Best RV Parks & Resorts near Metaline Falls, WA

The established campgrounds at East Sullivan and West Sullivan are typical well-maintained Forest Service campgrounds. The vault toilets are clean, the water pipes put out good water, and there is plenty of space between sites (though you can still expect to hear your neighbors). Because there are no water/RV hook-ups, the place tends to be a little quieter. 

The lake itself is amazing. Perfect temperature for swimming on a hot day, clean as glass, rocky/sandy bottom and no weeds. We kayaked about half-way up the East side and found a private picnic/beach and spent the day there swimming and reading.

KM and RPI rv resort, they do have a couple of designated tent sites, and 2 members-only cabins. Clubhouse is pretty much shut down, I guess you could say it has “long covid”, heh

Positioned in a fieldy expanse, these units are right next to the casino. You pass by a gas station as you exit the highway and there’s plenty of space between sites. There’s also an international car museum directly across the path from the RV park

Came up here to escape the 90+ degree heat.  Seemed like everything in the area was either booked or $70 per night, so I opted for mountain air rather than AC on my trailer.

Scenic 15 minute drive up from Sandpoint.  It's a paved two lane road with a number of switchbacks - I think even larger rigs should be fine as the hairpins were pretty wide.  Fire station and RV parking is located to the left of a large roundabout with a green Schweitzer sign.  Big gravel lot with space for dozens of rigs.  You shouldn't have trouble finding space.  There's a restroom and a number of garbage dumpsters you can use.

Per the website, you're allowed to camp there for three days.  Didn't appear to be any check-in process or anything, you can just pull up and park.

There's some road noise with a number of trucks driving by, but hey, it's a free place to camp for a few days.  Nice of them to offer this.

This campground is amazing!

 It is a small campground right next to the Boundary Dam and thanks to Seattle City Power is absolutely FREE! It just went through a major overhaul so everything is new and well maintained.  Lots of history here including the filming of The Postman.

They provide you with great amenities like full flush bathrooms, extensive day use facilities, Boat launch and dock, Water and trash. It has 22 sites(3 of which are ADA) and 12 RV sites. There are no hookups for the RV's. Each site has a fire pit picnic table and gravel tent pads.

There are many things to do here like check out the Peewee falls which is only viewable by water or take the free dam tour! A short drive away is the Gardner Caves which offers free guided tours if you have a discovery pass. Metaline Falls is also a short drive away in which there are a few eateries and even a movie theater.

Overall it is a great place to camp and boat, my only fault would be the 6 day limit! 

I highly recommend checking this place out if you have a chance.

Blue Lake is a nice enough campground, but I wouldn’t call it a resort. It has a mix of sites, some full hookup pull through that are all side by side without much space, and some more nicely spaced water and electric sites amongst the trees. We stayed in a tree’d site (J3) which we liked. The bathrooms are ok, there is a wine and beer bar ( which I did not visit) and a small pond for fishing. I would stay here again.

Campsite 36 in the Pine loop is just a short walk away from a lovely lake beach that has fire pits and picnic tables. The campsite itself is very nice, large, shaded, with a decent distance from neighboring campers as far as campgrounds go. I didn't do what I usually do and walk around the campground to see what the best site is to book during future visits, but I have zero complaints about this site. We really enjoyed our stay at Lake Sullivan and our excursions to Metaline Falls, Gardner Cave, Peewee Falls, Mill Pond Historic Site, and Crescent Lake.

I would have given it 4 stars about 5 years ago when we first stayed as it seemed a lot friendlier staff willing to please their customers but I'm not sure if it was sold since then but I had to give it only 2 stars this time because the negatives outweighed the positives. Pros: Friendly staff that helps you park if you need it. Location is fairly close to the town of Bonners Ferry and Sandpoint so you are never too far from civilization. Although I've never used it, they do have wine in the evenings for their guests...not sure if they charge or not. They also sell wood and when we were there 5 years ago, they delivered it to our site. Also, the site we stayed in that time was not full hook ups and the staff still helped us dump without having to move our rig. Cons: Everything everyone says about the pot holes, dirt road, train noise and turn off from the 95 is spot on. The one thing I didn't hear anyone mention is the noise from the 95 of cars that can be as loud as the constant train passing in the middle of the night. So, quiet and serene is not a good description. The"lake" although which can be fun for small kids fishing and maybe paddle boating, is more of a large pond that is dark and gloomy like and so when you first see it, you might be disappointed at it being called a lake. Although friendly, I didn't find it as hospitable as it used to be when we were first there five years ago and you get the distinct feeling that they are barely surviving as they will not do anything extra to refund or make things whole if you experience is not up to par. Here is why: We were charged half of the amount to reserve the spot we wanted and in order to keep a particular spot you pick, you have to pay a little extra to reserve it or you can still risk having them move you to a different spot if they want to. That's a first. It's true they can't control the weather and I don't really blame them for that, but good vacation industries will go out of their way to keep their customers happy when things are not up to par. We paid for six days and with the stifling heat, along with the fires that were in the area, we were smoked out and weren't told that campfires were restricted per an ordinance they were given before we made the trip there. The entire camping experience was ruined because the only choice we had to not to feel choked out was to stay indoors in the RV. We only stayed one night since this was miserable and decided to leave the next day. When we got home we received an email requesting our input of our stay and we told them a partial refund would have been nice since accommodations were not up to standards. Instead, we were told that in order for them to stay in business and because they have few drop ins, they have to take 50% deposits up front. This seems fair but we paid for the entire week, so it seems to me that in good faith and good customer service, 50% or even some refund at all would have kept us coming back despite the cons. They also claimed that charging 50% is better than some places that want all the money upfront when you book. We have been RVing for years in this area and there are much better places to go that do not do this I'm not really sure why they asked us for our input in the first place. Anyway, as a result we won't be back.

