Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Malo, WA

Based on visit in August of 2019. The lake had a pretty significant bloom of algae and a lot of mill weed at this time, but it was still a great visit.

The lake and surrounding area is gorgeous. If coming from the West I recommend taking Hwy 2 across the Cascades then take Hwy 21 north across the Columbia (via the free Keller Ferry) and all the way to the Lake. The whole stretch of Hwy 21 between the border and Columbia is one of the best in the PNW. Take Hwy 20 back from Republic for more splendor.

Decent-sized IGA for groceries, convenience stores, and a few restaurants in Republic nearby

This is a big campground on a big lake, but the three loops help to create three different experiences. We camped in #79, one of seven tent sites on the somewhat isolated lower loop. All of the sites on the lakeside of this loop are pretty large and nice. Save for a few trees there isn't a lot separating each site and all are visible from the lake, so not exactly private either. South of the park are cabins across the bay that you can see and hear. During the day there is a lot of activity on the water, including speedboats blasting Nickelback (it is close to Canada).

Over a little hill from the lower loop is swimming beach and day-use area. This area was pretty busy with locals as the temperatures hit 100 during our visit. The bathroom has pay showers, outlets, and was recently renovated. Plan your showers for the morning or evening.

The middle loop is on top of hill that has a wooded slope on the lakeside. There are two distinct areas here, one is literally a loop of sites on grass in classic WA State Parks fashion. The other section is series of 10 or so sites on the hillside and in the woods that you have to park and walk into. The sites were all different sizes and distances from each other. More privacy here, but there is a trail just above the shore that runs by many of them, so keep your shorts on.

The upper loop is the largest and has mix of RV and drive-up sites in a little valley ringed by walk-in sites on top of the hill. Note that from the sites in the valley you can't really see the lake but there are scattered trees to provide some shade. Not my cup of tea, but there is another shower area and a little store operated by the hosts that had ice, wood, and some frozen treats.

Back to our experience: the lower loop is on edge of a small bay and natural marshland. We had a clear view of an Osprey nest (see pictures) that the hillside trails goes right by.

In addition to the Ospreys we saw many birds drawn to the marsh and trees, several kinds of fish, turtles, and nutria in the water. In addition to a few red squirrels we also were visited by a tiny skunk who sauntered up through the reeds on the hillside to lick the griddle I left on the ground by our table (always clean up, folks). It left without incident, but I was glad we didn't have out dog with us or else things could have ended quickly.

In the area are hikes in the Kettle River Range, the Ferry County Rail Trail (which I want to check out next time), and numerous back roads to explore. Because of the heat we did some trips in the van up to the border, Ranald MacDonald State Park (smallest in the state), Swan Lake, the city of Curlew, and of course the ice cream serving establishments of Republic.

I wish the lake would have been more pleasant to be in, that's the only reason for the 4 star review. I'm not sure if it is like that every year, so I would contact the park office or check on social media to see.

FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE

Lake Ellen East Campground is one of two campgrounds located on each end of the good sized lake. There are 11 campsites with picnic tables, fire pits, and tent pads.  It doesn't get super busy during the camping season. When we stayed the cost was 6$ for a sight. Dogs were allowed on a leash. Driving through the campground is a one way single lane gravel road loop. Campsites have good separation with lots of vegetation for privacy. Access to the lake for fishing and swimming is a short walk. Wildlife viewing is great: water fowl mostly andfishing for Rainbow Trout is good.  Best for tents and small campers. Toilets available. No drinking water. Boat ramp is at the other end (west) of the lake. The nearest town is Kettle Falls, WA.  Operated by the Forest Service.

If you want a low key, quiet place to camp this is a good choice.

The drive into this area is absolutely beautiful. Campground is large, with at least 3 loops. The campground itself is very clean. We saw rangers checking up and driving thru at least 6x through out day and evening. There are flush toilets and spigots throughout the loops. Bathrooms had toilet paper and hand sanitizer.

