Looking for the best dispersed camping near Ellensburg? The Dyrt provides you with a diverse selection of places to camp, from dispersed backcountry camping to boondocking, and everything in-between. Search dispersed campsites you've visited before, or discover new spots and read camper reviews.
Visitors are asked to close gates behind them and avoid driving on roads when soft and wet.
Vehicle camping is prohibited beyond 100 feet of open roads. Campfires prohibited from Apr. 15 through Oct. 15. Woodcutting is not permitted without a landowner permit. Down wood less than 12 inches in diameter may be collected for onsite campwood. Permanent camps or structures are not permitted. All man-made materials must be removed.
The historic Mather Memorial Parkway (State Route 410) is the gateway to a recreational haven. On a clear day, enjoy spectacular views of Mt. Rainier. For more excitement, take a spin in the off-road vehicle area at Evans Creek, or zip down the slopes of Crystal Mountain Ski Area. Or if you prefer solitude, escape into the solace of the forest and leave the world behind.
Mather Memorial Parkway Created in 1931, this paved two-lane classic Cascades drive along Highway 410 from Enumclaw to the eastern edge of Mount Rainier National Park presents majestic views of Mount Rainier and surrounding peaks. More than 200 miles of trails accommodate hikers, horses and mountain bikes. Drive, hike or ride to the Suntop Lookout Cabin at the top of Forest Road 7315. Choose a primitive campsite along forest roads east and west of the parkway. In November buy a permit at the Enumclaw office and take the family out to the woods to cut your own Christmas tree. Most forest roads are unpaved and minimally maintained. Cell phones have limited coverage in the mountains.
Dispersed camping is the term used for camping in the National Forest OUTSIDE of a designated campground. Typically, it refers to roadside car camping, but also refers to backpacking in undeveloped sites. Dispersed camping means there are no services like trash removal, and amenities such as toilets, tables and fire pits, are not usually available.
It is your responsibility to plan ahead and learn the extra skills necessary for dispersed camping. Camping rules and regulations apply to make your experience safe, and to keep the natural resources scenic and unspoiled for other campers.
Dispersed camping along Forest Service roads is allowed where there is adequate space to safely park completely off the roadway and not on any vegetation. Whether car camping or backpacking, choose an existing campsite on bare or compacted soil. Unless signed as an area where a fee is required, dispersed camping is free. Dispersed camping is prohibited in developed campgrounds and areas posted closed or no camping. Some designated Wilderness areas have additional restrictions.
There are many undeveloped camping locations on the forest. Generally there are no amenities available, such as restrooms, water or garbage dumpsters. All trash and waste must be packed out. No toilet available? See How to Go in the Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/okawen/recreation/?cid=fseprd739027
Use existing sites and do not damage vegetation. Campfires are not allowed at these sites during high fire danger. Check Fire Restrictions page: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/okawen/alerts-notices/?cid=fsbdev3_053600
Recreation Enjoy Teanaway Community Forest, a beautiful recreation destination situated at the Yakima Basin watershed headwaters. Since Native Americans first inhabited the area 11,500 years ago to the present, people have thought this 50,241-acre forest to be special. Whether you’re planning to take your horses out along the West Fork Teanaway River or explore the incredible geologic formation of Cheese Rock, Teanaway Community Forest offers striking views, recreation opportunities, and a chance to see conservation and sustainable forestry in action.
Kiosk maps within the forest help to guide visitors to trails campgrounds found within the scenic Teanaway. Hikers, horseback riders, and mountain bikers may use the existing, unmaintained trails and gated roads at their own risk until sanctioned trails are established through the Teanaway Community Forest implementation Recreation Plan (page 75). Nearby national forests also have several multi-use trailheads within the community forest. Visitors should follow the rules set by the U.S. Forest Service when using these trails. TEANAWAY COMMUNITY FOREST TIPS Please respect private property inholdings by using our map to avoid trespassing. To protect the landscape, visitors may not construct new trails or change existing trails. Motorcycle, ORV, and ATV riders are reminded that they are not allowed on gated roads closed to motor vehicles and are asked to honor posted off-limit areas; it is illegal to drive around berms or other barriers intended to inhibit motorized use. Cutting firewood is not allowed. Stays are limited to seven days in a 30-day period. Enjoy equestrian camping in Indian Camp and Teanaway Campground only. No dispersed camping, or camping outside of a designated campground, allowed. Hunting and fishing are allowed in the Teanaway under WDFW regulations. Please honor county parking signs when accessing the groomed trail system. Parking for 47 miles of groomed trail is available at the Teanaway/ 29 Pines Staging Area located on the North Fork Teanaway Road. For more information, click here.
