Best Tent Camping near Eastsound, WA
Tent campsites near Eastsound, Washington consist primarily of boat-accessible and walk-in locations spread across multiple state parks in the San Juan Islands. Sucia Island Marine State Park Campground and Mountain Lake Campground in Moran State Park offer tent-specific sites with different access methods and amenities. Clark Island and Patos Island provide additional primitive tent camping options accessible only by water transportation, with Clark Island situated on a major shipping channel east of Orcas Island.
Most tent campgrounds in the San Juan Islands require boat or ferry transportation, limiting vehicle access. Sucia Island and Patos Island are accessible only by private boat or kayak, with no ferry service available to these remote locations. Facilities vary significantly between campgrounds, with Mountain Lake featuring drinking water, restrooms, and picnic tables, while more remote islands offer only basic pit toilets and no potable water. Permits may be required for some locations, and reservations are recommended for popular sites during summer months. Fire restrictions change seasonally across all campgrounds.
The tent camping experience on these islands provides unique access to coastal views and wildlife observation opportunities not available to vehicle campers. Sites on Sucia Island are tucked among trees with beach access, offering excellent swimming and hiking trails. Mountain Lake Campground provides lakeside tent sites with good spacing between neighbors despite its popularity. A review noted that "Clark Island offers a nice, large rocky beach that makes it easy to beach your boats to set up camp." Another camper shared that "Patos Island is incredible" with campsites that are "rather exposed while others are well tucked into the woods." Whale watching is possible from some of the more remote tent camping areas, particularly Clark Island where shipping channels attract marine wildlife.