Best Tent Camping near Manson, WA

Tent campsites around Manson, Washington range from established campgrounds to primitive backcountry sites, with several options along Lake Chelan and in the surrounding mountains. Antilon Lake Campground, located directly in Manson, offers drive-in tent sites with basic amenities including vault toilets and picnic tables. Other nearby options include Lake Chelan State Park Campground, approximately 10 miles south, which features walk-in tent sites along the lakeshore with more developed facilities.

Most primitive tent areas require campers to pack in their own water, as drinking water is unavailable at many sites. Antilon Lake's tent sites are set on dusty, sandy soil that can become problematic during windy conditions. Fire rings are provided at most locations, though seasonal fire bans are common during summer months, particularly in July and August. A visitor commented, "Antilon Lake has plenty of spaces with sandy, dusty soil—not the best, not the worst." High-clearance vehicles are recommended for accessing more remote tent camping areas, as many access roads are unpaved with potholes and rough terrain.

Tent campers at Lake Chelan State Park benefit from lakeside sites with more privacy than the central grassy areas. A recent review noted, "The walk-in sites along the lake are amazing. The walk in on most of them is not much more than a normal site (down a few steps)." Early summer brings mosquitoes to many sites, particularly when wind dies down, making bug spray essential for comfortable tent camping. Sites at higher elevations typically offer cooler temperatures and fewer insects but may have limited shade. Backcountry tent camping options exist throughout the region, with boat-in sites available along Lake Chelan for those seeking more remote experiences. Most tent-only areas feature basic amenities like picnic tables and fire rings, with vault toilets at established campgrounds.

Best Tent Sites Near Manson, Washington (92)

    1. Lake Chelan State Park Campground

    24 Reviews
    Manson, WA
    2 miles
    Website
    +1 (888) 226-7688

    "This is a great park and a premium camping location on the popular Lake Chelan. A favorite location for west siders to escape the rain for some guaranteed sunshine in Central Washington."

    "We camped in the tent camping side towards the lake (site 89) and had a decent amount of privacy."

    2. Antilon Lake Campground

    9 Reviews
    Manson, WA
    6 miles
    Website
    +1 (509) 682-2576

    "I had heard from the ranger that things could get wild, but it wasn’t too bad. The dirt road is long with curves, and can get bumpy at times."

    "Tons of wildlife, wild flowers, hiking trails and all around good views. If you're looking to avoid the crowds I would advise going in the middle of the week to atleast claim your site!"

    3. Mitchell Creek Campground

    3 Reviews
    Manson, WA
    6 miles
    Website
    +1 (509) 682-2576

    "One of the many awesome boat up National Forest Service campgrounds along Lake Chelan. Gorgeous lake front spots, with firepits, picnic tables, and pit toilets. Creek is near the campground."

    "the restrooms are a short walk; spare, but usually quite clean. nice dock facility, but secure your bumpers well due to passing boat wakes."

    4. Snowberry Bowl Campground

    2 Reviews
    Manson, WA
    8 miles
    Website

    "Awesome National Forest Service campground, just 3-4 miles above 25-Mile State Park on Lake Chelan. Lots of shade and great trees for hammocks."

    5. Windy Camp Campground

    2 Reviews
    Manson, WA
    8 miles
    Website
    +1 (509) 682-2576

    6. Deer Point Campground

    1 Review
    Manson, WA
    12 miles
    Website
    +1 (509) 682-2576

    "One of the many awesome boat up National Forest Service campgrounds along Lake Chelan. Nice lake front spots, with firepits, picnic tables, and pit toilets."

    7. Safety Harbor Campground

    2 Reviews
    Manson, WA
    15 miles
    Website
    +1 (509) 682-2576

    "One of the many awesome boat up National Forest Service campgrounds along Lake Chelan. Nice shady spots, with firepits, picnic tables, and pit toilets. One CCC type shelter available, too."

    8. South Navarre Campground

    1 Review
    Carlton, WA
    18 miles
    Website
    +1 (509) 682-2576

    "This is one of my favorite places to get away from it all but still be connected. Limited cell service with Verizon. Great campsites! Plenty of space between and large area to enjoy."