Parking along FS Road 7601 is now allowed, but only on right side of road (going up). For vehicles parking on road or in parking area -- a NW Forest Pass, America the Beautiful Pass or the Overnight Visitor Parking Pass that comes with Enchantments overnight permit must be on display on your vehicle’s dashboard. Day Passes can be purchased at trailhead, and pass must be displayed on dashboard of vehicle, even if parking on the road.
Guide
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.
Guide
Lots of small pullouts on the way up but they were all taken. None of those would work for Starlink.
We went as far as we could in our Ram Promaster till there was a crazy steep and washed out climb. Had to turn around
Guide
Nice little spot along the river off Icicle Road…approximately 2 miles west of eight mile campground. Though the water level was low due to the time of the season, this spot still offered the tranquil sound of river flowing over boulders. Doors open on a brisk morning with clear skies made it that much more beautiful.
Ranger
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.
Traveler
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.
Traveler
We intended to stay a week, left after 4 days. Could be a beautiful place if not for people.
Pros:
Open space, plenty of room
Beautiful View
Near the park
Cons:
Crowded, even mid week we had close neighbors
Party spot, loud people with loud music
Dirty, we picked up an entire garbage bag of trash just in the spot we were at. Much more in the rest of the area.
Road noise, you're literally right off the road
River is nice, but it's a glacial run off so it's definitely not a swimming area (dirty)
Road in is super rough
Again, overall it could be a nice place. We stayed Wednesday through Saturday after labor day. So not "peak" season and the place was absolutely trashed. Feces, TP, beer cans and bottles, food trash, even car parts litter the area. We did a clean up but barely made a dent.
The first night was quiet and then some locals came and you could tell it was a party area. Loud music, dogs off leash, close neighbors.
We ended up leaving Saturday because it just wasn't enjoyable.
TravelerRight off the main road, but several sweet camping spots more tucked away and along the river. I’d definitely recommend a higher clearance vehicle if you want to camp deeper near the river due to rocks and tree roots. People need to clean up after themselves though. We pulled up to a spot that was thrashed. That is how free things get shut down.
TravelerThis place was gorgeous. Right off a busy road but with being right by the water it tunes out the noise of the traffic. Plenty of spots and can drive in further to be more secluded if needed.
TravelerWe had a bit of trouble finding it at first (came from the south of white river), but the little shop down the street has WiFi and we weren’t too far from the entrance. Lots of places to camp, friendly visitors, and overall pretty quiet even with the road right there. The river is so peaceful! Bring a ground sheet for your tents, lots of twigs and foliage.
TravelerGreat location so close to 90 but tucked away - will be staying here often
ScoutThere are plenty of space and camping areas. Nice view of the river. A bot crowed around the weekend
Traveler
I loved this spot for a quick overnight. I got a spot right next to the river and there were almost no people there. There is a lot of trash so next time Is bring some gloves and trash bags to help clean up any space I stay in. If we all do a little it will help.
Traveler
Up to $5,000 fines for litter and $10,000 for illegal fire (plus up to a year jail time) now enforced!
People are destroying this lake. There is NO legal driving in the lake bed, even when the water is low. The lake bed is spawning grounds for the endangered Bull Trout. The lake nearby, Kacheless, is now closed due to people driving in the lake bed.
There are also burn bans July-September due to extremely high fire danger. Mountains of garbage around due to no garbage services, and human feces everywhere.
PACK IT IN, PACK IT OUT. Respect the land on which you travel, or this too will be closed down.
Traveler
This was a great hidden spot and we did not see anyone else the whole time. After going through the gate (and closing it) we head down the gravel road directly in front of us (more to the right). We initially tried the road to the left but it ran into an overgrown area. We towed our 24 ft trailer up this road which turned out fine but definitely pushed the limits. We saw multiple places to pull into and drove about 10-15 minutes before pulling off into a nice private area with good enough cell signal. Roads were very rocky at times but tolerable.
Scout
Beautiful scenery, not hard to find, and lots of spaces open along the road. The road did get quite bumpy and rocky at points, but I assume this is normal for dispersed camping (this was my first dispersed camping experience). The only concern my friend and I had was an old RV near the entrance. That being said, the spot we chose was much higher and farther up the road from where the RV was, and we were not bothered. We actually didn’t see anyone else up there when we went in late July.
