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A nice combination of sun and shade, this campground offers exploration of the North Fork of the Skykomish river when you're not sitting by the campfire roasting marshmallows.
WTA Pro Tip: This is a popular area for camping. On a sunny weekend, start early to allow plenty of time to find a site. Note that Gothic Basin is an extremely fragile area, so be sure that you're camping on an established site or sturdy surface, like rock or dirt, and avoid camping in meadows or grasses, as this can damage the landscape. You’ll also want a bear can, as there are no trees in Gothic Basin suitable for a bear line.
Close to Seattle but a world away, Camano Island Camping offers a mellow, less bustling, but equally friendly alternative to its busier neighbor, Cama Beach State Park. Forest loop trails provide cool, tranquil hiking, while shoreline strolls offer birding, shell and rock exploration and sweeping views of Puget Sound, Olympic Mountains and Mount Rainier. Are you happiest in or on the water? Go boating, crabbing, saltwater fishing and sailboarding in Saratoga Passage. Curious about the restored 1930's fishing resort at Cama Beach? Hike the 1-mile trail to check out this neighboring state park. After a fun day exploring the trails or cavorting in the water, you will probably want to kick back in your forested cabin, pitch your tent or get cozy in your RV. There, you can cook up the delicious crab you have caught, or your dinner of choice, and enjoy a bit of sublime R and R before heading back to the world.
What is Dispersed Camping? 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. For the best information on dispersed camping opportunities and local restrictions, please contact the nearest ranger district office.
Rules for Dispersed Camping These rules apply to car camping and backpacking
You may camp in a dispersed area in an individual Ranger District for up to 14 days within a 30-day period. After 14 days, you must move to another Ranger District or off the National Forest until the 30 days has elapsed.
Do not blaze new roads to campsites, create new campsites, clear ground, cut or harm vegetation or construct a trail.
Do not drive beyond constructed physical barriers, such as berms or gates.
Do not drive through streams or wetlands to access a camp.
If campfires are legal in your location and you choose to have a campfire, pick a site with an existing fire pit. Do not create new fire pits. Make sure your campfire is always attended and is dead out and cold to the touch before you leave your site. Fires may be restricted or banned based on the fire danger rating.
Follow Leave No Trace principles and come prepared to “Pack it in. Pack it out.” Pack all trash home. Dispose of human waste in a sanitary manner. In high use locations, areas above tree line and snow-covered areas it is not possible to bury human waste in a sanitary manner. It will need to be packed out and disposed of at home using a wag bag, blue bag, portable toilet or another Leave No Trace approved method.
Do not block roads or gates.
Keep food and scented items secure from wildlife by keeping a clean camp and store items in your vehicle or use a wildlife resistant storage canister.
Failure to follow regulations can lead to legal consequences. Additional Forest rules and links to report crimes can be found on our Law Enforcement page.
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 resource.
Hollyhock Farm is a diverse family farm on the hills of the Snoqualmie Valley. We raise a variety of animals using ethical methods that work with nature for the health of our farm and surrounding forest lands. We offer two campsites, as well as a tiny cabin. All of our listings have a toilet available for use, trash disposal on site, potable water, and campfires are permitted (outside of burn bans. Please note that pets are not permitted. We have created an additional 1/3 mile nature trail loop for campers to explore our forest. Blackberry picking in season! Those interested in the farm itself can contact the hosts for additional info. There is an old railroad grade walking/biking trail nearby that runs up and down the length of the Snoqualmie valley. The Snoqualmie river also offers boating, floating, and swimming opportunities. The town of Duvall is 5min away and has restaurants, shopping, and a micro brewery.
$35 - $65 / night
Traveler
Glad they reopened this campground - it’s a nice quick escape from the city with plenty of accessible / semi accessible trails nearby. Sites are pretty basic, but have a bear locker.
Scout
Game Farm Wilderness Campground is like a real-life Minecraft experience. Just like building and exploring in Minecraft for PC, you can craft your perfect outdoor adventure here, surrounded by nature, and enjoy endless fun and exploration. For More Info: https://www.minecraftapks.com/minecraft-for-pc/
Scout
Have been camping here for years and the camp ground has had things added to it over the years as well. Quite and always a laid back atmosphere. Miss the camp sites that where on the west end of the park that where really close to the river. But still a great place to camp.
Traveler
Nice area by a creek, very peaceful and quiet during the day, a ton of people around and lots of passerby’s. As soon as it got dark, someone decided to sneak around my campsite with a flashlight and stand outside my tent for some time. Packed up quick and zoomed out of there, very uncomfortable and would not recommend for solo campers.
Traveler
I just can’t say enough about this campsite. I wound up staying here 4 to 5 days at a time over the course of two months because I loved it so much. It’s private. The spaces allow you to have a certain level of intimacy. They have bathrooms, water, and gray water dump, the host Marissa is just a complete awesome doll. It’s convenient to drive into because it’s right off the highway and about five minutes or so is the town of Skykomish with an incredible deli library a laundromat and a coffee shop I hope to visit here many more times, but I absolutely love it. Oh and cell reception is pretty good. Best we stayed at. For both Google Fi and, Verizon.