    9. Poison Creek Campground

    1 Review
    Methow, WA
    13 miles
    Website
    +1 (509) 682-4900

    10. Goose Creek Campground

    4 Reviews
    Ardenvoir, WA
    23 miles
    Website
    +1 (509) 763-3103

    $18 - $28 / night

    "Stopped to check out Goose Creek Campground which was pretty much empty when we got there, but had loads of trash left behind by previous campers."

    "Campground caters to atv riders with trails and large sites with extra parking."

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Tent Camping Reviews near Manson, WA

638 Reviews of 92 Manson Campgrounds


  • Lee D.The Dyrt PRO User
    Nov. 19, 2023

    Pearrygin Lake State Park Campground

    Lake and mountains!

    General: A variety of different campsites in two sections ranging from economy to basic to popular, with and without hookups, and priced according to peak or non-peak season. There are also three cabins and two group camp areas. 

    Site Quality: We are happy we were able to book a basic tent site with our campervan (there were more than a few others with RVs in these sites). Parking was on grass and not completely level, but we made it work. Each site had a picnic table and fire ring (although there was a fire ban in effect when we were there). The sites with utilities had paved camper pads. 

    Bath/Shower house: Clean with soap and air dryers. The showers are free but you are asked to not use more than three button pushes. My shower in the afternoon was completely COLD and I am not sure if it was the time of day, the particular shower, or user error. My husband’s shower got hot midway through. 

    Activities/Amenities: All things water-based including jet skis, water skiing, kayaking, SUP, and fishing. There is also a boat wash. There are also numerous trails used for hiking, running, and mountain biking. Other activities include volleyball and horseshoes.

    Despite my cold shower and the fact that state parks are becoming increasingly pricy (with reservation and out-of-state fees, we paid $ 77 for two nights for a tent site), we enjoyed our stay here.

  • Cinco D.
    Jul. 21, 2020

    Lincoln Rock State Park Campground

    Great and Busy

    This is a great state park to set up camp. It is always very busy. The sites are relatively spread out. There are two different sections for camping: an upper and lower. To me, the lower section doesn’t seem as nice. It has more trees, but the camp spots seem to be closer together. Likewise, the lower section just feels a little more rough than the upper section. The views are spectacular. There is a boat launch, and a swimming area. Furthermore, there is also a small store, and a mini-mart across the street. What makes this place great is the actual camp sites. They are huge. What makes it difficult for tent camping is there are a ton of sprinklers that turn on frequently. It is important to watch where you stake down your tent. For this trip, we brought our RV and a tent. During the summer, the temperatures during the daytime are hot! Luckily each site is equipped with water and electricity. There is no WiFi, but the cell service is outstanding.

  • Alexandra F.
    Aug. 20, 2022

    Ankeny #1

    Nice, clean, free spot near water

    This place has a vault toilet and small boat launch by way of amenities. No tap, no garbage disposal so make sure to pack in your water and pack out your trash! The water is calm enough to swim here and doesn't get too deep, so could be nice for kids. The wind can get EXTREME at night so stake down your tent and don't leave anything out at night if you want to see it in the morning. Also heard from a local that rattlesnakes like to visit. Enjoy!

  • Jayda R.
    Jul. 23, 2017

    Bridge Creek Campground

    A hop, skip, jump from Leavenworth...

    We didn't get to camp right next to the water (unfortunately) as all of those spaces were full (for obvious reason). We were able to find a spot just on the other side of the bridge, which was a short walk to the creek. We ended up unhooking our tent-trailer to fit in the site, but there was lots of room and level ground to have set-up a tent elsewhere on the site (it just wasn't accessible with our tent trailer). Gorgeous surroundings, the sound of the rushing water lulled us right to sleep at night.

    Vault toilet and potable water.

  • Carol S.
    May. 26, 2022

    Eightmile Campground

    Small sites and no privacy

    This campground is better suited for tents, not RVs or camper vans. Many of the sites are small and lack privacy, especially those in the west end. We reserved on line and there was no notice that sites 30 and 31 share the vehicle space! Since we were camping in a van, we felt like we were in an ordinary parking lot and not camping. Two strange vehicles parked immediately next two us the whole time. There were some other shared parking sites too. Ok for tent camping because you can tent away from the parking area, but not ok for vehicles. 

