The best camping near
Kelso, WASHINGTON

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.

Not a very nice place, ok for 1-2 nights other than that, steer clear. 1.5 years experience, reason for leaving, I broke up with my ex, she gave me a 24 hour eviction notice, but actually gave me 6 hours to vacate. Then when leaving she 86'd me, because I broke up with one of her favorites, children. Talk about sketchy, I am thankful that I cannot return, that was the best things anyone could of done, and I yet to see what kind of resort that place is? No free WiFi, unlike advertised, bathrooms are locked most of the time. It was like living in a cult, we were told that if we needed police assistance, we needed to contact the office prior, why, not everything in that park is the managers business, oh and be careful what you say in or out of the trailers, because random people listen I outside of the park. I'm being very honest, when I moved here, I thought, this has gotta be what most people call the trashiest trailer park this side of the Mississippi River. Sorry I seldom had any good experiences in this park.

This state park is gem. We winter camped here in February and were pleasantly surprised! The sunset over the mountains was amazing and the dogs loved swimming and fetching sticks. Nice level paved spots, some drive thru even. Clean bathrooms hot showers! Only draw back is that they are token showers. You can get tokens by the adorable lakefront cabins or main entrance. We like it so much we’re staying a second night.

Love that it is close to town and you feel like you are out in the woods.

Keeping in mind that we went during a rainy season (fall), this wasn’t a terrible place.

On the way to Mt St Helens, it is a nice base camp for exploring the area a bit, though we didn’t do much of that. I would certainly expect that we would the next trip here.

The good: Fairly Quiet. And that’s staying in the full service trailer area, which is more of a parking lot than a camp ground.

The bad: the loops are not clear on the direction of travel in this spot, and we had a fellow drag his trailer across the front bumper of my Jeep soon after I was backed in and settling the details of my placement. I’m not certain if he was traveling the correct way, but he didn’t have enough room to accomplish his mission and he definitely was traveling the opposite direction that I used to correctly back my trailer in.

Now he has a hole in his trailer which didn’t seem bother him as much as the twisted bracket on my bumper bothered me.

My brother and his wife tent camped on our site, and ended up swimming in rainwater overnight (the slope of the land didn’t help, but they have since also purchased an RV after this final tent experience).

This section also had no tree cover and was widely exposed to the elements.

I would definitely try this campground out again, but for now it was slightly disappointing.

Been coming here since I was a child and I have always loved this place !!

Will come back love it

Good times.

This was an interesting Thousand Trails. We stay three nights from October 11th through 14th, 2019, at campsite 151, the stay was free due to our Thousand Trails membership. Our site had sewer, electricity, and water hook up. The sewer connection at the campsite was a nice plus. The site was level and easy to back in to. 

The sites were the closest we've been to at a Thousand Trails, with no trees for privacy. What made the Seaside interesting was there wasn't much noise even though the sites were close to each other. The campground was at sea level and just outside of downtown Seaside. Our 28 ft travel trailer easily fit into our spot. Once we entering the campground, the campground roads are all gravel. 

The weather in October was high overcast in the low 60's, the nights low 40s. This is a very quiet campground, activities we found at the campground to keep busy was a very nice indoor pool, indoor sauna, indoor spa and exercise room with treadmills. The campground has clean free showers, plenty of hot water and not more than a 5 minute walk from our campsite. 

My wife and I enjoyed the campground, we took a trip north to Fort Stevens for the day, geocached and hiked around the fort. Seaside was a fun town, its grown a lot since my first visit there 20 years ago.

The campground is awesome. It's my go to camping spot when I need to get out of town. It has everything I need. It gets busy during or around holidays, but mid week or off season is perfect. The hosts are always friendly and it's always been clean.