Best Campgrounds near Cowiche, WA

It's $600 a month to park an RV here

Stayed two nights in April. Very isolated and the river gave off a very mellow vibe.

The boat ramp area is great because of the view and the wildlife. We saw many ducks and some geese floating down the river at high speeds. Also saw coyotes and friendly bees.

We stayed here after we stayed at Cougar Rock, and it’s got a similar setup in terms of getting a spot in the off season. You talk to the ranger, but instead of assigning a spot to us, this one sent us out to look for a site we liked that had an “open” tag on it, and to be back in 15 min so she could go to lunch. Even though the size limit for vehicles is smaller than the Cougar Rock campground, the space felt bigger and more open with more light coming through, and the sites were bigger. It was also a lot more active and busy with people.

 Max length for motorhomes or buses is 32ft, and trailers/5th wheels is 27ft. It’s $20/night. No hookups or dump station, but there is a water fill station for your RV tank. Beautiful hike to Silver Falls, highly recommend, the water is this crazy cloudy blue, only about 1.5 miles from the campground. There are also hot springs at the campground, but not ones you can soak in. But they’re still neat to see. Sites come with a bear box, picnic table, and fire pit. There are trash dumpsters here and plastic, glass, and aluminum recycling. There are flush toilets and water fill stations. Zero cell reception in the campground, though there were patches of signal on the drive from Cougar Rock.

Came for the Ellensburg rodeo! Stayed here for a week, had a great time near the creek with our dogs! Attempted some fly fishing after seeing some others give it a shot with no luck. Tons of dispersed camping up and down the road! Spots are far enough away to give you good privacy.

Nice site and great view. It is hay cutting season, and semi’s are racing up and down the road 60 feet away from the front sites starting at 7:30 am and continuing until dark. Jake brakes will wake you up. Trust me. The site host was super nice, and the weather was great for the first week of April

This is a dispersed campground with a bunch of informal sites. Just find a level enough spot for you. Gorgeous natural amphitheater. There are two pit toilets. Bring your own TP (the reason for 4 stars.) Camping is free with a discover pass. Lots of climbers use the site. I love it for the arid climate and extraordinary beauty.

Very nice and quiet spot (at least while I was here mid march). Best to have high clearance as there are some good size rock outcroppings. Few people rock climbing, tall waterfall across the valley. Very quiet. Can hear birds fly by. Best to show up during daylight hours unless you have lots of Baja lights. Many sharp rock outcroppings and difficult terrain to drive over to find a spot.

Limited amount of RV parking for dry camping. Nice little lake to fish rainbow trout.

The camping is good but the owners are rude drunks I would not stay here the owners are always on site there mean to campers kids not good atmosphere

Spent overnight here. Many cars in the pkg lot—hikers & fishermen. By early evening, everyone was gone except for 3 of us campers. There is road noise which is close, but that quiets at night as well. The train is also close, but I don’t mind hearing trains. Overall, a lovely place to hang for the night and take in a hike right there at the site. Good pit toilets too!

Nice spacious sites. Lots of privacy between sites. No dog park. Great view of the lake from your door. We took a 4 mile, one-way, bike ride to the town of Vantage and then to the Ginkgo Petrified Forest. The town of vantage is very small with a lot of closed shops. Has a gas station and convenience store. That’s about it. Very scenic area and quiet and relaxing.

This is a newer campground with spacious and private sites away from the river.  Sites at riverside are narrow, long, flat, but not so private.  While the outhouses in general are pristine, by late summer those in the lower loop are usually over full, you would be better of with a bucket.  That said, we need an ADA site and the ADA and a few of the other accessible sites here are very good.  This is always on our short notice list of great places to relax.

Stayed here a few days a couple years ago and it was a great place. The campsites are nice and spacious with good privacy from other campers. The lake level was pretty low when we were there so you had to walk out a bit of distance to get to the water. But it's a nice sandy shore so great for the kids swimming and the water is so shallow for a long way out so you don't have to worry about the kids. It's a beautiful lake and nice area.