    In addition, people kept walking through our site (and we watched them walk through other occupied sites). One day, my hubby wasn't feeling well, so we took a nap only to be woken by our dog growling because a man and women were peering into the side window of our van! WTH! Numerous people walked through through our site even though the end was a restoration area clearly marked to stay off of, but people walked through it anyway. And, then there were the young men playing football in our site. Oh, and the dogs not on leashes. One knocked me over when it jumped on me from the bushes as I was heading to the restroom at night. 

    The only good thing was that the vault toilet was the cleanest ever vault toilet. No odors!! Kudos to the guy who cleans it!

  • Cass C.
    Aug. 29, 2020

    Alta Lake State Park Campground

    Beautiful views, zero privacy

    The campground is beautiful. Because of the fire that destroyed the campground, there is next to no privacy on each campsite.

    Pros: -Stars were incredible- we saw the milky-way and a few shooting starts -clean flushable bathrooms -views, access to hikes -cool lake to swim in -cellphone service (although we opted to put our phones in airplane mode to unplug) -family friendly

    Cons: -noise: during quiet hours there was zero enforcement of quiet time. We had a camp next to us partying until 1am and another group up at 6am putting up a canopy and being incredibly loud -no privacy at campsites -there is a fire ban, so if you are hoping for s’mores make sure to bring a propane stove (not a con for us, but may be for others) -bees: there were so many bees. If you are allergic I recommend staying away. We had a screened in canopy and still managed to get several inside -not a ton of shade, mostly because of precious fires

  • Carrie J.
    Aug. 30, 2016

    Foggy Dew Campground

    Cheap site, great hiking

    This is a small campground so you don't have to worry about too many people disturbing you. There are 12 sites available at this campground and each has a fire ring. Several of the sites are located along the creek. It's so peaceful to sit next to your campfire and hear both the crackling of the fire and the bubbling flow of the creek. Definitely some nice sounds to fall asleep to! There are also picnic tables at the site, so don't worry about bringing camp chairs unless that's your style.

    I believe there is some RV access but I much prefer to tent camp so that's generally all that I pay attention to.

    There are vault/pit toilets here which is a plus considering you're so far in the middle of nowhere. Great hiking is right outside your tent!

  • Garrett T.
    Jun. 5, 2019

    Nason Creek Campground

    Amazing campground near lots of stuff

    It was an amazing campground a lovely host and spacious okay privacy sites,ours was right on the river it was huge could fit lots of tents and hammocks a picnic table big enough for 4-6 people and there was also a connecting site making it pretty big,huge fire ring,and so close to the river(by the way this was a walk in)there is not a lot of space for a trailer here but right down the road less then 3 minutes is lake Wenatchee and they have a huge state park but this place was way better so much wind down there and NO privacy NONE but Nason creek VERY GOOD

  • Savannah M.
    Aug. 14, 2018

    Wapato Lake Campground

    Experience Chelan Without Fighting the Crowds!

    This is one of the most amazing campgrounds I’ve ever visited. It doesn’t look like much but it boasts waterfront tent camping and the showers and bathrooms are always clean and stocked. Sites are relatively small but big enough for two tents, their picnic table, fire pit, and some camping chairs. With two docks for fishing and floating as well as the adjascent boat launch, you’ll be able to play with all your water toys on Wapato Lake! I would highly recommend staying here if you want to visit the Chelan area without camping in downtown proper.


Guide to Manson

Tent camping spots around Manson, Washington range from lakefront sites to mountain settings at elevations between 1,100-4,000 feet. Summer temperatures regularly reach the high 90s from July through August, creating challenging conditions for campers without shade. Most dispersed camping areas require Northwest Forest Pass permits, available at ranger stations in Chelan for $5 daily or $30 annually.

What to do

Fishing opportunities: Antilon Lake Campground provides decent fishing for various species with minimal equipment. "The brown trout I grilled was good, too!" notes a camper who visited in spring 2023. Another visitor caught "sun fish, crappie, and brown trout" while bank fishing from dispersed campground "A".

Water recreation: At Lake Chelan State Park Campground, visitors can rent equipment for water activities. "Amazing dock system and access to the lake, great day use area where you can rent kayaks and paddleboards," according to a recent visitor. The park features extensive dock facilities with rental options during peak season.

Mountain biking: The forest roads near South Navarre Campground offer miles of trails accessible directly from campsites. "Miles of trail to enjoy from the site," reports one reviewer, making it popular for cyclists seeking backcountry routes. The access road requires high-clearance vehicles with good tires.

