Best Campgrounds near Hartline, WA

This place was so fun we plan to go back again in September! Even though the sites were close together, we still felt like we had a lot of privacy. There were lots of paths to take our kids for walks or bike rides. And the swimming area at the lake was really nice. They even had a snack shack! The only thing that was missing was a better playground. There was a slide, and that was about it.

   Everyone at the camp ground was constantly being attacked by yellow jackets, being stung multiple times. The bathroom toilets had no cover so the bugs were bad. Other than that everything about the place was beautiful and fun

I love this state park, the landscape of glacial-carved coulees and sagebrush covered shrubsteppe is gorgeous and unique. The park is truly a geological wonder. As campgrounds go, this one is very windy! Keep that in mind if you are tent camping, as you could easily lose your tent!

If camping here I cannot suggest campsite 88 in campground D unless you are in an RV. It's just a very basic, gravel site with little shade, right by the road entering the campground, and not private at all. It is right across from a nice beach though so could be a good spot for an RV. Campsite 118 looked much better and I plan on choosing that site instead next time.

I do not suggest the Sun Lakes Resort campsite that is not managed by Washington State Parks unless you like being packed in like sardines. Camping at the state park managed campsite is far better.

I could see this spot being great for group sites. But the campsites were hard, small, and lacked privacy. Also, being in the upper loop, the Park Ranger made us extinguish our small tabletop smores solo stove. Not a big deal for us, but put a damper on our evening. 

The beach and park were great! Lots of amenities—showers, sand beach, docks, volleyball, seating, grills, etc. However, the volleyball court sand was incredibly shallow and hard. Avoid diving to the ground while playing. 

The Park Ranger let us know we could have a fire on the beach—which was the saving grace of the trip.

Personally I really enjoyed this park and camping. The park itself is really well maintained, and in a beautiful location. The lake and surrounding hills were beautiful. Even with the few private homes nearby, it didn't really take away from the scenery in my opinion.

I camped in the upper loop in a site that backed to the hill side. The layout of the sites are very unique, no two sites (in the upper loop at least) are alike. My spot had a lower parking area with room for two cars. The you step up to the "living room" where the picnic table and fire pit were, then off of that area was a isolated tent pad area.

The next spot over on one side was up hill from me, so didn't really see them (but could hear them). The spot on the other side was closer and lacked a little bit of privacy, but as far as state parks go, it was still fairly spread out. I was also there for a Saturday and Sunday night, so Sunday the park completely emptied out and I think there were only 2 or 3 others in the entire upper loop, and not near me at all, which was nice.

I'm sure there are times when the lake gets overrun with motor boats and jet skis, but the weekend I was there (6/8 & 6/9) wasn't to bad at all. Paddle boards and kayaks outnumbers the boats with motors, and even those weren't racing around the lake, they were all fishing.

I mostly camp in dispersed camping areas, but this is a state park I would put on my short willing to return to list.

The negative review is strictly for the camping, the park itself overall is nice. But the majority of the camping is surrounding a large open grass area, with all the spots very close to each other. Sitting next to the fire pit in my spot, the neighbors vehicle next to me was less than 25 feet away. Just no privacy whatsoever.

To be fair, I expected that, I didn't come here for a see no people experience. Was just part of a personal mission to visit every state park in WA. But I want to share the experience for others who may be considering camping here, so they are prepared.

The park itself is nice, right on a large lake (a dammed portion of the Columbia River) with opportunities to swim, fish, boat, paddle board, etc. And I recommend taking a hike or bike ride along the nicely paved path down to see the dam (just be on the look out for rattlesnakes).

This camping spot is conveniently located off a well groomed gravel road just a mile or so from the main paved road. It’s the first campsite we came to as we drove into Lake Roosevelt. There were a couple other campers, but it wasn’t crowded at all. The only downfall is the sites are really close to one another. But the lake and beach are huge and there’s plenty of room for your dogs to play. There’s Fire pits and picnic tables for each designated camp site. Sometimes even a little firewood. We pulled our pop-up camper into site 7 which was perfect. Then we fished and enjoyed the evening under the stars.

I occasionally go down here for fishing. Nice little campground. Easy access to the water. The waterfall really flows in the spring, but slows as summer sets in. Fishing was decent. The boat launch is only available during high water. When Grand Coulee starts letting the water down in Lake Roosevelt the Hawk Creek boat launch gets closed. Don’t worry there are a few other boat launches within a short drive (10-15 minutes).

We are alone in rv park. RV 30'.

We loved this campground. The grounds were well maintained, and bathrooms were clean. There was a good amount of space between sites, which was great. Most spots were very nice, and many were right next to the water. My guess is that it's a busy park during peak season, but our shoulder season timing was perfect for peace and quiet. There are a couple of good hikes nearby, and I hiked the Steamboat Rock hike. The first 1/3 of the hike was more moderate with steep trails and scree, but it gets easier once you're past that.

We spent Thanksgiving weekend camping this year. The campground was partially open but very empty. The bathroom was open and warm, which was lovely. We hung out, hiked, fished, and enjoyed the deer, pheasant and wild turkeys wandering the grounds.

Easy roads to get into. Excellent quiet campground. Beautiful scenery

We had a site next to the river. The grass was well maintained and the entire part was inviting looking. Our site had a small pebbled beach area. It was enjoyable to sit by the river and watch the sunset.

We stayed one night here. The hosts were kind without being pushy. The actual camping spot is small, and pretty basic, but we didn’t need a bunch of fancy amenities. For camping sites In that area, Whimsey was very affordable. 

Overall, it was quiet, affordable, and just what we needed.

The park maintains front sites much better then back, cabins are not that great and not worth what they charge for them, they have only had 1 decent manager since they bought park and he left, their are much better parks in the area and don't charge as much, owners want Westside rates on eastern side of mountains, would not recommend

widest, darkest skies in the state.... EXCEPT for the 3 glaring white/daylight floodlights in the parking lot. WTF. lay in your car or tent's shadow and the rest of the stars won't disappoint.

extremely, extremely active wildlife. dozens of kinds of birds and bats. neat big bugs. we woke up to a flock of pelicans. at night, coyotes howling in ALL directions and raccoons rustling all around by the water and looking at us. they had a loud growling tussle at one point. at another point, one of the birds (goose? duck?) met a loud, violent end in the water that sounded really close by. kinda spooky! found a dead duck right on the shore by the dock in the morning. i would have thought its killer had it for dinner...

if they turn the damn lights out, it might become the best dark sky site in the state. it's still pretty good but very frustrating to stay out of reach of greatness due to such a boneheaded design choice. daylight floodlights! in the *overnight campground!*

we packed in water. with all of the agriculture around here I dunno if the lake is filterable. there is a broken spigot.

I love this spot. The hike up Steamboat Rock and the kayaking on Banks lake is amazing.

The campground is well appointed and clean. I have been there twice and am planning to go again.