Best Equestrian Camping near Mercer Island, WA

What a beautiful place! The campground is in 500+ acre Tolt-McDonald Park, far enough away from any busy road so that there is no traffic noise, just the sound of the Tolt River rapids. All the RV sites are drive-through, with water and 20, 30, and 50-Amp service. (There is a privately-run RV dump on the way to the park.) The sites are wide because of the driveway. No trees between sites, but some bushes between sites offer some privacy for the back half of the sites. The 17 RV sites are around a huge lawn, with the restroom building at one end, and a path down the middle that is part of a long, level, paved bike/walking trail. There is a shower in each restroom, so the whole building is heated (which was really nice, since the lows were in the 30s in April, 2022) Access to both rivers is at the South end of the RV loop. There are tent-only sites to the North, and also yurts and more tent sites across a picturesque foot bridge over the Snoqualmie River. There are carts available to roll your stuff over the footbridge.

Langley is a great little town. I don’t know why they haven’t done more to develop the campground- all sites are first-come-first served. They did repair the electrical system this year and just reopened. It’s at the fairgrounds on the edge of town, there’s a largely unlandscaped grass field with electrical boxes & (some) water connections. There is a dump out on site and potable water. There are accessible bathrooms and showers nearby. The campground is on a hill above the horse barn and arena, very convenient to the town of Langley, which is delightful. No camp host available, nobody you can call for assistance. Because the campground just reopened, we were the only ones camped most of the 6 days we were here. I love Langley but they are not as tourist-driven as many towns which have campgrounds like this.

This place is great if you plan to spend most of your time on the river, or trails, but not so much on at your site.  The lots for most tents/trailers and RVs are pretty close together, not a ton of privacy.

On the plus side the river is beautiful, mostly slow, and shallow, and pretty clear.  BUT BRING A LIFE JACKET, accidents happen all the time on this river and I wouldn't put my kids in with out a life jacket. 

There are some cool yurts, cabins and platforms for tents on the other side of the river and plenty of hiking. Trails go along the water, and up into the woods behind the campground.  As of now it is clear cut once you get over the ridge.  This is sad in one breath, but gorgeous in very next.  There is wildlife in the area so come prepared (black bears, bobcats, coyotes). 

Overall a great place, but like most western Washington campgrounds it's better in good weather by a significant margin.  It may flood in the winter, and when it's rainy it's pretty soggy.

Carnation is a neat small town that the park is at the very edge of.  Plenty of options for groceries and laundry.

Located on the east side of the Olympic Peninsula, Collins campground is a bit off the beaten path, which was what I was looking for during peak season in August.

The Duckabash river runs along most of the sites. There is a good amount of space between most campsites. Each one has a fire ring and picnic table. I was there the fire season, and while it was hard to escape the smoke pretty much anywhere in Washington, it was as bad at Collins.

I didnt see a campground host while I was there, Im not sure if they usually have one. Most campgrounds in the area were very full and quite busy, so I was very grateful to have found Collins . It Wass quiet and the few campers there were kind, quiet, and kept to themselves.

When driving to the campground on Duckabash road you will pass a cabin on your left side right before the paved road turns to gravel. Apparently that is the oldest structure built on on the peninsula. I thought that was pretty cool!

There are some great trails in the area as well. The Duckabash trailhead is a short drive from the campground and took two great hikes there during my stay. I hiked up river and found a lovely swimming hole, frigid, but beautiful.

I also found a great blackberry patch off the 101 which was so great having while I camped, hiked and in my morning yogurt :)

Cant wait to go back and explore more in the area!

Disclaimer: the road from highway 101 to the campground has SO MANY potholes. Big ones that we had to navigate in our RV but nothing that made it too hard to access the campground.

There are 15 sites and most are along a river with private access from your campsite. We loved staying here! There is a lot of privacy between each site too.

Bathrooms are very limited (just 2 outhouses) and obviously no hook ups.

There is a hike with a trailhead 2 miles from the campsite. We walked there and it was a milder way walk uphill to the trail head and then the .8 mile hike heads to a pretty waterfall which you can walk behind.