We stayed here a few days in July and loved it! The river is so beautiful with the waterfall cascading down into the river directly across from the campsite. There is a shallow part near the shoreline where the kids had a great time playing in the river. The river itself is wide and very fast moving. The campsite we stayed in was fairly close to the next one, but we were camping with friends in the next one so it was fine. But be aware, some campsites are very close together. There is some road noise, but mostly you just hear the river.

Arrived on a Sunday without reservations and had several spots to choose from for our 3 night stay. Easy Lake access. The grounds are immaculately kept up - sites are very spacious - bathrooms and showers super clean. Road our e-bikes into Vantage - only a gas station/convenience store - very expensive - but it is the only game in town as everything else is closed. Continued our e-bike ride to Ginkgo Petrified forest - nice little 3 mile hike. The town is 2.5 miles from camp and another 2 to get to the petrified forest. Would stop here again. Had a relaxing time.

Overall a nice experience. $7.50/night with Access Pass. Dry camping only but close to Yakima. A fly fishing paradise.

There are train tracks close by which can be a bit noisy. However, trains don’t blow horn when passing by.

We had a fantastic time at this pretty little creekside campground! The campsites along the creek were perfect—each one felt private and tucked away, with the soothing sound of the creek flowing nearby. The mountain views surrounding the area added to the peaceful, scenic vibe, making it a great spot to disconnect and enjoy nature. Our kids had a blast playing in the creek and biking around the campground. It’s a great place for families, with enough space and fun activities to keep the little ones entertained. We were lucky enough to have the place to ourselves during our stay, probably because it was a rainy weekend. The pit toilets were clean. However, one downside was that there was a fire ban in place during our August visit, so we couldn’t have a campfire. It was rainy and cold at times so it was very annoying that we couldn't have a fire to warm up.

Overall, this is a lovely, well-maintained campground, especially if you enjoy a quiet, private getaway by the creek. Just be prepared for fire restrictions if you visit in the summer months. There is some great ATV trails in this area so be prepared for some ATVers riding by on the main road, but there is enough distance from the road so it's not too loud.

This is my favorite dispersed site so far. Plenty of room for larger rigs, very close to a river and lots of woods to explore nearby.  Close enough to Mt. Rainier NP and nearby towns for supplies.   Vault toilets if needed, and the airstrip was only used twice in the 4 nights we stayed, i think (heard one mid-day, and saw another late morning).  

There is a single-lane bridge when turning in that could be tricky for a motorhome that is towing, but not enough traffic to cause us any issues getting in. For larger rigs - take the second left (at a Y-intersection, and then keep to the left and you won't have any trouble getting in. Going to the right at the Y takes you to an area that big rigs might have trouble finding spots or turning around, but still doable.

The site offer approximately 10 sites that can be used for tent or RV camping. Moderately spaced from the other sites. Parallels the river. The tent areas are all level, ground mainly dirt/gravel. Each site has a picnic table and fire pit. We did not hear the road noise. Can’t speak to the condition of the toilets as we didn’t use them. This is a favorite of the locals for fall fishing so you need a reservation…

Our daughter told us about this place. You have to climb up a narrow gravel road to get here. A drive leads out to a flat area with a fire pit It was raining when we pulled in, so views were limited. In the clear morning, we got a beautiful view of Mount Rainier. We got decent Starlink signal with a bar of Verizon. Spot would be perfect except prior campers left toilet paper around a bush.

I travel for work and I stay here almost every week to save money on hotels. I’ve also taken my family here over the summer for camping and hiking. We all love it. Very quiet. Weekends can get kinda busy due to hikers and rock climbing enthusiasts. I suggest coming up early if you plan to stay the weekend. Many beautiful views. There is even a waterfall I sleep across from. On clear nights you can see all the stars. Which is my favorite! There are lots of sites to camp. In car/tent/RV it’s pretty accessible. There are some rougher spots where you probably should have four-wheel-drive or at least a higher stance vehicle.

The hike is beautiful and the lake at the end is stunning. It was a great place to start gaze