It’s 9:30, and the full hookup sites are blaring “how to save a life” by the fray, two sites down there’s an odd couple with a trailer arguing over the generator. I can hear the crowd in the little cabins on the other side of the campground. There’s no privacy here. The sites are all right on top of each other. Just hope you get a day when the crowd is good. On the bright side, the rest of the sites are being considerate, it’s open in winter, they have showers, and there are three tent sites for $20/night. Ear plugs are of good use here. We are using it as a stop over on our way out to the other side of the peninsula.
We made reservations here 9/3-9/5. We had a dry camping, asphalt parking site next to the restrooms at the end of the loop (near the camp hosts). It was very quiet here and the area is just beautiful.
The roads through this campground are a bit tight and have a few low-hanging trees, so be aware if you have a larger rig. Our 32’ fifth wheel was fine but I wouldn’t want to go much longer than that.
There are plenty of hiking, fishing, and sight-seeing available in the area. This campground was a great jumping-off point for visiting nearby Mount Rainier National Park.
The campground has both dry camping and water/electric hookups, but no dump station. Flush toilets and pit toilets were located in the campground; the flush toilets we were next to were clean. There are several water spigots scattered throughout the dry camping loop, although they weren’t threaded so we couldn’t run a hose to them. Washing dishes at the spigots and in the restrooms was discouraged.
Nearby Enumclaw had everything we needed. The drive through the forest to get there was nice and we spotted several moose in the trees.
Verizon signal was spotty.
Loved it here. The campground was well maintained and sites were super nice. Lake was amazing as well.
I really like camping here, but it's a specific kind of camping. I give it 4 stars since it has a lot of fond memories and we come here often. We have a ton of fun on the water and with our friends. If you don't like zero amenities, heavy day use, or the possibility of folks having a noisy party, it's probably not for you. It's free, you can camp in the woods right on the water. Do not expect privacy or peace and quiet. There are also no facilities of any kind so come prepared and use leave no trace principals please!
We have camped with groups of friends here for many summers. The day use is very heavy. People even launch their gas powered boats from shore. We like to bring our kayaks and do some early morning or late night paddling and fishing. We also bring our river inner-tubes and a little boat anchor to do some beat the heat floating.
Access can be tough as the water level of the lake can vary. From the Lake Easton/Sparks exit, head down Sparks Road and turn on NF 4818 which is a dusty, narrow, gravel road. If the water is high most of the sites you will have to park on the side of the road and walk down to. If the water is low, keep an eye out for a lake access pull off on the left. It's rough but all sorts of cars and boats on trailers can be found making there way down. You can drive along the lake in both directions until you find your perfect spot.
Get there early if you want to camp. Lots of families but lots of loud parties too. Great fishing for white fish and Kokanee.
The property itself is great. There’s a playground and a couple large open fields for kids to play. Also really close to the water which is cool. The spots with hookups are REALLY close together though. This was our first time in a hookup spot so we were a bit surprised how close we were to our neighbors, but this could be typical, we’re not sure. We were in spot #4.
This campground is amazing! Our group stayed in loop C and we had a blast. The campground was very clean, even the bathroom :) So many trails all over the campground to enjoy while your here, it was a very quiet aswell. You can hear the shooting at gravel pit but it’s not very loud at all. Also the host is super nice and willing to answer any questions.
Only 16 RV sites, which I find is a plus. All have views of beautiful Hood Canal. There are several cabins on the property, as well as a small inn. Property is well maintained. Would have given five stars, if not for the noise from the 101, which is just feet away. All in all, a very nice campground.
Love this place and love camping in the woods and right on the lake it’s a great place for kids
Campground Review:
My partner and I were hiking the Wonderland Trail (93+ miles around the base of Mount Rainier) and this was our final site on our long trek. Since we got a walk-up permit, we didn't have much choice in what campsites we got, but really felt lucky to land the group site at Golden Lakes. It was sizeable, but not gigantic- could fit three medium sized tents comfortably. It overlooked the lake and had the best water access of the entire campground. There were logs to set things on as you cooked, a really nice outhouse, and lots of trees to give you some privacy from the other campsites. Unfortunately, there were some louder groups staying next to us, and there isn't much spacing between sites so it can get pretty noisy. Overall, we agreed it was one of our favorite sites on the trail (and we stayed at 8!). Pretty simple hike from Mowich Campground, too!