Guide
Good place for families that looks to be kept really clean. The spaces are packed in fairly tight with no dividing barriers of trees. Campsite 10 looks to be the best as it has a little canopy tree and is in the corner without obstruction for a view of the Puget Sound. Water and electric hookup, picnic table, fire pit at each site with additional bathroom with a shower for the grounds. There is a ship playground for the kids and beach volleyball court. It is nestled back through an area of homes that back up to sites 1-8.
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.
GuideVery cool spot with new generation trees growing out of old generation stumps, close to river for water, very popular spot so found a lot of trash but loved the sites and hiking trails nearby
ScoutThis looked like a pretty good campground. I could see open tenting spots from the road, even! But I was unable to get in early in the evening with nowhere else to go. Too strict!
Scout
Unfortunately this campground is permanently closed.
Guide
Super well maintained. Every site has a huge bear bin for storage, and they’re at a wonderful height to put a stove on top and stand cooking.
GuideReservable campsites, mature forest, 2 hours from Seattle, not full on Labor Day weekend! I didn’t know that existed. It’s a nice small campground on the Mountain Loop Highway. It has very dense trees and a small beach on a creek for wading. Hiking trails and a larger river are a short drive away.
Guide
Langley is a great little town. I don’t know why they haven’t done more to develop the campground- all sites are first-come-first served. They did repair the electrical system this year and just reopened. It’s at the fairgrounds on the edge of town, there’s a largely unlandscaped grass field with electrical boxes & (some) water connections. There is a dump out on site and potable water. There are accessible bathrooms and showers nearby. The campground is on a hill above the horse barn and arena, very convenient to the town of Langley, which is delightful. No camp host available, nobody you can call for assistance. Because the campground just reopened, we were the only ones camped most of the 6 days we were here. I love Langley but they are not as tourist-driven as many towns which have campgrounds like this.
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.
Scout
Really nice farm with a great mountain view. Quiet rural setting but close to town (Mt. Vernon) if you need anything or just want to explore the farmer's market, as we did. Woodland trail on the 10+ acres was a real plus for our two dogs. Hosts were helpful and responsive. All around a great weekend. Thank you.
Traveler
Great site, next to a river. Crystal clear water. No running water. Camp toilet. Clean. Great for families
Has Verizon LTE (5mbps), and T-Mobile LTE and 5G (20mbps).
GuideA lit if the spots are on the smaller side, so we had a bit of trouble finding one that could fit our motorhome, but it was worth it. The place is beautiful. Super dark at night, and besides the sound from the interstate and cars driving up and down, it's quite. Even with the noise, it's peaceful and perfect for a little getaway. We have Verizon and have decent service, even with crappy weather.
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.
Scout
Plenty of sites, good amount of privacy. Put toilets were clean. Potable water not available, there was a sign directing you to Verlot for water.
GuideWe had two beautiful days at Beckler River CG. Site 25 was very roomy and private yet had access to Site 24 via a little pathway so we were able to cross back and forth to see our friends camping next door. There’s lots of trails you can access via a short drive. We have AT&T which had great reception. The vault toilet was clean. There’s no water available in the CG so make sure you bring extra water.
Scout
Small cramped campsite with seemingly endless yellow jackets, mosquitoes and continuous traffic at all hours of the night. Would advise checking out other sites closer to Leavenworth.
No cell service, unsurprisingly.
Ranger
The directions had me believing that the dispersed camping was just various pull offs on the highway loop and that’s where I stayed. It was loud and it felt like the traffic was coming through my tent at times. After driving to North Cascades I discovered that there was real dispersed camping on that road but probably 45 minutes to an hour past where the coordinates took you. Once the highway turned into a gravel road is when I started seeing nice dispersed campsites
TravelerThis is the second year we have camped at Fay Bainbridge. Love the whole area. The camp host is friendly and helpful. The spots are spacious and shaded and the beach is easily accessed.
Scout
Beautiful property!
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!
Scout
I live adjacent to the park. Camping is closed for 2024"while the park undergoes planning and development efforts.". Campfires have been banned for a couple years as the neighbors(who bought houses next to a state park) didn’t like the smell. Kayak rentals moved to Des Moines marina. Trails are fun, jet traffic is frequent. Sunsets amazing
Scout
Nobody else had vacancy. Sauk Mountain Woodland Waters was able to accommodate us, and last-minute, too! Owners live on the property - not too close but not too far, either. They gave us some carrots to feed their goats, too!
Camping near Gold Bar, Washington, offers a mix of beautiful scenery and outdoor activities. Whether you're looking for a peaceful retreat or an adventure-filled getaway, this area has something for everyone.
Camping near Gold Bar, Washington, is a fantastic way to enjoy the great outdoors, with plenty of options for families and RVers alike. Just remember to plan ahead and enjoy the beautiful scenery!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Gold Bar, WA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Gold Bar, WA is San Juan Campground with a 4.8-star rating from 4 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Gold Bar, WA?
TheDyrt.com has all 59 tent camping locations near Gold Bar, WA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
