Best Glamping near Grays River, WA

When venturing to Mount St Helens area I wanted to find a campground relatively close by to stay before visiting the next day. I found Lewis and Clark State Park along the way and opted to give it a shot for an overnight. The site looked comfortable and quiet and was well shaded and welcoming. 

Pulling into the campground I noticed several areas to enjoy recreationally alongside camping including public park areas with covered outdoor kitchen zones perfect for those enjoying the area for day use. Additionally there were several areas with play equipment and outdoor activities for singles or the family to enjoy. 

Pulling into the camping loop area sites were well spaced and shaded by large vibrant trees. Soft mosses lined walkways and created a feeling of being deep into the forest without being far removed from actual civilization and it was a nice departure from many of the more commercial looking camps of the area which lacked the forest feel. 

The camp site I chose was equipped with the standard amenities of a picnic table and fire ring and the pull in section was just large enough for my smaller car. Throughout camp I did notice some sites were designed specifically for tent campers while others would cater better to larger units. Something unique about this location was it offered bike in campers sites as well with much smaller pull in areas but just as much space to spread out and set up their tents. 

The bath house was very nice as it was heated and had hot water, though when I was there I did encounter a slight concern with using this bathhouse because there was a current e coli water warning which was displayed throughout camp on all water spigots. This left me more than a little leary about using the water in the bathroom turning what could have been a warm amazing shower into a bit of a concerning experience. 

Because of this concern I noticed they had hand sanitizer placed in the restrooms, which was a great concession considering the issue at hand. 

While this was a campsite I did enjoy, I feel as though with the water concerns I could not fully embrace all the features of camp which did hinder me slightly from fully being able to embrace all of the options. Should I return to this area I would check in advance to see if the water was a concern before staying another night. 

The campground, like many in the area, advocate recycling.  Not only will you find trash cans and dumpsters throughout camp but you will also find recycling barrels scattered throughout camp.    I truly enjoyed this feature of the park as it is making a difference in the bigger picture and you can commonly find items created from recycled items such as benches and tables located throughout various state parks as continued improvements occur.

All in all, for someone just wanting to enjoy a night at a quiet campground this would be a great one to check out in the area. While it lacks some of the amenities of other campgrounds in the area which are more destination style camps it has a lot of charm for those wanting to enjoy fun with family or friends in a more traditional camping style. 

TIPS:

• Check in advance for water related issues not only at this campground but others in the area. 
• Make a stop just before the entrance of the park at the Jackson House Historic Site. This site is a major portion of the area’s rich history and with several unique signs which walk you through the significance of the area you will be enriched by this short stop.
• Make sure you have a Discover Pass!! Any stay in Washington you will want to make sure you have this pass.

This is a campground on one of the roads leading to Mt. Saint Helen's. It was a decent sized campground with RV spots, tent spots, group spots, and walk-in spots. It had a huge playground area as well as a day use site with covered shelters within the park. The visitor center was a short 1 mile walk from the campground that had an under road tunnel leading under the highway. From the visitor center here was an additional path through the marsh with views of Mt. Saint Helen's, or at least I think there are views the smoke was so thick we could not see the mountain. At night the campground had a great Junior Ranger program with a very enthusiastic park ranger that kept the almost 50 people/kids entertained. She was great at engaging all the kids and teaching them about the park, highly recommend this for anyone bringing kids. For being completely full the nights we were there it was pretty quiet with only the occasional noise coming from the nearby highway.

We stayed in the group site, spot 60/61. Since we booked the group site we were required to book both of the spots at the same time. It was the smallest group site I have ever seen. There was barely room for the 3 tents we set up and originally we would have had almost 6, which would not have fit in this spot. There were 2 large tables as well as 2 fire pits, however 1 fire pit was inches away from the bushes and would not have been good for people to sit around. Luckily the other fire pit was great and we were all able to sit around it. The bathrooms and water were close by.

There were other sites that were much bigger and would be able to accommodate larger groups. I would not waste my money on the group site if you need more then 4 tents, honestly 3 was a squeeze. It's a great campground for those that are spending multiple days in Mt. Saint Helen's since it was a very short drive away.

When we go crabbing it is usually our of Tokeland. We checked out Bay Center and were so pleasantly surprised by this KOA. This place really has it all!!

-Full Hookups, complimentary showers, wifi, cable, and a snack bar.

They have clam beds just for campers, or a day fee for those wanting to rake without camping. Some of the sites are pretty open but if you went with a large family it would be perfect. You can only have 4 people to a tent campsite and 6 to an RV site, which puts some limitations on people.

They have spaces for RV's and trailers, tents, cabins, yurts and even have trailers you can rent to stay in on site!

This is a great spot for families who do not necessarily want to rough it and want to enjoy a smooth weekend being cared for by great hosts!

We stayed at Disappointment for almost a week. It is a great place to relax and unplug from life. In the main campground loops, There is no WiFi available, No TV signals of any kind, and absolutely no cell service from any Cell service provider. We use all 3 main carriers, AT&T, Verizon, and T Mobile for service and work. The is no cell service, not even with a Cell Booster.

Overall, it is a nice park campground. There's lots of trees. It's easy for us to get in and out. Nice hiking trails. A secluded beach that rarely sees people outside of Summer.

The only downside we had was the increased amount of pollution washing up on the shoreline. It was pretty bad.

In the end, it was a really great place to unplug from the world, relax, and enjoy nature.

We didn’t realize how big this campground was until we got there. Over 560 sites! Camping world! The sites are not terribly private but it still beats most RV parks. Like the previous poster said, quiet hours were not enforced and there was a loud group across from us active until well past 10. It’s an impressive place though with lots of volunteers picking up trash and being helpful. One did enforce some daytime quiet with loud music coming from the rowdy group. We ended up not staying long but I’m glad we saw this place. If you want to drive out the spit, to the very “end” of Oregon, there’s a bunch of road construction. You turn into a break in the fence and will very soon be driving on the beach! Everyone is doing it and mostly fishing. It was an adventurous surprise for sure!

One more thing, there was some rather loud aircraft flying occasionally overhead, one came over in the middle of the night.