Traveler
We camped specifically at the Indian Creek Dispersed sites. There is a collection of camp grounds in this surrounding area, so I wouldn’t be concerned about finding a spot.
The views are incredible, beautiful grounds. Sadly the sites were covered in trash, people were riding quads and chainsawing until 2am, as well as yelling and loud music.
We did come on a weekend so it got very busy.
TravelerIf you come during the week, you're going to enjoy quiet, gorgeous dispersed camping. Big spaces, big trees, big lake.
But if you come during the weekend, be prepared for the most inconsiderate, noisy, rude neighbors you've ever found. They leave trash everywhere, play music and shoot guns late into the night, and don't respect boundaries whatsoever. I had multiple people drive right into my campsite and park 10 feet from my rig, walk through camp yelling and playing music, you name it.
So, four stars because the place is amazing - but choose your timing wisely.
Traveler
The spots are crowded by the lake but there are some pretty quiet’s spots further up the mountain that I liked.
TravelerThe views are amazing, plenty of open campsites and nobody was around us when we camped. A perfect quiet getaway.
GuideThe first time I came here was solo camping. That was scary especially because there was a collapsed tree on top of a truck that was abandoned. The second time was with friends and there were other campers out. I love the view and the sound of the river! Each site is pretty small…maybe enough for 2-3 tents. Be careful of getting too close to the river because it looks like the earth can erode and break away into the river (why the trees collapse). I would definitely go again!!
Guide
So, this was my first time to this spot. The reason I didn’t give 5 stars is because of how crowded it was. We had a hard time finding an open spot so we could set up camp. We almost made it to the end of the dirt road before we found a lot with a fire pit that could fit our group of 4. AMAZING views of the mountains and it was about 7min (drive) from the beach access point. There were signs saying “camping closed”, however, everyone ignored the signs and still camped out. There wasn’t anyone coming to kick people out. On a side note, there were plenty of disrespectful people who left their garbage at the beach…other than that, this was an overall fun and memorable experience!
ScoutI stayed here two nights while visiting MRNP. It was an absolutely beautiful location, about 10-15 minutes away from the Sunrise Entrance. The first night, I got there after 9pm and there were still plenty of spots available. I found a spot right next to the river. There were a few other people, but everyone was very quiet. You could see the lights and hear the cars driving on the main road, but they eventually stopped. The second night, I managed to find a spot tucked super far in that had a small private beach. It was farther from the road so you couldn't see or hear anything. I didn't see anyone else the whole afternoon/night. Highly recommend!!
ScoutSays when water gets below 2840 ft to protect the fish they close the road and no camping is permitted.
GuidePopular rock climbing area that gets many people through the day. Dispearsed camping in 2 areas. The first spot as you come from the road is much smaller and doesn't have any pit toilets. I prefer to park here when its not busy as the "Feathers" basalt columns are really pretty to camp up next to. The second open site down the road has pit toilets and is a much larger area. Both are nice but also there are many cars, campers, tents and becomes a much more lively area in the evening depending on the crowds.
I think this is a great spot but I move on during the day when the rock climbing crowds start to swarm and park near you. There are some nice trails that take you up above the climbing area and you can get to the backside to get some nice views and away from the crowds. Can get pretty hot here in the warmer months but a beautiful spot to camp if you can avoid the busy/peak times.
GuideGreat spot to land after long day of driving. Definitely some spots have more human waste and trash than I would want to camp too close to—not to mention the impacts of some campers’ poor habits on the many natural water sources throughout this area. Still, such a sweet spot with uber PNW vibes (water, tree lines, mountains, etc.). I love any spot where I can camp free and safely at night and wake up early to paddleboard a few hundred feet away. Great spot to SUP.
TravelerVery quiet. Lots of spots available. Other campers and people using the trail came and went but no noise issues. (Visitor's Center about 2 miles up the road has wifi and coffee.) Will definetly camp here again.
Traveler
This, like the other spots in Frenchman Coulee, is seldom empty, but it's much less packed than the areas closer to the climbing. This spot offers the best views, sunrises, and sunsets, at the cost of no shade and a healthy dose of wind. If you're going for the rugged feel, this'll do it. OF NOTE: The vault toilets are about a mile away from here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dispersed campsite near Ellensburg, WA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near Ellensburg, WA is L.T. Murray Wildlife Area with a 5-star rating from 4 reviews.
What is the best site to find dispersed camping near Ellensburg, WA?
TheDyrt.com has all 44 dispersed camping locations near Ellensburg, WA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
