Best Dispersed Camping near Federal Way, WA

Dispersed camping opportunities near Federal Way, Washington include several primitive sites within an hour's drive. White River Dispersed Camping and Ranger Creek Airstrip offer free camping options near Mount Rainier National Park. South Fork Snoqualmie River provides riverside sites with established pull-offs. These areas typically require a Northwest Forest Pass or similar permit, with some charging a nominal fee of $5 per night.

High-clearance vehicles are strongly recommended for most dispersed sites. According to reviews, "The access road is right off the highway and unpaved, has a TON of holes so I wouldn't recommend driving down it without good ground clearance." Many forest roads become rutted and difficult to navigate, particularly after rain. Most sites lack amenities such as potable water, trash service, or maintained restrooms. Vault toilets are available at some locations like Ranger Creek Airstrip, but campers should come prepared with their own sanitation supplies.

These areas operate on a leave-no-trace principle. Forest Service personnel note increasing issues with improper waste disposal at popular sites. Campers report varying levels of cell service, with South Fork Snoqualmie offering decent coverage while areas closer to Mt. Rainier have limited connectivity. Weekends and holidays see significantly higher usage, with reviewers noting that "weekday visits provide a much different experience than crowded summer weekends." Fire restrictions are common during summer months, so visitors should check current regulations before planning to have a campfire. The standard stay limit at most dispersed sites is 14 days. Wildlife encounters with smaller animals like squirrels and raccoons are common, requiring proper food storage.

Best Dispersed Sites Near Federal Way, Washington (37)

    1. Joemma Beach State Park Campground

    10 Reviews
    Lakebay, WA
    22 miles
    Website
    +1 (253) 884-1944

    $12 / night

    "Simple, small, peaceful campground with pit toilets and potable water.

    Mid week after Labor Day, I had my choice of sites arriving in late afternoon."

    "We arrived little later around 6 p.m. And being such a nice day there were only few sites left."

    2. South Fork Snoqualmie River Dispersed Site

    18 Reviews
    Snoqualmie Pass, WA
    39 miles
    Website
    +1 (425) 888-1421

    "Access road is right off the highway and unpaved, has a TON of holes so I wouldn’t recommend driving down it without good ground clearance."

    "PLEASE LEAVE NO TRACE! Other wise we really enjoyed a quick night away in our van."

    3. White River Dispersed Camping

    23 Reviews
    Greenwater, WA
    44 miles
    Website
    +1 (360) 825-6585

    "Right outside the entrance to Mt."

    "If you come here you must leave no trace."

    4. Carbon River

    4 Reviews
    Carbonado, WA
    29 miles
    Website
    +1 (800) 270-7504

    "My fiance' and I are sleeping in a tent and it has rained a lot but if you go into the woods, you can still find dry branches for starting a fire."

    "I go every year, but unfortunately the only bridge to gain access to camping is closed until further notice"

    5. Ranger Creek Airstrip Dispersed

    14 Reviews
    Greenwater, WA
    43 miles
    Website
    +1 (425) 783-6000

    "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."

    "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."

    6. Ipsut Creek Camp — Mount Rainier National Park

    2 Reviews
    Mount Rainier National Park, WA
    31 miles
    Website

    "Located at the trailhead are two bathrooms, a covered picnic area and a handful of parking stalls with additional parking located along the road. "

    7. NF-52 Dispersed Camping

    8 Reviews
    Puyallup, WA
    46 miles
    Website
    +1 (360) 497-1103

    "Forest Service has installed 6 temporary toilets for the third year in a row to assist with human waste issues. "

    "We found an awesome walk in spot a little bit earlier on on the forest road before these actual coordinates."

    9. NF-2419 Dispersed Site

    5 Reviews
    Lilliwaup, WA
    43 miles
    Website
    +1 (360) 956-2402

    "Great avenue to get out into nature with various streams crossing the path of the service road. Truly magical place."

    "Not many other campers' sites are well dispersed . Got to feed 3 Bluejays by hand with my oldest one of our new favorite memories."

    10. Large Pull Out (Dispersed) on FR 24

    2 Reviews
    Lilliwaup, WA
    37 miles
    Website

    "Not the most private spot if vehicles were to pass. the road looks like it’s used but no one around when we arrived. the road itself is a gorgeous drive and since it’s free it’s worth it!"

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Dispersed Camping Reviews near Federal Way, WA

117 Reviews of 37 Federal Way Campgrounds


  • RThe Dyrt PRO User
    Sep. 7, 2021

    White River Dispersed Camping

    Riverside perfection

    Plenty of sites along the river with multiple ingress/egress options from the road. Right outside the entrance to Mt. Rainier National Park and the access road to Crystal Mountain. 

    4x4 / high clearance vehicles recommended - saw some subarus trying to navigate into a cleared area and it was pretty scrape-y. 