We stayed in loop 3, spot 61. It was smaller compared to other spots. This campground is big so there isn’t a ton of privacy and spots are close together. You can hear pretty much everyone’s conversations around you. Lots of RVs and families with kids. Lots of sites with dogs, so anytime people did walks with their dog, a symphony of barking dogs would start. Bring earplugs.

First night in, mosquitos were absolutely terrible. Literally swirling around us as we put up the tent. Neighbors were loud past midnight, and there was construction noise over night (woke us up around midnight and 2am).

Second night, still had noisy neighbors but these didn’t stay up as late as the ones from previous night. Mosquitos were not as bad. There was no overnight construction noise.

There are some nice hikes nearby, just be sure to plan accordingly as it gets quite warm.

Overall, while the lake was nice, it was not a place for me considering how busy and noisy it was. I did appreciate how well maintained it is though.

We found Bonaparte Lake Campground through Dyrt when sites were not available at Curlew State Park and we needed some place in that Okanagon/Ferry County area of Washington. Part of Bonaparte Lake is available by reservation. We lucked out at the time and found what ended up being the perfect site. It had plenty of room for our A Frame trailer and truck and could have fit another vehicle on the site. The table/fire ring area was generous and private, with space for our dog to be on a 25 ft lead. In fact, the whole site was very private with the campers to the right of us at least 50 feet away from us and no one to the back of us or to the left of us directly. I guess I should stop saying how great our site was so we can get it again sometime! In our loop we only had pit toilets. In the non-reservation loop there was one restroom with flush toilets and then other pit toilets. No showers available. The non-reservation loop had lovely sites as well with some right on the lake. Our loop had lake sites, too. The camp host was amazingly helpful and friendly, giving us maps of things to do in the area. We took a loop to find old ghost towns and remnants in the area plus other loops. We tried to schedule our trip up this way in July to beat the smoke from forest fires but unfortunately due to early heat conditions and dryness forest fires started early this year. We ran into some smoke the 2nd day of our trip there but the third day was clearer. It never got bad while we were at Bonaparte Lake but just over the mountains in Oroville where we went to get gas, it was in the unhealthy range of the Air Quality Index. We will definitely go back to Bonaparte again sometime. It would make a beautiful trip in the early fall.

Ranger Review: Aftershokz Trekz Air at Douglas Falls Grange Park

Campground Review:

 Wow! Wow! Wow!

First off, a bit about the campground itself. It is owned by the local grange, right next to the Colville National Forest. It is free with a Discover pass. The discover pass is $10 for a day or $30 for a year and needed for a lot of parks in Washington. It is also located just outside of Colville, where you can get anything you need. There is about 8-15 sites. Why don’t I know? Well the campground loop intercepts the day use area, and what is a site, compared to the day use area, we can’t tell. On the main campground loop there is 8 sites. In the day use area, site #9 appears to be the only marked ADA accessible site, though many of the others seem just as accessible. Site #10 and #11 are a slight downhill walk from the parking area. Site 10 does not have a clear parking spot, where all of the other sites do. Site #12 is basically in the parking lot. When we arrived we drove the main loop and there were a few other campers, then we came to the day use area and site #12 had a tent pitched there.  There is a short car road that is a one way access with additional sites #13 #14 and #15, this road was closed, but may open in the future. There were black table cloths on the tables, indicating not to use. All sites have a fire ring, and picnic table. Some have a cute log bench right next to the fire.

There is no garbage service at this campground. Pack it in, pack it out, please, leave no trace. There are vault toilets supplied with plenty of toilet paper, they were very clean and have an air freshener that almost makes you forget you are in a vault toilet! There is a huge field with a backstop for baseball/softball, a covered picnic area, Horseshoes, hiking trails (with the main one being a 1.5 mile nature loop) and the highlight was a gorgeous 60 foot waterfall that you can see from the parking lot or take short walk to. There is also a pretty cool suspension bridge!