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Product Review:
As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I got an opportunity to try out MH Mac and Cheese! We saved this meal for last because we were SO. EXCITED. We literally couldn't stop talking about how excited we were to try it out- calorie rich, lightweight, and mac and cheese in the backcountry?! What's not to be excited about. Although it didn't FULLY live up to our expectations (I mean, we really talked it up in our mind), it was delicious and the perfect end to a long day of hiking- we definitely didn't go to bed hungry. The 3 servings is great after a 15+ mile day and was one of the few dinners that didn't leave us wanting. It was a little soupier than I expected, but tasted like homemade mac. Super easy to make, takes MUCH shorter time to cook than Backpackers Pantry meals, and is a perfect addition to any backpacking/camping trip. Will purchase again, just wish MH made more vegetarian options….
This is a nice, well maintained campground next to a lake. Lake Leland is a beautiful and quiet lake that doesn't allow motor boats. Each campsite has a fire pit and picnic table. The fee to camp here is $18/night, or $10 if your are cycling.
This is a small county park located in right off of HWY 101 as you enter the town of Quilcene. There are 9 small campsites, all with picnic tables and a fire ring. There aren't many trees for privacy and you can hear the highway. They do have a shelter and playground. The fee to camp here is $15 or $10 for cyclists and are first come first serve.
Seal Rock Campground is a nice quiet place tucked away just out side of Brinnon WA. All of the sites are dispersed in a nice forested area which lends for good privacy. There is a great beach access as part of this campground which is great for fishing, clamming and shrimping. This campground is seasonal and closed for most of the winter.
I wouldn't say there is anything spectacular about this RV park other than the fact that it is located on the edge of the Olympic National Forest next to the Hood Canal. They do have a nice little store as well.
This is a large campground with all the of camping options. They have tent sites, platform tents, cabins and RV hookups. This is located on both the Hood Canal and the Dosewallips river. This provides lots of activities like hiking, fishing, clam digging and exploring. There are several camp sites located on the river. The campground is well maintained year round.
Mike's Beach Resort has a campground located right on HWY 101. The highway is all that separates it from the canal. There are several RV hookup site all with fire pits. There aren't flushing toilets, just an it house. Over all it is a beautiful location. The camp office is just North of it further down hwy 101. The "resort" also has cabins and beach access.
This is my first experience camping in Mt Rainier and loved this campground.
Highlights: easy hike from mowich lake, water is from a small waterfall .2 miles from the camp and an easy walk. Pit toilet that isn’t nasty and most sites give you the feeling of privacy and with the waterfall close by there is constant white noise that while not overpowering it drowns out any neighbors.
Details:We hiked in from Mowich Lake and this being my first time backpacking since I was 10 it was a fairly easy hike, 2 miles from where we parked and while this campground is at roughly the same elevation you still get a fair bit of up and down.
When we arrived at Mowich lake it was Sunday of Labor Day weekend and there were a TON of cars, they were parked for almost a half a mile up the road from the trailhead.
Set slightly down the hill from the trail there are 6 sites that I could find, although one of them is #7 While you can be fairly close to fellow campers you still get a good sense of privacy. All of the sites have good level tent pads and enough room for at least 2 tents.
While there are tons of trees all around, if you are hammock camping you are actually a little limited. You could make 1 hammock work at most of the sites, but we had 2 and we were very glad we arrived at an empty campground and had our pick. We chose site 4 and made it work.
There are several bear poles around the site, so unless you are in site 7 your food and stinky stuff are close by. The toilet is town the hill on the way to site 7 and has 2 walls and I am happy to report that being out in the open keeps the stink down a bit.
1: is right at the entrance, the least private and no good hammock trees. There is a good stump for sitting and views of sites 3 & 4
2:off to the right as you enter the campground it is on the far edge. Great for a couple of tents but one of the worst for hammocks.
3: nice wide tent pad and probably good for up to 2 hammocks, maybe 3 if you go just a couple of feet out of the tent pad area. Somebody had built a small table out of tree branches and bark and it was where one hammock would go. Not wanting to destroy the masterpiece we moved on
4: we liked this one best for setting up 2 hammocks, although you are surrounded by other sites and on the trail to the rest of the campground. We still felt we had good privacy, it was quiet and didn’t mind at all.
5: nice large tent pad with some good siting logs it is on the edge of the campground and if I were in a tent or just one hammock this would have been my choice.
6: great site for a larger group there are 3 good spots for tents and possibilities for 1-2 hammocks.
7: by far the most secluded site it is the farthest away and closest to the toilet. For privacy this is the best and far enough from the toilet that the smell shouldn’t get to you.
Hammock score: 0 of 10
Good location for day hikes, bear boxes, trash cans and pit toilets all good things.
All spaces are wide open. No privacy and your view is the picnic area.
