Best Cabin Camping near Ellensburg, WA

This was a lovely campsite. It was smaller, yet felt large enough so you had your own privacy and space. There were clean facilities available, as well as drinking water and trash bins. Our lot was spacious with a nice picnic table, fire pit, and area for our two person tent. Everyone around us was respectful of one another and wasn't too loud late at night. There are trails behind the campsite that lead down to the river, or just a short drive away is the 'beach' and bridge overlooking the lake. It is peaceful and although the highway is close by, seeing the beauty of the area makes you think and feel you are deeper in nature. I would definitely stay here again for a longer period of time!

I recently rented the cabin for the weekend in February. I've already made a reservation for a summer weekend, but this review is based on winter use.

The cabin comes with a stove & a battery lantern, with the expectation that you'll provide the fuel & the batteries. A previous user had left a propane canister and left the batteries in the lantern. It's a nice gesture, but come prepared with your own. I'd also brought along a propane lantern, and I'm glad I did. (Although this did violate the "no open flames in the cabin" rule - more on that later.) The interior of the cabin is very dark, and while the battery lantern provides light, it's only bright up close. Plan to bring your own lanterns, especially in the winter when the night's dark comes early. There are some board games and books in the cupboard, as well.

The bunkbeds are covered in plastic, but it's a thin cellophane so it wasn't noisy. There are provided pillows; I didn't use them. The bunks' mattresses are comfortable. Because of the way the Forest Service installed the bunkbed & the cupboards, the bunkbeds don't fully benefit from the heat of the woodstove. In the winter, you'll want a warm sleeping bag.

I broke the "no open flames in the cabin" rule because it was 16°F outside, and my meals needed to simmer. I imagine this rule is designed to protect the cabin as well as to protect visitors from CO poisoning. I placed the stove near a window and opened the window a crack, and I never turned my back on the stove. There's a CO monitor in the cabin, and truth be told, the cabin's drafty. But if you're going to break the rule, understand the risk you're taking, and for the love of all that is holy do not burn down this cabin.

The lock on the woodshed is the kind that the tumblers need to be lined up before you take the key out, but it's also a little worn so it's possible to take the key out without it being lined up. If that happens - as it did with me - it's really difficult to get the key back into the lock far enough to unlock it. (I had to heat up the lock & the key with a candle to get the tumblers "unstuck.") Be very careful with the lock, or you may find yourself having a chilly night. (Wood is only provided during winter rentals, so this doesn't apply for the summer folks.)

The toilet paper in the vault toilet is kept in a heavy plastic tote. My guess is this is to protect it from rodents. Please keep the lid on tight.

I wish I'd brought along a pair of camp shoes to keep my bed socks clean. There's a warning that you should expect every surface in the cabin has been contaminated by mouse urine & droppings. Consider that during food preparation. (I used some plastic wrap to cover the countertop to give me some clean space to work.) I didn't see any rodents while I was there, but there were droppings in a few places. There's no running water, so I'd recommend bringing hand sanitizer as well.

I was carrying more than my usual backpacking load, and I'd planned to haul things in on a sled. Unfortunately, I failed to test out my sled setup & practice pulling a sled, and on the trail it turned out to be a dismal failure. I got very lucky in that a nearby cabin owner saw me, took pity on me, and hauled my gear in & back out for me. However, his was the only one of the cabins along the road in use that weekend. If you're going to do something similar, be smarter than I was and test out your gear & your technique ahead of time.

Although the river is nearby, it has a steep bank and I wouldn't risk trying to get water out of it during the winter. I utilized the woodstove's cooktop & melted snow. It's not the tastiest, but it's fine for cooking with.

I will definitely come back, and next time I will be better prepared. I enjoyed the brief glimpse of life in a remote cabin: splitting wood & kindling, needing to keep the woodstove going through the night, et cetera. But I'm grateful someone else cut the wood and stocked the shed, and that I had access to modern winter clothing & recreation devices like lightweight snowshoes & waxless skis.

I've stayed at several KOA's over the years and this KOA is very nice. It has a great playground for the kids, a pool, shower stations, a coffee and ice cream bar, and a great general store. The safe was super friendly and helpful. The reason we stayed here specifically was its close proximity to downtown Leavenworth. When booking my stay, it was an additional$30 dollars to select my site and for a two-night stay, I felt that was too much. I quickly found out why they can charge$30 dollars. The first site we were placed in, site 20, could not even fit my 20-foot trailer. The second site, site 22, was a little longer and I could fit my trailer and truck into the site. The sites were so tight that we could barely fit the provided picnic table next to our trailer. As our neighbors arrived, they made a joke that their site was barely a driveway. That said, there were numerous spacious sites available if you were willing to spend the extra money.

This is one of the larger KOAs I have been to.  Plenty of room for RVs, trailers, and tents.  They also have a few cabins to stay in.  Our site was near the playground which was central to the camp ground. There is a TV/ play room that my littlesloved but not as much as the heated pool, yes, they have a heated pool! 

This site lies on the banks of the Yakima River.  My dad was able to go fly fishing and my littles were able to search for rocks and fish in the shallow areas. 

The general store has all your basic needs, but a difference from other KOAs was that they sell bee and wine! 

The hosts are great but are pretty strict with quiet hours (which I prefer with littles).

Came last minute during father's day weekend looking for a tent site. The booth host was very helpful letting us know that there was only two spots left and answering many more questions. We were able to find a perfect site for my family of 4. Clean raised tent bed with pea-gravel raked evenly good for 6-7 person tent . Fire pit is decently sized approximately 3x2 with a flip top grill that covers half of it. Paved road gravel parking space big enough for a trailer/camper . Dumpster and water spicket as well as a bathroom with pay to use shower's . ¢50-1 token = 3 minute shower. Small playground with a basketball court by the bathrooms. Lovely river walk trail follows the Yakima River . Activities for children such as the Jr. Ranger program. Gas station is close just cross the highway sells firewood as well . Overall great first time at the campground friendly staff will be coming back.

We stayed here during a couple of days of high heat and needed to plug in and replenish water. We have a 16ft Airstream and stayed in RV site 2. The site was too small for our trailer and the picnic table was wedged between a fire pit and two huge rocks so unusable. There was a total fire ban and the fire pit was not in use but was full of cigarette butts. For $70 per night I would expect a cleaner and better site. We had full hook ups which was nice but no privacy and no shade. It feels like the RV sites are an afterthought here. I wouldn’t recommend. The WiFi was “free” but unreliable and every single time I logged in I had to go through a Free Trial log in. It was really annoying. Access to the Naches River was easy and the fly fishing was glorious and the swimming was great!!