Best Tent Camping near Lilliwaup, WA

arrived at the farm and were greeted by the owners. they got on their quads and led us down a private road through a super nice cedar gated entry and showed us our spot. they gave us a quick run down of the place and let us be. our spot was the Trillium site which has a few hundred foot hike from where you park your car and the portable toilet. the site was pretty cool and very secluded. it had a fire ring with some sawn cedar benches, a pile of firewood and a giant old spool for a table. we threw our marmot up and took a closer look. there is a camp box with info, instant coffee, guides to area sight seeing and food along with a log book to write about your stay. there were also some cool led lighting which was great at night. fire ban was on but they put a big candle on the grate of the fire pit so we had something. we kicked around on the trails which look like they are used by horses and motorcycles but not heavily. some interesting plants in the area. they were working on a new trail that is supposed to eventually lead out to the lake but it wasnt complete yet. however it was covered with wood chips and had a hand cut cedar bridge built on it. you gotta see it. sounds like they are constantly evolving the farm looked like a lot of things in the works. definitely will come back for more time here. night time got spooky with coyotes howling in the distance but the morning there were so many birds chirping and singing you couldnt hear yourself think! oh we found a corn hole game in an open area that they have several picnic tables staged at.

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.

This is a very wet campground(you are in the Hoh Rainforest afterall), so bring some extra tarps to stay dry. There are 3 loops, with a few riverside sites in Loops A and C. There were a lot of downed trees that were in various states of being cleared when I was there, which did close some sites to campers. Some sites had some privacy and others did not, but all were level. I was comfortable on my site, but preferred more privacy. None of the sites that I looked at had dedicated tent pads, but all had the usual picnic table and fire pit. It's a short walk to the visitors center and lots of hiking trails are nearby, including one that cuts through the campground. It was very quiet at night, and even though I was not on a site on the river, you could hear the river at night.

This campground is right next to a state park. It’s also very close to a river and lots of woods. We stayed here to see Olympic national park, (I wouldn’t recommend this location to travel to Olympic every day, it was very far.)

The amenities were nice, bathrooms with warm water (one shower per bathroom.)

No laundry, no Wi-Fi and both Verizon and AT&T worked with about one bar.

The sites were level spacious and had a fire ring and picnic table at each. We chose the full hookup option. Firewood could be purchased through the camp host.

The best part about this day was the surrounding area. Every night, my husband and I would walk to the wildlife viewing platform to see lots of birds, or walk down by the river and see lots of elk and bald eagles.