    Great place to stay if you can't get a spot at White River / Ohanapecosh.

    Leave no trace.

  • Laura M.The Dyrt PRO User
    May. 18, 2025

    Ranger Creek Airstrip Dispersed

    Not for Us, But We'd Try Again

    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.

  • Laura M.The Dyrt PRO User
    May. 18, 2025

    Ranger Creek Airstrip Dispersed

    Not for us, but we would try again.

    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.

  • Parker C.The Dyrt PRO User
    May. 24, 2025

    South Fork Snoqualmie River Dispersed Site

    Pretty neat spot

    Access road is right off the highway and unpaved, has a TON of holes so I wouldn’t recommend driving down it without good ground clearance. There are a number of established sites where you can pull off the road and drive back into the woods a bit. And I had cell service everywhere!

  • Mar Z.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jul. 7, 2024

    Rock Candy Mountain Trailhead

    Perfect woodsy rest stop off highway

    Right off the highway. Pit toilet and wooded areas. Can still hear highway from this exact GPS location, so I went further on up the road for a quieter spot. A few trucks did speed by in the middle of the night, but it was a Saturday and July 4th weekend. 5 bars of cell service.

  • Megan C.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jul. 14, 2017

    Ipsut Creek Camp — Mount Rainier National Park

    Crowded yet Cozy

    Ipsut Creek Campground is a relatively easy 5 mile trek or bike ride with a 700’ elevation gain, down a closed road (due to the road wash out about 3 miles in) to a wooded campground nestled along the Carbon River.

    Located at the trailhead are two bathrooms, a covered picnic area and a handful of parking stalls with additional parking located along the road. 

    The trail begins behind the closed gates into the shade of the old growth forest. The trail then alternates between the shade of the forest and sunny skys with river views and wildflowers along the way.

    There are a few side trips off the main Carbon River Trail even before reaching the Ipsut Creek Camp;

    1. Mini Rainforest Loop, 0.25 miles

    2. Old Mine Trail, 0.6 miles round trip

    3. Green Lake & Ranger Falls trail, 3.6 miles round trip

    Note: Sadly, the trail to Chenuis Falls has washed out, so now there is just a log bridge into the water to nowhere.

    Once you reach the campground, it has about 20 campsites with about half the sites located on the river. We were lucky enough to swoop up site number 15 though, strangely, another family decided to share it with us for our easy river front access.  Thankfully the river is pretty loud and drowned out the noise of our close campers. We did choose to camp on the high-profile weekend of the 4th of July, so all the cool campsites along the river were obviously full, which is why we think we had “friends” join us. There was a large fallen tree sort of splitting the camp site in half, so we took the left half, with the smaller 1 picnic table option, while the strangers took the right half with 2 picnic tables. 

    The trees in camp are great for setting up hammocks. We set up a hammock triangle upon arrival in camp near the river for lazy afternoon naps. My siblings both slept in their hammocks fulltime, while my husband and I set up a tent in a small clearing on the opposite side of the picnic table, closer to the bear lockers (bear lockers are a huge plus, meaning a bear canister isn’t necessary if you’re not heading deeper into the backcountry). 

    The campground had a decent amount of wildlife running around.  We had a number of chipmunks running around our camp cleaning up any scraps left daily; we found a live mouse chilling in a water bottle one morning upon setting up for breakfast, and deer came through the camp just about anytime it was quiet.  

    The campground does have two restrooms but they smell like the bog of eternal stench, so bring strong essential oils, a scented hanky, or a shovel to dig cat tracks in the woods far from camp and water sources. 

    The campground is a good base camp to explore the surrounding Carbon Glacier/ Mowich Lake area. We visited Ipsut Falls, which was less than a half mile round trip out of camp, making for a sweet little trip to break up the day in camp. 

    We also chose to make the adventure up to the Suspension Bridge and to the Carbon Glacier view point. Our morning started off cool in heavy fog, which burned off throughout the day, giving way to magnificent views of the mountain and glacier. The trail was covered in wildflowers, cairns, creeks and mini waterfalls. It made for a beautiful day trip out of camp with plenty of opportunities to go further into the backcountry closer to Winthrop Glacier, out to Tolmie peak area or back out along the Wonderland Trail. Backcountry options seemed endless. 

    Though the trail and camp (and site) were crowded, the hike to the glacier made the entire trip worth our cozy campsite. The Carbon Glacier is a bit dirty looking but to be standing in front of something so ancient and magnificent is truly amazing.  My husband, sister and I have now added a new item to our bucket lists and that is to see as many glaciers as we can before they melt, here’s to our first. =) 

    Note: The campground is located within Mount Rainier National Park (no pets are allowed) so you’ll need to stop by the Carbonado Ranger Station for a Wilderness Permit and National Park Day Pass or Annual Permit to display for parking. No campfires within the campground.

