Best Cabin Camping near Lake Chelan National Recreation Area

Quite liked this campground, a few things to note first about the site then the park.

Site: 31 Great distance between tent pad and picnic table with a few well placed trees for hammock/ clothing line Fire ring was great distance from picnic table. Great privacy (granted the people in the site next to us weren’t there) Close walk to bathroom/showers & Trash Short 5 minute walk to the lake.

Park: Showers were actually free Normally it is pretty windy, but there was no wind both days we were present Mosquitos were worse than usual, but a constant cost of DEET and a anti mosquito candle kept them at bay, still got bit up a bit There is a pretty legit store with camping stuff, espresso, and ice cream Playground near beach area By the beach there was a dude selling kayak/ paddle board rentals, he does not come on especially windy days Kind Staff, met camp hosts dog

I’ve also attached some photos of the RV sites from the north campground

Definitely will come back

What a lovely campground! There’s a day use area with a bathroom and picnic tables right before entering into the campground. This place allows you to pay to park in the lots for $15/night if you are occupying it which is nice when the campground is full. There’s trash bins located throughout the campground as well as restrooms and shower houses (quarters needed). Dump station is $5. Several free options to pick from based on your setup. If you are paying to overnight park in the parking lot, you technically are not supposed to be using any of the amenities within the campground itself including the shower. If you speak with the Office and allow to pay them directly. They are very accommodating to allow you the bathroom code for the showers. They ask you only stay one night in the parking lot but you can ask for an extra night but get approval.

There’s a bar and grill across the road with pizza and dog friendly. There’s trails around the campground to walk. Very pretty views of the water at half the sites. Camp hosts were very kind and came around at night to check to make sure everyone paid to stay so make sure you do if you are in the parking lot! Had fantastic ATT service and was able to work well. Varied from 3-4 bars of 5G. Only 30 minutes from NC NP entrance. Definitely would stay here again!

Campgrounds are full. Camping is one of the safest ways to get out and about yet still practice social distancing. Luckily we planned our trip before COVID-19 appeared and we were able to go on our trip in spite of COVID. And luckily we had reservations. Colonial Creek South Campground on Diablo Lake was a wonderful place to camp. Our site was big enough for our A Frame Pop Up camper and it had a nice private picnic table and tent area we could have used if we’d had extra people camping with us. We were right across from the camp sites that backed up to Diablo Lake and have already scoped a camp site on that side we’d love to check out next summer. There’s lots of lovely hikes in the area. The campground was kept very clean. Kayaking, boating, swimming (although the water is cold) - the lake is a beautiful turquoise jewel in the heart of the North Cascades. We can’t wait to go back.

So many people have dusted off their camping gear or bought new gear and are out and about. Colonial Creek North Campground, which is not reservable, was full mid week. Usually we’ve been able to get non-reserved camp sites mid week easily. So just a word to the wise if you are going camping, arrive early or get reservations where possible.

The Winthrop KOA is similar and on par with most other KOA campgrounds, as far amenities go. The campground is right on the Methow River which is great, however, early in the camping season the current is so swift, you would not be able to swim in it. The campground itself has a western vibe, with old wagons that you can actually rent to sleep in, log cabins, and western-style artifacts throughout. The campground is right off of the highway, so there is a little car noise during the day. At night, we didn't really notice it. With the location of the campground in Methow Valley, it can get really windy. One of the nights we were there, we had to douse our campfire because embers were flying everywhere. We had site 18 which was at the end of one of the rows and it was very spacious with a big grass area and a few trees.

We liked the location because it was close to Winthrop and many of the outdoor activities available in the area such as hiking trails, off-road tracks, fishing, kayaking, etc. The area is beautiful and has much to offer in the scenery department, even for folks that are car-bound.

The campground for being Thousand Trails was pleasant. We were able to find a spot easily enough. Our issue was finding availability for us and our daughter arriving the next day. The full hookup sites are close together and not great IMHO. We settled for the spore in the Lakeview area. This area of the campground will accommodate up to 22’ RV’s. Water and 110 electric. Quite dusty but it worked. The lake is nice, the trails around the grounds are fun. For the grandkids there is a lot to do and that was the draw for us this time. We prefer disbursed off grid most of the time to this type of campground.