Best Campgrounds near Ellensburg, WA

Wenatchee River County Park Really nice basic park that feels like a campground but it’s RVs only, no tents allowed. We stopped here for 2 nights with the Passport America discount to do a reset from boondocking- showers, laundry, cleaning, etc. We stayed in a back-in, PHU site by the volleyball court. Full price for this site is $40, no additional taxes or fees. The 50% Passport America discount is weeknights only, April and October only, for up to 5 nights. Campground is only open April through October. 

The showers here were hot and clean and $0.25 for 4 min, payable with quarters. Laundry room was nice but very small with only 2 washers and 2 dryers, $2.50 each, pay via credit card or download an app. There’s a book exchange in the laundry room as well. There’s a “dog run” which is just an open strip of land along the side of the park, fenced on one side and tree-lined on the other. Dogs are allowed off leash in this area. The campground also runs along the Wenatchee River, but it’s surprising they haven’t developed this area with a nice walkway along the river and benches and things. The area around the river is kind of rugged and overgrown, hard to really get to the water. They will fill propane here as well, $5/gal (yikes!), and not on Sundays. There’s a dump station here as well, and I didn’t see a clean water fill but I’d imagine they’d let you fill at an empty site. Staff here is really friendly, the campground has an entry gate with is nice for security.


The road noise was loud and a little obnoxious. There’s also a train that goes through here but the train noise doesn’t bother me like freeway noise does. There are signs everywhere that no tobacco is allowed- they seem to be very strict about this! They also asked what breeds our dogs are, which a county park has never done before, but I told her “mixed” and that was acceptable. Good cell reception and their free wifi also worked well.

So many options for camping/parking. There are fire rings everywhere you look, so I’m assuming this is packed and busy in the summer?

Oh! Lots of bugs everywhere so be warned 🫣 The spots near the woods have more trash around them.

You can hear the roaring river! We didn’t try going down there, but there are some hiking trails that might get you to the water.

There are several toilets around. No trash cans, pack out. Fairly close to the park.

This is an airstrip, the planes are quiet so you don’t really hear them coming in. But hurry up and get a show if you hear them for take off!! Pretty cool!!

 Great boondocking. We made it fine in our 26ft class c, but the big sharp-edged rocks were concerning to drive over. And when we left we found a giant rock wedged between the two back tires (the dually tires). Not sure if we would go back, for this reason. But the lake level was really low when we stayed there, so there was plenty of available space for camping. A van or two, a truck camper, tent campers, a little scamp, and lots and lots of day time ATV users shared this space with us. 

Cell service was good for both ATT and Verizon. Even though the area looks so remote, it’s right next to the road, so you have road noise that’s fairly loud. There was some trash, normal amounts, nothing horrible, until we came across this massive dumping ground of cans and food waste and broken glass and just general garbage, a couple miles north, along the lake. It was so disheartening.

This campground is easy to find right off the highway. The traffic noise overnight wasn't too bad and didn't disrupt our sleep. We had reserved z site online for $8 but there was only one other group that night. This is a dry campsite with clean and well stocked toilets. The en to Ireland site was impeccably clean. It is on the Colombia river so you could fish and there is a beach area for when it warms up. This site suited our needs perfectly. carry on.... P.S. some of the sites are large enough for RV'S. We kept our pickup hitched to our 21 foot camper and fit nicely.

We had high hopes for this USFS campground, having read that it’s on an airstrip, it sounded neat. But we decided not to stay here after we checked it out. There were lots and lots of other campers there, lots of camo, lots of large pickup trucks that don’t slow down on gravel roads, lots of “don’t tread on me” flags. We drove to the end where the bathroom is and decided to turn around, though it seems that the camp spots do continue after that point. This was on a Saturday, in all fairness, so the vibe might be different during the week. 

It’s a 14 day stay limit, and other than the toilets there are no other amenities, so please pack out your trash. At the entrance it says that the following passes are honored: Annual Northwest Forest Pass, Golden Eagle Passport, and Washington and Oregon Recreation Pass. However, at the bathrooms, there’s another sign that says a $5 day use fee required. Doesn’t make sense that camping is free with certain passes but for day use it’s a $5 fee, but since we weren’t staying we didn’t look much into it. No ATV or off road riding here. 

Cell signal was very weak for Verizon and non-existent for ATT. Giving it 4 stars instead of 3 because it wasn't so bad that I wouldn't be willing to check it out again the next time we're in the area.

We had high hopes for this USFS campground, having read that it’s on an airstrip, it sounded neat. But we decided not to stay here after we checked it out. There were lots and lots of other campers there, lots of camo, lots of large pickup trucks that don’t slow down on gravel roads, lots of “don’t tread on me” flags. 

We drove to the end where the bathroom is and decided to turn around, though it seems that the camp spots do continue after that point. This was on a Saturday, in all fairness, so the vibe might be different during the week. 

It’s a 14 day stay limit, and other than the toilets there are no other amenities, so please pack out your trash. At the entrance it says that the following passes are honored: Annual Northwest Forest Pass, Golden Eagle Passport, and Washington and Oregon Recreation Pass. However, at the bathrooms, there’s another sign that says a $5 day use fee required. Doesn’t make sense that camping is free with certain passes but for day use it’s a $5 fee, but since we weren’t staying we didn’t look much into it. No ATV or off road riding here. 

Cell signal was very weak for Verizon and non-existent for ATT. Giving it 4 stars instead of 3 because it wasn't so bad that I wouldn't be willing to check it out again the next time we're in the area.