Searching for the perfect place to pitch your tent near Ilwaco? Find the best information on tent camping near Ilwaco, including sites, reviews, and tips for getting the most out of your camping experience. From remote to easy-to-reach, these Ilwaco campsites are perfect for tent campers.
Unless otherwise posted, you can stay 10 days in a 30-day period at any of DNR's campsites. During your stay, please practice leave no trace principles and pack out what you pack in. Dispersed camping, camping outside of our designated campgrounds, is allowed in some of our forests. Dispersed camping is not allowed at day-use sites. Toilets, picnic tables, trash cans, drinking water, and fire pits are not available in the backcountry. Please follow Leave No Trace principles and pack out everything you pack in. Dispersed fires are prohibited.
$10 - $15 / night
Currently closed for the pandemic - 10/13/2020
$33 - $55 / night
ODF offers three types of camping opportunities: Developed campgrounds, designated campsites outside of regular campgrounds, and dispersed camping.
Fee is $5/vehicle/night
$5 / night
Wandering elk is a Nature retreat center focused on creating an environment to explore our natural world nestled among the Cedars and spruce that border Willipa bay, we invite you to pitch your tent, or settle into our vintage clamper and relax, renew, and reconnect with what inspires you.
this amazing, 5 acre, wooded, retreat, bordering the bay has wetland area that runs through it.
We offer one Glamp her and 610 sites. The common area features include a shared, rustic kitchen with water pump, brick, barbecue grill, and seating. We also include some very basic cooking tools. Guests are welcome to use it.
Two bathrooms with flushing toilets, and non-potable water sinks various places to sit recline and walk around potable water is available on site. Additional amenities include basic, first aid, fire, extinguishers and wagons for transporting belongings.
Additional information about our facilities, and the surrounding area can be found at
awanderingelk.com
$50 - $150 / night
The 90,000-acre Yacolt Burn State Forest, and nearby areas to the north and east in Cowlitz, Clark, Skamania, and Klickitat counties, are working forests. The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) manages timber production, biomass byproducts, communication tower leases, and other activities in the forest to help fund local county services and the construction of public K-12 schools throughout Washington.
Located north of Naselle, this five tent-only campsite lake is situated on the way up to Radar Ridge. There is a short trail that goes around the lake and a trail connecting to Snag Lake.
$15 / night
$15 / night
$50 / night
Traveler
Our friends have stayed here a few times for razor clam digging and seemed fine with it, so we tried it. We stayed 2 nights during a mid-November clam dig. There is a string of long-term campers and a string of short-term spots. It was really empty, so there were no close neighbors. I could see how it would be overly snug during a busy session with how close the sites are together. You literally have enough room for a slide out and 5 feet or so to the next site's picnic table. The covered fish cleaning station was very nice to clean clams. It's an older looking campground but we were happy with it.
Guide
Oregon is well known for it's magnificent state parks, and this is no exception. The campground is huge, probably some 400+ spaces; well cared for & clean, with an abundance of hiking trails & historical sites to explore. Unfortunately in May, the mosquitos were out in full force in the campground. This campground serves as an excellent base camp to explore the northern Oregon coast and southern
Washington coast
GuideA bit crowded and the sites are a bit close together but its a nice campground.
Scout
The owner, the place, and all of its contents are absolutely dreadful; Before i left i learned that she (Sue Hart) has several lawsuits out against her from previous tenants for various shady unlawful behavior, among them being conning people with bs electric bills and refusing to keep her shit boxes up to standard for human beings to be in, one man died from a fire that occured there which went under investigation and I remain unsure of the outcome of that but the trailer that i was temporarily in caught fire from the outside and the maintenence man just happened to pass by noticing it and alerted us thank god and when it got back to Sue she had the nerve to try to blame myself and my elderly mother for it saying we had too much plugged in and running at once when we did not! .. Place absolutely reeks of cat piss and wood rot, please don't waste your money on this overpriced meth market with a total creepo as her right hand man for a "security guard" of the park whose "office" is located right and i mean RIGHT by the ladies showers… uhh, how that is even a thing is beyond me but watch yourselves and your young kids- the pedo vibes are real so enter at your own risk.. but honestly, just please don't.. much love 🙏
Scout
This is a good place and being right by the water was fun.
