t an absurd amount of traffic to where it bothered me but you will hear the cars on the road while you sleep if you’re in a tent. If you follow the trail by foot in the back of the forest for maybe 10 minutes you will find a beautiful swimming hole and small waterfalls! I recommend blocking the entrance with your vehicles to block noise and people trying to drive in to the campsite.

• 

  Brooks H.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 23, 2024

  NF-65 National Forest Dispersed Site

  Many Sites Available of Variety

  Plenty of spots available. At the bottom of road coming from Carson often crowded, but if you go further you are bound to find something. Beautiful trees and foliage with obvious sites on side of road.

• 

  Bradley B.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 23, 2024

  Dispersed Camping above Panther Creek Falls

  Chill spot

  It’s a little busy with everyone checking out the water fall during the day . Quite at night ! Nice and chill

• 

  Jeffrey P.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 22, 2024

  Gifford Pinchot National Forest-Canyon Creek Dispersed Camping

  Pretty good!

  Road got a little bumpy getting out here but once we found a spot right near the riverbank, you felt like you were deep in it. Saw a few people on the way out. Really relaxing next to the sound of the river. Would definitely recommend sleeping mats if you’re in a tent as the grounds rather hard. The spot we went didn’t really have anywhere for hammocks but saw a couple on the way out. “Spaces” were far enough apart that you couldn’t even tell anyone else was out there. Wood was kinda sparse in the spot we were in too but you’re close enough to your car that you can just bring some. Would definitely recommend for a quick and convenient spot.

• 

  Boosa L.

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 11, 2024

  Sluice Creek Dispersed Spot

  Nice hidden gem

  We are a 29ft, easy to get there but take it slow (take a right turn from the 48th first road). Good Verizon reception, Pretty level, there is a fire pit made by someone before us.

• 

  Vanessa T.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 8, 2024

  Panther Creek Creekside Camp

  Best spot ever!

  I was headed down 14 looking for somewhere to camp between the Dalles and camas. I got stuck in road construction and decided to open up the dyrt app. I clicked on one that looked closish lol I decided to take the chance and go check it out. Man I'm glad I did This is one of the best dispersed camp sites I've ever stayed at!!

• K

  Kyle S.

  Scout

  

  May. 26, 2024

  Gifford Pinchot National Forest-Canyon Creek Dispersed Camping

  Beware of Samsquatch

  He’s out there 👽

• J

  Jaden J.

  Guide

  

  Nov. 4, 2023

  Beaver Falls Trailhead - Overnight

  Amazing 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!

• 

  Lindsey N.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 17, 2023

  FR-604 Dispersed Site

  Convenient spot next to the road!

  We tried 3 campgrounds that were all full and then found this free site right next to the road. Luckily, we were able to buy "US National Forrest camping passes" from the gas station in Carson. It ended up working great for us to have a trailer, 2 cars, several dogs, kids, and an SUV tent.

• 

  Lindsey N.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 17, 2023

  Little Soda Springs Rd Dispersed

  Golden location for solo travel or with friends!

  This location has 2-3 free sites you can drive in and, 2 more walk-in sites near the bridge. It was so nice on a super hot day and there is a nearby latrine at the trailhead! Perfect for a group. There is also a nearby paid camp so, if you're a solo traveler, you will feel safe knowing there are other campers nearby. No cell service! And, these sites require a US National Forrest camping pass.

• m

  malia

  Scout

  

  Jul. 18, 2023

  Beaver Falls Trailhead - Overnight

  Decent place for the night

  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.

• c

  cheyenne

  Scout

  

  Jun. 14, 2023

  Sluice Creek Dispersed Spot

  It’s okay

  You are just pulled over on the side of a gravel road I honestly thought it was kinda creepy. No trespassing signs everywhere in the woods. 

• 

  Ryan J.

  Scout

  

  May. 28, 2023

  Dispersed Camping above Panther Creek Falls

  Private

  This camp site is overlooking the parking lot. It's a wide-open rocky area. Close enough to hear the falls. Super dark at night with plenty of stars.

• 

  Alex R.

  Scout

  

  May. 4, 2023

  Sluice Creek Dispersed Spot

  Amazing

  Amazing place. 8 min from brewery and isolated

• A

  Autumn B.

  Traveler

  

  May. 3, 2023

  Mount St. Helens Dispersed Camping

  A little tricky to find, but stumbled upon a gem

  A friend and I drove around for a campsite for hours because our original one was under 2 feet of snow (late April 2023). I was able to get a bar of service and found this area off 83. There’s a bunch of pull offs, we found one that was covered in twigs and brambles. It was easy to get back to the site once we moved the blockage. Great, quiet area. Clean and not much left behind. Bet it’s busy in the summer but we didn’t see anyone for miles in late April.

• 

  Kathy C.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 24, 2022

  Pumice Butte- Dispersed Campsite

  Nice, but busy camp spot

  The camp is around a gully on the north side of Pumice Butte with outstanding views of Mt St Helens and Mt Adams. Water was flowing at this camp when we passed in late July, but it was silty in the late afternoon and early evening, clear in the morning. There is a lovely site in the trees near the water, but more spots are scattered on the hillsides. The camp gets very crowded on peak summer weekends.

• 

  Sarah S.

  Legend

  

  Jun. 27, 2022

  Dispersed Camping above Panther Creek Falls

  Beautiful dispersed camping near Panther Creek Falls

  This area of Gifford Pinchot National Forest has lots of dispersed camping spots but this area was a gem. To access it, as you are driving on NF 65 you will see a small road to the right just a bit before you see the parking for Panther Creek Falls also on the right. If you are at the parking area for Panther Creek Falls and look up you will see a huge wall of rock…the area is up there and you need to turn on the road before the parking area to access it. There are actually 3 areas where you could camp: As you drive up the small road, you will notice the first, pretty large area for camping straight ahead. It looks like a road continues up toward the right but that is actually blocked. If you go to the left you will see the road continues (and you might not think there is anything up there) and you will see one more spot straight ahead and then if you continue up toward the right (hitting some branches along the way) you will come up to a large, wide open area with tons of space for camping. We were pretty excited when we saw it!

  We spent one night in that huge open area and it was beautiful - the stars were amazing. During the day we would go peek over the edge and could see people parking to go to the falls. You could hear a tiny bit of road noise from up there but it was very light. You can also hear the noise of the waterfall from up on the ridge. The only downfall about this spot is that there is no shade and it was very hot, so hot that we couldn't have a fire. The second night we spent in the spot just down a tad so that we could have some shade and a fire.

  The hike down to Panther Creek Falls is literally right across the road and I think these falls may be the most beautiful falls I've seen in OR or WA. It's a short mile or so hike but really pretty scenery.

• 

  Sarah J.

  Guide

  

  Feb. 27, 2022

  Beaver Falls Trailhead - Overnight

  Beautifully muddy

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

• 

  Jeremy B.

  Guide

  

  Jan. 8, 2022

  Beaver Falls Trailhead - Overnight

  Great pullout in the woods

  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.

• H

  Hannah

  Guide

  

  Oct. 2, 2021

  Gifford Pinchot National Forest Dispersed Site

  Beautiful Area

  The tall trees make things a lot darker before it actually gets dark. We only passed through the area, but this site was very remote with a fire ring someone created.