Lake Chelan National Recreation Area is an ideal place for camping adventures of all kinds. There are tons of hikes and other fun activities to partake in, as well as sights to see and explore. Find the best campgrounds near Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, WA. Read helpful reviews and tips to find the perfect camping option for you and your crew.
$32 - $68 / night
"Important to note there is no running water and no electricity and smaller RVs and smaller trailers will fit and that's it. It's really more of a tent camping place."
"Although the driveway begins at Marble Creek, there’s no access to the creek from the campground. There is, however, access to the Cascade River! No running water, so bring your own."
"Site S9 comes with a private fenced area, with fire pit, hot tub, seating and fully ready propane Weber. Staff is immediate and attentive. Free WiFi and only 1 hour from the National Park."
"On some occasions I have been ready to spend it and other times I have to be convinced a little more due to the location. "
"Only a short block walk into the heart of Winthrop which has all amenities, restaurants, micro brews, shopping etc. Very clean restrooms, ( $1.00 for a 2 minute shower) laundry available"
"Nice restrooms and laundry."
"The office welcomed you as your drove in and made it easy to stop, pay for your site and find out all the information you needed to know not only about the campsite but also the surrounding area."
"Beautiful location on river. Traffic noise but did not bother us at all. Would be tight when camp is full but it was not while we were there."
$27 - $58 / night
"We stayed at this campground two nights as a base camp for some mountain loop highway hiking."
"The Bedal Campground is off the mountain loop highway in the Mount Baker- Snoqualmie National Forest. Settled in some old Growth forest it provides a good amount of shade to most sites."
"Bath house and laundry were always clean.
The little surprise fairy houses and gnome homes set throighoit were really fun for my kids.
We would definitely go back."
"It’s the best campground especially loop D which is closed to the white river"
"Our visit was a completely random one, one of us just selected a spot on the map, and we went. we arrived after dark, set up camp, told a few stories, and went to bed. the view in the morning is beyond"
"I chose a beautiful spot overlooking the lake and close to a vault toilet. It was clean and well stocked. There was also a dumpster."
$32 - $36 / night
"10 minutes outside of Darlington city limits is the 13-site Clear Creek Campground locates right along the rocky shores of the Sauk River."
"This campground is a little place tucked in beside a bridge right inside the Mt Baker Snoqualmie Forrest boundaries. The campsites are a bit small, but cozy with everything you need."
"This campground was mainly for large luxury RV’s - all pushed together on huge concrete pads. There are about 10 spots on the river that are somewhat rustic- private and have full hookups."
"Colchuck Lake is incredible, and I would highly recommend doing this one. This RV Park was great. My family brought our RV and we stayed here for 3 nights."
GuideWe took the opportunity to secure one of the “private” lots. Site S9 comes with a private fenced area, with fire pit, hot tub, seating and fully ready propane Weber. Staff is immediate and attentive. Free WiFi and only 1 hour from the National Park.
Travelerit’s great access to the northern cascades. first time staying there and I have been camping in Washington since I was born
it has great access to some really good trails the scenery is beautiful.
LegendWashington Rolling down the road on the Cascade Loop I took in all the scenery and enjoyed every moment. But something I noticed along the way was that cell signal was minimal and with that it made it a bit harder to find locations to stop for the night. Typically I enjoy a more remote site or a good forest camp, however along the loop, though there are many forest service roads, most certainly with camping available, being so remote without cell signal and roads looking more questionable in some areas, I feared going to far off the beaten path into the unknown in my small car.
This brought me to the Riverbend RV Park, a Good Sam park along the loop which actually allocates some of their spaces to tent campers. Privately owned the features were a bit more expansive than many of the sites I had visited along the way including running water and full hook ups for those in RVs. Additionally they had a propane refill station which was quite nice for a small charge without having to wander into town to find supplies.
The layout of the location was nice as it formed a large loop easy to access even by the largest of rigs. The office welcomed you as your drove in and made it easy to stop, pay for your site and find out all the information you needed to know not only about the campsite but also the surrounding area. A few brochures inside noted area attractions and information about the loop itself. This office also housed a small general store which had a few items you might need while at camp and some general items which could be nice in way of snack and food. Nothing large, but certainly helpful for those who were weary from the road and all the traveling excitement.
This park welcomes families but also their pets, with a large pet area for them to run free and enjoy stretching their legs. Otherwise throughout camp they do ask you keep your pets on a leash, which seemed more than fair considering the large space they were given to enjoy free of burden.
The kiddos were also welcome with their own play area that was well maintained and away from the other campers just enough to not disrupt the silence of the camp. This area had its own water fountain to assure hours of safe and hydrated play.
The sites themselves were typical of an RV park, a standard picnic table and enough room to move around a little but still somewhat closer to your neighbors than you would be at many forest campsites. I found that the camping area I checked out for myself had a little more distance between the sites which was nice but there was no tree coverage so it is a bit of a trade off for space or shade.
On premise is an activity room and also a restroom area. Restrooms offer showers and warmth on the cold days and night and the activity room is a large room with plenty of space to enjoy a game night or some time watching television in a more social setting. There is also a laundry facility at this building which was super helpful for catching up along the loop after several weeks of travel.
All in all though this was privately run and thus a bit more expensive, around $30 a night, the benefits of the stay at this location were vast. Though it wasn’t my style of camping for every night a stop here was a nice way to check out some of the many amenities which contrast some of the other camps along the way. Definitely worth a stop if you are in an RV or if you want to have a place with a lot of benefits.