Traveler
Unless you manage to get one of the nice spots, you’re essentially paying a premium to park on grass with no privacy. It’s a beautiful area: but pick your site wisely.
ScoutCouldn’t get any cellular signal
Scout
Nice little spot. Free hot showers. $20 for a tent site. Some of the tent sites to choose from were really small or not level but we got lucky with what we thought was the best site (B-10)
GuideThere is so much to do here and every time I've been to Ft. Stevens, we just scratch the surface. We were down here in August as the last stop on our family vacation and we discovered a whole section of the park we didn't know was there! This time, it was just me and my kiddo. We came down for a rally put on by a PNW based group of the brand trailer I own. The majority of the group was in loops O and N, though there were some of us (myself included) in other parts of the campground. I ended up in loop M, which has full hook-ups so that was nice. This was my first rally and it was my first big solo trip with just me and my kiddo. The sites in loop M do seem sort of close together depending on where you are in the loop. There are also a lot of trees, which could contribute to that feeling. My back-in site, M04, was partially secluded with a row of shrubs between M04 and M05 and some shrubs and trees behind me. I could see the road and the yurt village from my back window. There is also a paved trail that goes along side the road. If you go down into loop O, there is little trail that takes you over to the south parking area of Coffenbury Lake where you can pick up the 2 mile dirt trail around the lake. FYI...no matter how fancy your fancy all terrain running stroller might be, it won't work on this trail. Never fear though, there are plenty of paved bike trails that will get you throughout the park! The only reason I am giving 4 starts instead of 5 is because I have a toddler that likes playgrounds. The only playground is in the north campground. It wasn't a long walk, but there were no paved trails which put us in the bike lane of the main road going into and out of the campground. When it is busy, there are a lot of big vehicles going in and out. It would have been nice to have a playground in the south campground or have a continuation of the paved path next to the road. Verizon phone service is meh. I had no issues calling or texting my husband, anything else was spotty as I had one or two bars. While I don't go camping to scroll about on the internet, I do have a toddler that has a much earlier bedtime than me so it's nice to be able to catch up on social media or put in some earbuds and watch a movie on my phone or watch youtube. Couldn't do any of that.
Scout
Definitely missing Angie but we have so many fond memories she still brings joy to our lives. we were without a dog for several years and we were afforded the opportunity to adopt a standard poodle last year and he has been the joy of our lives, so keep in mind you can bring another wonderful friend into your life, @block blast
Traveler
I just came across this spot off a fire road going up the mountain from cook creek campgrounds
Scout
It was the only one campground open in town, so no choice. The campground is beautiful, but amenities are bad. Showers are all broken, and dirty. There is only one faucet working at the dish sink. But people are nice, and helpful.
Legend
Really nice, mellow, low key RV & tent campground..“nice” as in comfortable and welcoming to all, not as in the amenities. The place itself is somewhat run down, but still functional and fine. We got spot #30, which was an unlevel back-in site. We were told all sites are FHU, but I couldn’t figure out how to get the sewer cap off, if that’s what it was. I didn’t bother to ask about it, as we didn’t need to dump yet.
With taxes and all we paid about $50 for a night for that site. We didn’t have reservations and there was plenty of availability. Free showers, which we didn’t use, laundry is $1.50 for wash and $2.00 for dry. There are also cabins on site, a huge rec room with an arcade game, a TV, kitchen, and a book exchange. Cell service was a little weak but their free wifi was nice.