Wildlife viewing: Early mornings at Mitchell Creek provide opportunities to spot deer, various bird species, and occasional fox sightings. "Loved it! Lots of boat parking with breakwater," shares one camper who spent time observing wildlife from their lakeside site.

What campers like

Lakeside access: The best tent camping near Manson, Washington often includes direct water access. "The walk-in sites along the lake are amazing. The walk in on most of them is not much more than a normal site (down a few steps)," mentions a camper about Lake Chelan State Park.

Privacy options: Mitchell Creek Campground offers secluded tent sites separated by natural vegetation. "Camped here last weekend. Loved it! Lots of boat parking with breakwater. Pit toilet was very clean," notes a reviewer who appreciated the site layout.

Swimming areas: Safety Harbor features designated swimming areas with gradually sloping shorelines. "Great swimming area!" says one visitor who appreciated the clean beach access and shallow entry points perfect for families.

Cost savings: Many tent campers appreciate the free dispersed options like Antilon Lake Campground, where campers can find lakeside sites without fees. "If you're looking to enjoy chelan but avoid the town, antilon is just the place! Extremely peaceful. Tons of wildlife, wild flowers, hiking trails and all around good views," writes a reviewer.

What you should know

Road conditions: Access to remote tent sites often requires appropriate vehicles. "Travel is best in a high clearance vehicle with good tires. It's a long drive on a dirt mountain road. NOT for trailers," warns a camper about South Navarre Campground.

Seasonal challenges: Summer brings insects to many camping locations. "BRING BUG SPRAY!!! After setting up our tent and bunking down for the night we found probably 100 mosquitoes INSIDE of the tent," cautions one Antilon Lake visitor. Most tent campers recommend late spring or early fall to avoid peak mosquito season.

Facilities limitations: Most primitive tent sites have minimal amenities. "No creek nearby, so be sure to have enough fresh water or pull from lake. Bring a water purifying device," advises a camper about Deer Point. Water filtration equipment is essential for tent camping at most sites outside established state parks.

Weekend crowds: Goose Creek Campground and other accessible locations fill quickly on weekends. "This campground is also super popular for dirt bikers, so if you don't bike and are looking for a quiet campsite, this isn't it," notes one reviewer. Weekday arrivals significantly improve site selection.

Tips for camping with families

Water safety precautions: Families at Lake Chelan State Park should note dock conditions. "There is also a loop at the other end of the park that is more standard drive in sites. The water sites you park at the top and carry your things down to the site so be prepared for that," advises a parent who camped with children.

Playground access: Several campgrounds feature dedicated play areas. "There was also a nice playground for him to play on as well. We got one of the water sites so we had a nice veiw of the lake from our tent," mentions a parent who camped with a toddler at Lake Chelan State Park.

Wildlife protection: Secure food storage is essential with children. "Watch for the critters they are ruthless so cover ALL your dry goods!" warns a family camper at Lake Chelan State Park Campground, noting that small animals regularly search for accessible food.

Terrain considerations: Families with young children should evaluate site layouts carefully. "The walk-in sites along the lake are amazing. The walk in on most of them is not much more than a normal site (down a few steps)," notes a reviewer about Lake Chelan State Park's tent-specific areas.

Tips from RVers

Site selection: RV campers should research specific site dimensions. "Campground caters to atv riders with trails and large sites with extra parking," notes a visitor to Goose Creek Campground, one of the few areas that accommodates both tents and small RVs.

Dust management: Dry conditions create significant dust issues. "Passing cars would kick up the fine dust in the dirt lot RV/trailer sites," warns a camper at Goose Creek about the upper camping area conditions during summer months.

Services availability: Most tent camping areas near Manson lack hookups. "Large state park with everything you could possible need for a family camping weekend. Nice sites with lots of shade, showers, clean restrooms, swimming area, docks, beach front sites," explains a reviewer about the amenities at Lake Chelan State Park, one of the few locations with developed facilities.

Reservation requirements: Lake Chelan's prime RV sites book far in advance. "Beach front sites (reserve 9 months in advance!), RV sites with electricity and water hookups," advises an experienced camper about securing the most desirable locations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Manson, WA?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Manson, WA is Lake Chelan State Park Campground with a 4.5-star rating from 24 reviews.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Manson, WA?

TheDyrt.com has all 92 tent camping locations near Manson, WA, with real photos and reviews from campers.