TIPS:
If you are a larger unit this is a great place to stay for amenities and size of spaces you will easily be able to pull in and get comfortable with your slides at this location.
Location of this campsite is key as it is close to town but also along the loop within driving distance of the North Cascades Park and also some of the Washington State Parks. If you can detach and use this as a home base it will work well with your travels.
Traveler10 minutes outside of Darlington city limits is the 13-site Clear Creek Campground locates right along the rocky shores of the Sauk River. For being so near to town, we felt rather far away from civilization with the canopy of green and blue above us and the river only yards away.
It was Sunday, the day before Labor Day, so we were very pleased and surprised to find the camp ground relatively vacant. There were two different bathroom facilities that were well-maintained and accessible. The tent pads made it easy to set up camp. Each site had a fire pit; and right before you leave town, you can snag some camp wood in exchange for dropping money in a cash box from a local resident. The rocky shores of the river made for easy and fun exploring.
Even though the mountain loop highway was merely on the other side of the trees, we rarely heard passing cars over the constant and soothing dull roar of the river, also located on the other side of the trees! It was the perfect location for our last minute, one-night family excursion. We even had our 8-month-old baby with us.
If you’re not interested in camping around a whole bunch of other people but also not interested in trekking too far into the wilderness, I definitely recommend pitching your tent at the Clear Creek Campground 10 minutes outside of Darrington.
ScoutThis campground is a little place tucked in beside a bridge right inside the Mt Baker Snoqualmie Forrest boundaries. The campsites are a bit small, but cozy with everything you need. Fire Pit with grill, separate standing charcoal grill, tent pads, picnic tables. The bathrooms(vault toilets) are well maintained and clean, BUT BE AWARE THERE IS NO WATER HERE. Repeat, there is no water spouts here, so you'll have to bring all you need.
TravelerWe camped in site 6 double site (best group site) and we loved it! We had our own access to the water and the fire pit is located with an excellent view of the mountains. They don't call in Panorama Point for nothing. Plenty of parking for 5 cars and 5 tents! The restroom was almost directly across the street. There was no camp host, firewood or working water when arrived in the summer of 2020, so we had to go to Swift Creek about a 1 mile up the road. The water was a little minerally there, so I would would recommend bringing your own drinking water. Mosquitos worse on the camp side closest to the day park due to standing water. One of our favorite spots in the PNW!
TravelerWe arrived in Mid August and got one of the last sites. If you are going in the summer, probably better reserve a site! Our site was a walk-in. 4 or 5 shared parking area served 3 close campsites. the campsite was on the river and it was pretty. The campground was quiet - thank god no trains (see money creek review). There was a nice trail past the interpretive area that crosses a bridge over the river - quite pretty. There were full restrooms and running water. Aside from the crowds, we enjoyed our stay.
LegendWe are all familiar with KOA and that the company prides itself in bringing more features to their campers. But many times I have found that comes with a hefty price tag. On some occasions I have been ready to spend it and other times I have to be convinced a little more due to the location.
When pulling into Winthrop I really wanted to find out a little more about their KOA and if it was more of a hit or miss. Themed much like the other portions of the community in western decor, the campground welcomed me immediately. I found that the rustic them of the stacked fence and the cabin like exterior of the main office was just a taste of the what was to come within the community.
It only continued with their other offerings. They had many old pieces along the way which would be perfect for taking photos, enjoying a piece of the old west and setting the tone.
This park offered camping for RVs and tents but also had cabins. Cost was on target for the other options in the community and came with many luxuries which others did not including a store, pool and play area. Laundry was offered at this location as well and they had kayak and boat rentals if you were wanting to go and enjoy some of the many waterways in the area.
I really enjoyed the spacing of the sites, however many were not well covered by trees and left something to be desired. The gravel roadway was muddy from recent rain and made it a bit sloshy to get to the sites themselves. So while they were nice overall that particular thing would something I would say is a bit of a let down in comparison to the rest of the facility.
The play area was another area which would be perfect for grabbing a few memorable photos, with oversized brightly colored chairs which could fit then entire family. Additionally they offered a nice outdoor space with patio chairs and umbrellas by the office which was a nice place to stop in and enjoy some time.
Overall the biggest asset to this campground still laid in their proximity to the community itself. From here you can drive only a few miles and be in the middle of the historic downtown western themed community and enjoy some very unique activities. For that I would say that the benefits outweigh the downside of cost which is between$30 and$50 for tent or RV camping.
Tips:
TravelerWe stayed here on a Thursday through Sunday and enjoyed every day. Important to note there is no running water and no electricity and smaller RVs and smaller trailers will fit and that's it. It's really more of a tent camping place. There are 23 sites about three-quarters are reservable the rest first come first served $14 a night $7 for extra cars. Fire Rings picnic tables and nice pads for your tent in every site. The best ones of course are on the river side with number 9 and 12 being the prime reservable spots. There are two sets of bathrooms for the entire Loop so depending where you stay it can be quite a walk in the night! They are pit Vault toilets and original out houses complete with natural smell. The campground host keeps everything nice and clean. Firewood is sold in the camp ($6) but several places on the way in sell it for less from local people.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Lake Chelan National Recreation Area?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Lake Chelan National Recreation Area is Marble Creek Campground with a 4.7-star rating from 10 reviews.
What is the best site to find glamping camping near Lake Chelan National Recreation Area?
TheDyrt.com has all 26 glamping camping locations near Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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