They also bake bread on site! Not sure what that was about or if it’s for sale, but they were baking when we walked in to the office and it smelled great. The walk to the beach was a pleasant roughly 0.25 mile one. Cars drive straight on the beach so watch your dogs.
There is recycling here and they do take glass but cans must be uncrushed and bar code must be readable, and no soup cans accepted :(
LegendWe stayed in loop D, site 189, which I chose because I thought it would be nice to have a spot right on the lake. I wish I’d chosen one of the sites in the little off shoot roads though, because the lake was not visible and not very accessible, and the entire row of sites are just sites side by side with zero privacy. It was fine though.
Cell service was very iffy for both Verizon and ATT, but the weBoost helped a lot. Lots of nice hikes here in this park, and the beach is a short walk away. The bathhouse for this loop has flush toilets and one shower for the whole loop. The shower was free and the water was nice and hot. The shower was so dirty and gross but what are you gonna do.
Water spigots throughout campgrounds and there’s a free dump and water fill station in the park.
Scout
We were treated in a discriminatory manner by the upper management. We felt extremely let down by how they behaved, since the main office worker, Jackie, had been very nice & professional.
Miranda, on the other hand,.. I do not recommend doing business with her. She looked down her nose at our RV, even though it is in great shape, only requiring a couple of easy updates that we had already explained how we were planning on dates to accomplish said updates.
Especially since, as you peruse the park, you see Multiple campers in violation of posted park rules, and much older & crummier looking RVs than we own, in much worse disrepair. Also, when Miranda called to deny us the spot, she began our phone call in a deceitful way, in fact lining me up to level the blow of rejection. Miranda is not kind at all, and treated my husband & I unfairly. We do Not recommend staying here.
Scout
The "cabins" are essentially shed conversions on a flatbed and wheels that rock and sway. Not ada accessible. They have electricity but no insulation and the water reeks of sulfur. The loft style beds seem like they are for children.
The host Joann is money hungry and inflexible. Be sure to get travel insurance and read all rules and reviews on other platforms prior to stay to be well informed of issues and not be blindsided by uncharges here. She will enter your space as she sees fit. There are no boundaries for her but tons for guests with rule signage plastered everywhere on the grounds.
Campground is covered in rabbit feces, so parents with small children beware. I would never stay here again. For the headache of dealing with the host alone it made the entire experience one of an utterly uncomfortable inconvenience.
This place looks nice from an outside view but staying here is an entirely different story.
Also the fact that a Joanna left a 5 star reviews here when all other platforms have complaints is a bit questionable.
Traveler
We went there to have close access to Ocean Beach to go landsailing with some other friends. Parked our travel trailer and went all over the place in our Ranger. Pity the Restaurant that was active was closed looking for a new owner, but Warrenton and other places aren't far if you want to eat out. Nice sites, borders the training ranges, and nice showers and such when needed. Great places to see, beach is nearby, you have private access by foot to a few areas, (if not precluded by training,) and we will stay here again. The Landsailing, we have a little Blokart, turned out to be awesome and plan to meet up with folks there again. I'm totally comfortable to know I will be camping with other vets and families, that allow you space but are also a hoot to meet, if you're in the mood. The gravel power site was plenty for us. Enjoy what your service earned.
GuideI hadn't been here for years. I forgot how massive this place is...and how nice it is! We got a last minute reservation and ended up with a great site. It's a HUGE set of campgrounds, but it never felt crowded. And you can drive out on the beach and get away too. We sat for a few hours and had maybe 1 car per hour drive by. We were on loop H, which was good and bad. The bathrooms were horrible and needed torn down, but the next loop over was close and had great bathrooms and showers. Also, H didn't have a playground, so it was a little quieter with the kids. Or maybe it was just because we were camping after Labor Day and there were fewer kids in general.
GuideThis campground has it all, nice size spaces, beaches, lots of hiking, biking trails, dirt, and paved. Very quiet, extremely well kept and managed.