A mostly pleasant national park campground in a beautiful setting. Be advised that not every site has a lot of privacy and I would definitely not recommend site C012. This site has a trail right next to it connecting to loop B that numerous people use to get to the bathroom in loop C. Normally I would not mind people walking past nearby, but this trail was a mere 5 feet away from our site, so the entire time we were sitting at our fire pit, people continuously walked past us. The worst of it was at night when people had lanterns and headlamps and we kept getting their lights shined in our eyes as they walked past. Other than this inconvenience, I enjoyed camping here and would return again. I would just be more careful about which site I choose.
Spacious sites. Quiet and relaxing. We chose a spot close to the water and this is by far the nicest camp site we have ever experience. 11/10 stars!
Yes, I hesitated. We have a certain affection for this weird campground. They do try hard. The staff are available, super friendly and eager to be helpful. There is so much here for kids! And the palm trees, what a kick! However our particular site (beware of #15 until they fix it!) had Issues. The grass was torn up (moles?) so it was largely dirt and mud. The neighbor’s septic hole and rock cover (“?!”) (see the pic posted below by Kathy A.! Kathy, am I right? YUCK!) were a few inches from our picnic table! Most frustrating, there was less than zero privacy. All that said, we did have petunias in full bloom to cheer us up! And other nearby sites appeared pristine with gorgeous well-kept grass, trees and flowers, a little bit of space, and a little shade (some with alot!) The major draw, beyond how great a place this is for kids, is that this is one of the very few campgrounds near metro Seattle. That is what we needed and we were grateful for a place to plunk, hot showers, running water, and electricity… Would stay here again, now that I have spied out the sites! (… Besides, a certain portion of our trailer gear certainly came to us by way of the Amazon distribution center across the street…!)
I’ve spent a couple of nights up here this year and I LOVE this campground. It is large, but there is plenty of separation and the sites seem to offer fairly good privacy and have a good amount of space.
I camp in a hammock and there are a lot of sites that offer enough well spaced trees to set up hammocks. There are nice fire rings at each of the sites, nice tables and firewood is available at the camp site. I didn't know before I went, but dogs are allowed as long as they are on leashes, BUT they aren't allowed on most trails around the mountain.
The campground is well situated to get you close to Paradise as well as a ton of hikes nearby.
There aren’t any showers, but the bathrooms are clean and have flush toilets.
Was a great camp ground to camp at. We were traveling through so we only stayed 1 night but it was pretty fun aside from the roaring train horn in middle of the night. Other than that, completely satisfied with the stay!
This campground was clean there are alot of rat holes so make sure you keep tents and car doors closed and bring pepper spray there are bears around other then that it is a cool place to camp
Separated tent and RV sites, sites are spacious, a very pretty and clean lake, Beer Garden at the lake, clean bathrooms, shower requires tokens but shortens the shower time if you have to wait.
We had a large group of four families and it accommodated us very well.
This was our second time staying there and was not disappointed.
Easy access, not far from I-5
It is so close to the urban areas of Seattle and Tacoma that it becomes way too crowded. I have seen multiple families occupy one camp site. Camp sites are also real close together. Positive note, Hood Canal is right there so opportunity to get clams and oysters.
Beautiful forest campground. We loved this campground because there is plenty of room for all the campers. Clean and well kept.
The owner Dwight is awesome and Jessie is fantastic…..Grounds are very nice, looking forward to coming back
If you like mosquitoes and a tranquil setting with the occasional car driving through, then this is the place for you. I was in the area and decided to check this place out since it was grayed out on the map, the road in is not bad at all and I saw a few sedans and mini vans driving on it, that road is NFD road 68 and it takes you to necklace valley trail and to the West fork foss lake trail. When you come up to a fork you’ll want to stay to the right, the left side is NFD road 6830 and that takes you up the mountain to the Tonga ridge trail. The campsite has no table and no restroom, the river is a several feet from camp, you can drive into it (perfect for rooftop tents) I’d say it can accommodate around 5 tents. The mosquitoes are horrible!! We were going to setup camp but that drove us away. I like how secluded it is and would’ve given it 5 stars just for that but the mosquitoes killed the vibe. I can’t say this enough, but LEAVE NO TRACE BEHIND there is no trash can or restrooms at the site, DO NOT LEAVE YOUR TRASH!! PACK IT OUT Take biodegradable toilet paper so it can break down and relieve yourselves at a minimum of 200 feet from the river.
Nice lake to swim in or boat. Fishing off docks lots of hiking and biking. Great park. Awesome group sites but haven’t used them yet