Looking for a rustic and comfortable horse camping experience near Lacey? Equestrian camping is an adventurous and unique way to experience the city. You're sure to find the perfect site for your Washington horse camping excursion.
This ORV-oriented campground offers access to Capitol State Forest's 89 miles of motorized trail. Campground has 24 campsites, and four toilets.
Porter Creek Campground is a popular area for motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), and picnicking in the day-use area. This 16-campsite campground is near Porter Creek and surrounded by large Douglas-fir trees. Campers are required to register on-site. Download a map of the area. After Labor Day, the campground will remain open on a first-come, first-serve basis until Nov. 2.
Rainbow Falls State Park is a 129-acre camping park on the Chehalis River. A variety of campsites and a tranquil river setting make this a popular overnight stay for hikers, cyclists and horseback riders tackling the Willapa Hills Trail.
This park has 40 standard campsites, eight partial hookup sites, three hiker/biker sites and two equestrian sites. Maximum site length is 60 feet (limited availability). One group camp is available and has 14 camping units and can accommodate up to 60 people. A dump station, three restrooms and two token-operated showers are located nearby. You can buy tokens from the machine at the park entrance station.
$27 - $45 / night
Washington State Discover Pass required https://discoverpass.wa.gov/
This campground is a favorite among local equestrian groups. The trailhead provides access to hiking, horseback riding, and mountain biking opportunities. Fall Creek Campground has eight campsites, a horse corral and a restroom. Be sure to check the Capitol Forest event schedule above for events that could impact campground availability. Check out the Fall Creek Trail System map here. The campground will remain open on a first-come, first-serve basis until Oct. 5.
$12 - $45 / night
$55 / night
$65 - $71 / night
Welcome to Riffe Lake Campground, the perfect place to get away. Riffe Lake Campground offers a friendly area for you and your family, pets included (excluding our cabins)! Riffe Lake offers beautiful scenery for your weekend away. Whether you are looking forward to Riffe Lake’s miles of hiking trails, her beautiful waterfalls, or want to wet your fishing pole’s line, you are sure to have a vacation filled with memories. Our campgrounds are surrounded by striking pines to provide a measure of privacy. If you’re bringing a boat, don’t worry! We are located less than 3 miles from the boat launch. Each site has a picnic table, a fire pit and is running distance to our playground.
Guide
You are supposed to have a Washington State Discovery pass to stay here, also they want you to fill out self registration once you arrive, fyi there are no pens onsite to do so.
This was a nice spot to stay the night, clean, nice picnic tables and fire pits, one pit toilet.
Traveler
Discover pass required. Host on site. Paved pads. Some pull thru.
Guide
They have several back-in spots, some with partial hookups and some with full hookups. Most of the spots are well-shaded from the trees. A specific area is designated for tents only, and some cabins can also be rented. It was a 5-minute walk downhill to reach the lake, which had a very long and nice boat ramp deep enough to accommodate just about any boat. Regarding cell service, I got 3 bars of LTE with my iPhone. Overall, it was a nice, quiet, shady place to visit, and I will definitely be back.
GuideThis park is huge! Lots of space to hand out and swim. There’s always kids running around so it is great for young ones. Bathrooms were clean and big.
Legend
This is a beautiful campground! Lots of tall trees, & ferns. Feels like you are in Boreal forests . Several shower/bathrooms buildings throughout the park. It adjacent to the Mount St Helen’s Volcanic Preserve, but on the back end. We hiked into the NP to Cathedral Falls. It is convenient for exploring Mt. Saint Helen’s, and Mt Rainer.
Scout
There were several campsites near the river where you could smell human excrement,see large piles of used toilet paper (specifically 16 being the worst), along with garbage littered around almost every campsite and a ton of broken glass. I don’t believe there was a camp host. Several people came by to let us know there were raccoons raiding campsites. It’s such a bummer because the trail and creek are beautiful. (although plenty of litter). Also lots of random hikers/walkers coming through and walking through the campsites themselves to get to the creek and tossing more garbage onto the creek bed. I didn’t expect it to be so dirty, I would’ve brought more trash bags.