I had low expectations of this place, but I was very surprised! We took site #10 which is about 20 feet away from the upper portion of the falls. This site is a short walk from the parking lot, so you do have to walk your gear in.  The only other site in this area is #11 and it is a good distance away. From our site there is a small trail that leads to the main trail which goes to the top of the falls. If you take the main trail from the look out to the right there is access to the bottom of the falls. I listened to the waterfall all night and it was so peaceful and soothing I slept peacefully. The moon light over the falls was amazing, I wish I had my good camera! Did I mention the wildlife? Hawks, deer, super squirrels, Eagles, Chipmunks, Robins, Magpie and more! 

Over all, I hated it, you shouldn’t go there so I can have it ALL to myself! But really, this is a fantastic place to camp. It’s a beautiful piece of land, with so much to see and do. Go, have fun, and thank me later!

Product Review:

Aftershokz Trekz Air- Bone Conduction Headphones.

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, sometimes I have the opportunity to review new products in exchange for an honest review. At this campground I tested Aftershokz Trekz Air- Bone Conduction Headphones. https://aftershokz.com/collections/all/products/trekz-air

These headphones are a wave of the future. Instead of sitting in your ear like most headphones, they sit on your jawbone. They are Bluetooth, so that means wireless! They are super easy to pair and connect with your phone. As with all technology, it is really best to charge them straight out of the box. The colored light on the side of the headphone is red if it is not charged or blue if it’s fully charged. The pads that sit on your jawbone sends vibrations through the bone to your year. They come in sleek colors, and they are so lightweight and comfortable you can forget they are there. The point of these headphones is to be able to hear the outside world around you and still listen to your tunes. This keeps you attentive to other people in the office or, in my case, able to hear your music over roaring waterfalls on the trail.

I had never heard of bone conduction technology before these headphones, and I certainly will remember now. These are funky and fresh. I love them, I love that they stay on my head while on the go, no cords to untangle and get in the way, or earbuds to pop out of my ear while walking. If you are not moving, the vibrations can be a little intense at higher volumes or songs with more bass, it makes it feel a little strange. They have a six hour battery life, and only takes about an hour and a half to charge. I also wish that there was a voice control in these as well so I could continue being hands free and answer the phone, skip songs or pause, at the same time. I hear that it’s in the works though, so I’m willing to wait. Plus, the button controls are easy to use, so it’s not a deal breaker. They come with a great carrying bag, ear plugs (if you don’t want to hear the world around you, you can use the earplugs to intensify to the volume of the Trekz Air.) and a charging cord. They also have a great warranty, return and exchange policy. There also arrived super quickly, I have been able to use them for a few weeks before the review, giving me the opportunity to get used to them and form an opinion.

These are by far the best headphones I have ever had and I don’t think I can go back to earbuds. I would definitely recommend these to anyone!

Ranger review: Morsel Spork at Trout Lake Campground.

**Campground Review: **

Trout lake campground is certainly off the beaten path. The road to get there is dirt and gravel. It is uneven with a lot of potholes, also very narrow and no room for others to pass. Super sketchy in my Kia Soul. The drive there is nice, as you go up in to the mountains, great views. Once you get to the campground it is super small with only five sites. pretty popular for boats. the sites are great, well shaded. My favorite site was 5 as it was big, but also right behind the main access to the dock. The dock was flooded this time. Make sure you have everything you need, its a far drive from any store. The lake is good for fishing. The vault toilets are well maintained. Pack out your trash. bring your own water. 

**Product Review: **

https://morselspork.com/

As a Ranger for the Dyrt, sometimes I get to test cool products in the field. Today I tested the Morsel Spork. I love these things! I was able to get a regular and an xl and test them both, My favorite is the smaller one, because its easier to wield. I can see the benefits of the big xl large one if you have those hard to reach bagged food items but in retrospect it just wasn't for me. They are both lightweight, have the serrated edge, flexible edge on the spoon, and they are both just cool. I love the idea of sporks and Morsel Spork put a lot of thought in their design. I love the materiel, nice and sturdy. It's earned it's way in to my camp back and I'm excited to have them