  • Sam S.The Dyrt PRO User
    Aug. 6, 2024

    Olympic National Forest Dispersed Camping

    Olympic National Forest - Dispersed Camping

    We camped near Vance Creek trailhead to do the Olympic Bridges bike ride the next morning. Since this is a national forest, dispersed camping is allowed. We picked the first spot we got to since it was getting kind of late. It wasn't the most ideal spot and I think further down the road has prettier and more remote options, but it made do. There were really huge flies but they did not bite. The only complaint was that there was more car traffic than I wanted very late at night into the early morning. One car even slowed down and yelled at our tent around 2am. We never felt unsafe but it was annoying. A lot of trash was left behind from previous camper. I would suggest finding alternative spots if you're looking for a more enjoyable night but if you are just there for an overnight, it is fine.

  • LThe Dyrt PRO User
    Aug. 24, 2023

    White River Dispersed Camping

    Secluded Spot

    This road was pretty hard to find but we’ll worth it. Spot was secluded even though there seemed to be two other groups camping at the site. There was an obnoxious amount of used toilet paper in the area but it was avoidable. If you come here you must leave no trace.

  • Ginger M.
    Jul. 8, 2024

    South Fork Snoqualmie River Dispersed Site

    Quick easy getaway

    Went up at the end of 4th of July weekend. Found a great spot but it was apparent that the group before us used everywhere to go to the bathroom and covered it with paper towels. PRO TIP: make the hole first for when you need it and you want have any excuse not to use it! PLEASE LEAVE NO TRACE! Other wise we really enjoyed a quick night away in our van.


Guide to Federal Way

Discover the beauty of dispersed camping near Federal Way, Washington, where nature meets tranquility. With a variety of locations to choose from, outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy stunning landscapes and peaceful surroundings.

Tips for Free and Dispersed Camping Near Federal Way, Washington

  • Many dispersed sites, like Carbon River, offer free camping options, making them perfect for budget-conscious adventurers.
  • Be prepared for limited amenities; for instance, Joemma Beach State Park Campground provides basic facilities like pit toilets and potable water, but no showers or trash services.
  • Arrive early to secure a good spot, especially during peak seasons, as sites can fill up quickly, particularly at popular locations like Ipsut Creek Camp.

Dispersed Campers Should Check Out Joemma Beach State Park

  • This well-reviewed site allows for campfires and pets, making it a great choice for families and friends looking to enjoy the outdoors together.
  • Visitors can take advantage of the long dock for fishing or enjoy a relaxing walk along the beach, enhancing the camping experience at Joemma Beach State Park Campground.
  • The campground is now reservable online, ensuring you have a guaranteed spot upon arrival, which is a significant improvement for those who prefer planning ahead.

Scenic Views and Activities While Free Camping Near Federal Way

  • For breathtaking views, consider Hilltop Camp on Forest Road 2419, where campers can enjoy stunning vistas and a peaceful atmosphere.
  • Hiking enthusiasts will appreciate the nearby trails, especially those leading to scenic spots like Annette Lake, which offers a challenging hike with rewarding views of an alpine lake.
  • Wildlife sightings are common at places like Ranger Creek Airstrip Dispersed, where you can explore the surrounding woods and enjoy the natural beauty of the area.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the rules and regulations for dispersed camping in Washington State near Federal Way?

Dispersed camping in Washington generally requires camping at least 100-200 feet from any water source, staying on existing sites, and following fire restrictions which vary seasonally. At Ranger Creek Airstrip Dispersed, like other Forest Service land, you must practice Leave No Trace principles. Dispersed Camping FS-025 demonstrates typical rules - camping is allowed in designated areas between public and private land boundaries. Most sites allow a maximum 14-day stay within a 30-day period. Always verify current restrictions with the local Forest Service office, as fire bans are common during summer months.

Where can I find free dispersed camping near Federal Way, Washington?

Several free dispersed camping options exist within driving distance of Federal Way. White River Dispersed Camping offers numerous sites along the river near Mt. Rainier National Park. High clearance vehicles are recommended for access. South Fork Snoqualmie River Dispersed Site provides established sites where you can pull off into wooded areas, though the unpaved access road has many potholes requiring good ground clearance. Other options include Olympic National Forest dispersed camping areas and Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest sites, which typically follow Forest Service dispersed camping guidelines.

Are there any amenities at free camping sites near Federal Way?

Free dispersed camping sites typically offer minimal to no amenities. Rock Candy Mountain Trailhead is an exception with a pit toilet, and it provides strong cell service (5 bars reported). Silver Springs Sno Park offers a large gravel parking area accessible to RVs, but has zero AT&T reception and very weak Verizon coverage. Most dispersed sites include established fire rings but often lack toilets, potable water, or trash services. Cell reception varies greatly by location - some sites along major roads maintain coverage while those in deeper forest areas typically have none.