Traveler
Great loop of campsites. Open field. Clean restrooms. Rock/Cliff water access. And, wooded campsites with lots of privacy.
TravelerKids really enjoyed the creek nearby and it was great for our tent camping. We were able to hike around and had water, and restrooms that were clean.
Guide
We were traveling along the Oregon coast and then needed to divert inland to the Portland airport and continue north to Tacoma for a wedding reception. Not far off I-5, this place was gorgeous. Tall trees, lush foliage, immaculately maintained. As others have noted, the sites with hook-ups across the road on the east side are for large trailers and not as picturesque. To the west are these beautiful sites, facilities, and walking trails. In the morning, we hiked the old growth loop prior to resuming our journey. Be aware, Google Maps says you enter off of Park Road, but that is incorrect. The entrance is on Jackson Highway.
ScoutThe RV park is separate from the camping tents and smaller campers. Those are in a beautiful forest. Unfortunately, we had to stay in the RV section. The RV section had six spots. 3 of those spots back up to a busy paved road with traffic. The road is mere feet from the camper. Dangerous for dogs and kids. Not relaxing at all. Waste of money. Terrible RV site. Don’t waste your money to park your RV next to a busy paved road.
Scout
This a a free camp ground if you have a Wa “Discover Pass” it is a shady campground not great for solar. It is a pleasant campground but can be noisy at times as there is a shooting range not to far away.
ScoutNice open sites with space for multiple vehicles or trailers. Easy access to ORV trails. Expect lots of noise from off-road vehicles and music.
ScoutLoved this place! We were lucky to nearly have the entire camp site to ourselves. Quiet and serene place to stay. Set up was easy and quick. Highly recommend.
GuideNot sure why it says $30, this place is free WITH your Discover Pass, 7 day limit in a 30 day period.
Vault toilets are pretty clean.
There is NO trash here, pack it in, pack it out. Keep it clean. Lots of horses here which is enjoyable. An ADA trail is level for walking the dog.
Shooting range is close by, doesn’t bother me but it’s pretty noisy. Can hear some highway noise, but again, hasn’t bothered me
I depend 100% on solar. There is deep shade in all camp spots, I chose a fairly sunny spot, but it wasn’t enough to charge my batteries. Just a heads up.
Will return if visiting rainier again :)
ScoutSitting in our peaceful and private campsite amid a grove of trees, I felt I must share kudos for this state park. Many of the structures were built in the 1930’s by the CCC and it has an iconic feel. Add the easily accessible trails, one through one of the last standing groves of old growth forest. Our site #18 was large and could easily accommodate a large family. The tent site is very nice. But it’s just us, our pup and the teardrop trailer which was easy to park on the level lot.
TravelerGreat campground. Great price. Just had to purchase a Washington state parks pass for $10. Had great biking and atv trails right by the campground.
LegendThis is a beautiful green, quiet, peaceful campground. We arrived mid June mid week and there was plenty of availability. Sites are reservable or available as drop in sites for one night at a time.
Sites are kind of pricey:
$32 or $37 for dry camping (not sure why the difference??)
$45 for electric/water sites - if we were staying more than a day we'd probably have to opt for one of these as I don't think that we'd get enough sun through the thick trees for our solar panel.
$27 for sites that are near the entrance. Nothing wrong with these sites, just that they are small and kind of close together and exposed, almost like overflow sites.
Showers are token operated, I don't know how much they are but there's a little machine to buy tokens at the entrance.
Nice hikes and walking paths throughout the campground area. There's a large field with horseshoe pits and a group gathering gazebo.
Campground is open year-round.
Cell service is ok with Verizon (roaming) and good with ATT.