Scout
I pulled up and it looked abandoned and unsafe—something from a horror movie. The bathroom literally had trash dumped out in front and the some of the campsites were unkept. It's trek to get back there for such disappointment. Left as soon as I could, ended up sleeping at a rest area.
TravelerThis small campground is very far off the 101 so if you are looking for a coastal vibe this is not it. Deeply wooded, green, and beautiful. One side of the campground sits alongside Nehalem river access, on hot days this is a popular hangout so expect to see a lot of people. Vault toilets after a busy summer season were ammonia rich and hard to handle. Trash receptacles and potable water available. (Old school pump) I’ve heard that it stays wet enough back there that this campsite never really has a fire ban, but always check with the camp host, they also sell fire wood. First come first serve campsites Using reserve America online. Do Not confuse this campsite with Nehalem Bay State park when reserving.
Scout
The layout of this campground packs sites too close together. It feels more like tailgating in a parking lot than camping. Other than that, this park is pretty great. It's a very short walk to the beach and a stone's throw from Westport. It's even got some decent trails for hiking around a bit. The bathrooms are pretty standard fare for state Park bathrooms, however, the free showers were a great plus.
ScoutLocation is incredible, great nature. Place for your dreams! I do like this place so much and playing there in papa games!
Traveler
This spot was great for a night! Super quiet. There was some trash around the site and the road, so I picked up as much as I could. The view was misted over but beautiful anyway- however, in my little Nissan Versa, I struggled on the roads up and down. I eventually kept it around 5-10mph to avoid damaging my car, but I got there just fine and had no issues at the campsite. I've got T-Mobile and had full bars.
Guide
This was our last stop on vacation. We couldn't get into Fort Stevens SP right across the street because it was full so we thought we'd give the KOA a try. We normally avoid KOAs, but this one was NICE! We had a premium gravel back-in site. The premium means full hook-ups, fire pit with some bench seating, picnic table, and a propane grill. Our row happened to back up to some trees and tent sites that were in a kind of gully below us. The first night, we had neighbors on either side of us, the second night nobody showed up. We were thankful for that as these sites are pretty close together. This is by far, the largest campground I've ever stayed at. There was a whole fun zone that had mini golf and a bouncy mat thing, outdoor pool and other things that we didn't even see because it was in another part of the campground. Our main purpose on this vacation was to visit Fort Stevens State Park and go into Astoria for lunch. I did manage to get in a quick swim in the indoor pool (you read that right--there are 2 pools). For such an active campground, I was pleasantly surprised at how everyone settled down by the start of quiet hours at 10pm, at least in our part of the campground. I wish we could have stayed longer to take advantage of some of the amenities, but it just wasn't in the cards this time.
Edit to add...we never managed to connect to the wifi.
Ranger
Amazing! Outstanding! Beautiful Hillside former equestrian farm where you can buy organic cage-free eggs laid the day before along with milk taken straight from the cow that morning! If you enjoy watching sheep eat and playing with a goat and watching Ducks wander around and lots of stuff to look at and hiking and learning about farming and animal husbandry, this place is for you!
Traveler
This is not Curlew Lake in Eastern Wa. This is Ilwaco near the Columbia River in the SW corner of Wa. We came to this campground by the lovely pictures of a large lake, nice camping sites etc. The Pro's: easy check-in Walking distance to the town and Marina. Close to Cape Disappointment State Park There is a laundromat. Cons: this is a fisherman's park. The sites are close together. No picnic tables at our sites. $59 is too expensive. Bad advise from the previous reviewer!!!
Tent camping near Ilwaco, Washington, offers a blend of serene natural beauty and a variety of outdoor activities. Whether you're looking for a peaceful retreat or an adventurous getaway, there are several options to explore.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Ilwaco, WA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Ilwaco, WA is Road to Snag Lake - Dispersed with a 4.3-star rating from 8 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Ilwaco, WA?
TheDyrt.com has all 12 tent camping locations near Ilwaco, WA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
