Kelso is an ideal place for camping adventures of all kinds. Aside from great camping spots, you'll find hiking and many more outdoor experiences. Thinking of traveling with kids? You're in luck—Kelso is surrounded by family-friendly activities. Search nearby campsites and find top-rated spots from other campers.
Cresap Bay Campground
41 min away
Lake Merwin Camper's Hideaway (MEMBERS ONLY)
41 min away
"Campsites were clear and a decent size with picnic table and a fire pit with a grill. The bathrooms have hot water and were clean. I was very impressed."
"Went paddle boarding nearby in a great lake and took the time to drive up to Mt. St. Helens."
"Like others have said there is some noise from I-5. Inside our enclosed trailer that was converted we barely heard the noise, This was at night with complete silence in our camper."
"Close to freeway for easy access. Nice walking paths. Typical state park yurt set up."
"The staff are a added bonus.. helpful friendly & kind The place is right off the highway but you don't hear allot of the traffic noise, they keep the grounds clean well taken care of ."
"Campground was clean, access to the river . Great fishing very chill quiet campground right off I-5 and close to shopping. I will stay again."
"Walk down to the river, play on the field, drive up to Mt St Helens visitor's center."
"Well situated. Just off I-5, about 10 miles from the Mt. St. Helens Visitor Center and about an hour north of Portland, Oregon. Lots to do, especially for kids."
$45 / night
"Bring your horses and ride the trails and stay at the horse camp.
Tent and two RV sites are on the first right turn and there is even a stream to play at."
"We brought a pop up camper and was able to get it set up nicely. Water and toilets are available."
$30 - $300 / night
"I'd like to give a warm welcome to your hosts, Nicole & Kris. This property is clearly loved and cared for."
$27 - $41 / night
"Quick drive from SE Portland (or bike out all the way on a lovely trail if you are so inclined). We drove up to meet up with friends who biked in so we could camp a few nights."
"Outhouses are present but no showers and fire pits are communal and conveniently placed between the site subgroups."
$10 - $33 / night
"They have fire wood for sale for 5 dollars a bundle, bathrooms and showers on site. There is a spot to load a very small boat into the water and very little and spotty cell service for me at least."
"Might be ok for a stop in between for a night but if you are looking for an away from it all campground this isn’t it."
"When we arrived, the other spot was also taken. It’s an $8 fee to reserve online but it turned out to be worth it. We were there on a holiday weekend so keep that in mind."
"This campground is on Mayfield Lake where the Cowlitz River flows into the lake. We were in loop D, which was the only open loop along with the cabins (cabins are loop C and attached to loop D)."
TravelerThere are 8 walk in sites and one drive up site, all first come first serve discovery pass required. Some sites are larger than others, but in ours we were able to fit two 6ptents and one 2p tent. All campsites have a fire ring and picnic table. You’ll still see and hear your fellow campers, but it does seem semi private. Make sure to bring toilet paper, the bathroom seems to never be stocked. Make sure to haul out all trash.
You can’t use motorized boats and can only fly fish in the lake, but a very nice 1 mile hike is adjacent to the day use area. Also very close to Cougar for gas and supplies for emergencies. Driving distance to popular day hikes. No cell service.
LegendThis campground is under very new ownership and the owners are some of the friendliest we’ve met to date. They are also in the process of renovating the property to make improvements. So as I review this it is with the anticipation of all the great changes to come.
Most of the tent sites had a decent amount of space, and the perimeter ones were a little more private too. We did see some campers set up on the roadside—not sure if they knew what they were getting at the time (I wouldn’t want to be right on the road).
There were some decently sized RV spots, but the pull through spaces looked a little crowded.
There are only two bathrooms, each having a toilet and shower in a self contained unit. Naturally, if two people are showering this means that all flush toilets are also occupied. There are two porta-potties to accommodate for this. The owners did keep the bathrooms as clean as possible—but the bathrooms could use some renovating themselves and have a musty smell. There is laundry on site. It’s not the quietest campground we’ve stayed at (not the noisiest either) and it might benefits from clearly defined quiet hours.
Two blocks away there are two gas stations with mini-markets.
Only a few minutes away are the Cougar and Beaver recreation areas in the Lewis River. It only takes 10 minutes to get to Mt St Helens Ape Cave, Trail of Two Forests and Lava Canyon area.
LegendWhen 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:
LegendWanting to avoid the wildfire smoke in September, we headed to the coast in search of fresher air. With rain in the forecast, we opted to stay in one of the cute rustic cabins at Kampers West RV Park. The front desk staff were welcoming when we arrived. The cabin was basic but comfortable the night. It had a full bed and bunk bed, table, chair and heater. Kampers West is conveniently located near Fort Stevens State Park and Lewis and Clark National Historical Park / Fort Clatsop and the The Fort To Sea Trail hiking in Warrenton.
LegendThis 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.
TravelerWe LOVE this campground. Quick drive from SE Portland (or bike out all the way on a lovely trail if you are so inclined). We drove up to meet up with friends who biked in so we could camp a few nights. The sites are well situated so that there is enough distance that we could not see our neighbors. The communal fire pit was convenient and wood was provided. The campsite had gravel so we were glad we brought our moving blanket to place under our tent tarp. The trails were extensive and we could hear the brooke!
RangerFishing, boating, campfires.
There aren't any hookups for electricity or running water, but really, it's a nice place to take a break from boating all day, maybe spending the night then getting back to the mainland. Put up a tent wherever you like and enjoy people watching on the river!
LegendLucked out with a last minute Father's Day weekend reservation at this great little campground located just at the junction of Mt St Helens and Gifford Pinchot. The campground is bookable online for only $15 a night which felt like a bargain for a private campground in the area.
There are only 10 camping sites - some are suitable for RVs. There are also very small cabins that can be rented. There is a well stocked camp store on the property which is staffed from 7am to 7pm. There is also a pizza place on the property which is visited by a lot of area day hikers, so if you want an all day quiet woodsy feel you might want a different location, but if you've been camping or hiking for days on end without any amenities, this place will feel like an oasis.
The campground was busy over the weekend, but was nearly empty and quiet by the time Sunday night rolled around. We were at campsite #9 which was right next to a basketball hoop which got plenty of use while people were waiting for pizza (and was a bit noisy). The Pizza Place is not open everyday.
Each site had a firepit with grill and a picnic table. The toilet in the camping area had cold running water and a flush toilet. The toilets closer to the camp store had hot water and an outlet. Showers are available for an additional $3 charge, and laundry facilities are available for $5 a load on certain days.
The Camp Store had lots of knowledge about local hikes and what roads were open around MSH. We used this campground as a base to hike Ape Caves, June Lake and Ape Canyon. It was about 30 minutes of forest road driving to the trail heads.
ScoutThe tent sites are very large however they have minimal grass or shade. RV sites are very close to each other. There are two bathrooms of one toilet, shower area combined. The shower is coin operated so unless you plan ahead with quarters you are out of luck. It has a card option but does not work. The bathrooms are also not clean. There are 2 portable toilets that were very clean. They advertise quiet hours after 10 pm but it is not in-forced. There was a group partying until 1am next to us. Neighboring property was also blasting music into the morning. There are many other options in the area I would look into one of those.
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