ScoutThe Campground supervisors were amazingly excellent people they as soon as you pull in come around introduced them selves ask if you need anything and they’re always available and always very helpful and knowledgeable in questions you have to ask great hikes beautiful campsites
Traveler
We got an awesome river spot with our brand new set up. It rained but was a beautiful and oh so green area to camp.
GuideSuch a fun experience and had the best spot in the entire campsite! Great trails and swimming spots for the doggos. The campsite was spacious and was plenty of room to fit 2 large tents. Really enjoyed the open field to do some late night stargazing! Overall was a cool place and I would definitely come visit again!
GuideStayed here as part of a 20-person group. Great spot for meeting between Portland and Seattle! Only 20 minutes off the freeway but you feel way out in the country. The only downside is the road noise nearby. People zooming by on the country road. Outside of that, it’s a beautiful spot. Dogs played in the river. Camp was clean and spacious.
GuideBig open park space for kids to play. Hiking along falls is fun. Swimming in hot weather would be great. It was COLD in June. Sites are nice.
Legend
This is a pretty nice campground! There are 3 loops, one is dedicated to horses M-F. Both visits I arrived Sunday afternoon and found a few spots to pick from. There’s a vault toilet per loop. No trash, no water, no hook ups so come prepared. There’s a host onsite and they are very kind. You do need a discovery pass in order to stay and just register up front. Was able to get decent sun for my solar so was able to stay for a couple of days with no issues. There’s hiking trails all around you!
ScoutWe came here for the 4th of July to get away from the fireworks in the city (our dog is terrified of them!). We had an amazing experience! Campsites were smallish, and you definitely had very little privacy, but it was clean and people were nice. Since this is a Tacoma Power campsite, you also get free access to Mossyrock and Mayfield campsites (since there is no lake access at Taidnapam, this is incredibly useful). Ease of check in/check out was great, and overall we were very satisfied with the two days we spent here!
TravelerEnjoyed the sound of the river right there. Restroom was not too smelly, no tp when we arrived, but most of us prepare for that. Would go again but would be more selective of site. Our spot was a little more marshy but the river spots looked fantastic.
GuideWe arrived late after leaving Portland for Mt Rainier. We stayed in a tent site right on the main road. Cars started going by early in the morning (Friday). Had a beautiful morning walk through the old growth forest before packing up and heading to the National Park. We had water, but the bathroom was only a porta potty. I think if we’d stayed in the main campground our stay would’ve been great but we were using it as a quick overnight stop only.
Traveler
I just completed my third stay at Dragon's Gate, and I've now stayed in each of the different sections (Moon Meadow, Giant Crystal, Jessie's Camp). Each gives a completely different but wonderous experience, either with open views of flower pastures and woods, or a more insular green surrounded by trees. Each reservable space is massive.... 4-5 times the size of most campsites. While you may reasonably run into other campers within each section if you go for a walk, you won't even know anyone is in the other sections, its so private. Sing at the top of your lungs or let your dog roam, they won't run into anyone.
Its just SO pretty. Each campsite is really well maintained- the roads and campsites are mowed, carving into the meadows. There are porta potties and access to drinking water and a great deal on both wood and eggs. Wooden picnic tables are in each site, and a well appointed fire ring. The hosts are really lovely as well, and overly accommodating. The entire site is organic, so they do ask that you participate in their policies of no charcoal usage and leave no trace.
Tenino itself is a cute little historic town, with a surprisingly well appointed supermarket and hardware store, and on Saturdays there's a farmers market.
Mostly, I love how my dog can safely roam, and how, even when I am completely by myself camping, I still feel safe.
Horse camping in Washington offers a unique opportunity to explore the great outdoors while enjoying the company of your equine friends. With a variety of campgrounds catering to horse enthusiasts, you can find the perfect spot to set up camp and ride the scenic trails.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Lacey, WA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Lacey, WA is Middle Waddell Campground with a 4.4-star rating from 7 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Lacey, WA?
TheDyrt.com has all 18 equestrian camping locations near Lacey, WA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