Please do your due diligence in this area. This is the ONLY park for the whole county as well as the parks and recreation (soccer, baseball, tennis, etc). Being mindful to local families by not parking sideways along the fence line and do not block the business in the log cabin. I think train noise is the least of your worries as the summer this area is where ALL of the events take place. This is not an area where locals want free camping as it has caused lots of issues. Let me say it again, there are many campsites in the area including North Haven Campground up the road ($35 a night for full hookups) that welcome you. This area does not welcome you. Please stay away.

Lionhead is by far my favorite campground of hundreds I’ve been to. it’s designed more for tent camping of very small rv’s such as truck campers or tent trailers. There are numerous trails to explore and the beach is beautiful white sand with crystal clear water. Indian Creek is also nice and has a store with everything you could need and ice cream by the scoop. Indian Creek also has full and partial hookup sites - free hot showers- and boat slips to rent.

We had a campground all to ourselves in early April. It is full of birds and waterfowl. Rocky cliff side down to the lake. In April the water levels are low for flood control. Beautiful sunsets, the site's are large and the road is good.

There are large sites for trucks, trailers. Tent camping is nice in the upper loop, but nothe a lot of shade in the lower loop. $9 in off season and $18 in peak.

Bathrooms were clean and had toilet paper. The walking tour at this campground is also nice. Full of history.

Campground Review:

https://www.seattle.gov/light/Boundary/recreation.asp

Usually I would stay away from campgrounds like Boundry Dam Campground, also known as Forebay Recreation Area. A Free Campground from the Seattle City Lights Project. This place was beautiful and I will be back. 

While I didn't realize it until after I had set up camp, site #22 is the best in the campground and also one of three ADA sites. Since there were few others camping, I now see why it was available.They are unmarked and the only thing telling you this is on a board next to the bathrooms, Site 11,13 and 22 were mentioned as ADA on the board, however the entire campground is ADA accessible except the sites 1-4 which are very close together and tent only sites.  The RV sites are also close together.

Site 22 is backed up to the forest, and the most private site in the campground, there is only 1 site next to you and both of these sites are walk in. You park and then carry your gear in. I found this strange for an ADA site. It isn't a far walk and it is very well paved. 

Each site has a fire ring and picnic table. There are large and small day use areas along the river side, unfortunately only sites 1-5 are on the water, the rest have a water view, but its more like a parking lot. 

The bathrooms are updated, very clean, flush toilets. No showers. They have water spigots close to the sites and they have a lot of power. The landscape was too commercial, I would have preferred if they left the land as it was instead of adding bark chips and planting flowers. Its going to be difficult to keep those growing and maintained. 

The fishing dock was also new, sturdy and a beautiful spot for pictures. I have heard, and if you see the reviews under this, there is a waterfall, about a mile away from the dock in the river. Unfortunately I don't have a vessel so was not able to see this first hand. The water was pretty warm, compared to other places in the area. Saw tons of kayaks head out from this point. The waterfall is accessible by water only at this point, however, they are building trailheads, with parking lots and restrooms on the Eastern ridge to provide viewpoints of the waterfall and canyon by 2020. 

Cool fact, this is in the town of Metaline Falls, Washington. The Dam and the town are a features in the Kevin Costner film, The Postman.

There is also  FREE Dam tours Thursday-Monday (so don't show up on a Tuesday like us!) They are offered at 10:30am, 12:00pm, 2:00pm and 4:00pm, I will be back very soon to take advantage of this. Its a Hydro Electric Dam and it goes through a Limestone cave! 

Just up the Road is a Gardner Caves- Crawford State Park, Garner Caves offers tours of the cave at 10:00am,12:00pm, 2:00pm and 4:00pm. This tour you need a discover pass for. Again, I showed up on Monday evening and was unable to do the cave tour this time, however, I have done Gardner caves and that is super neat! 

If you are exploring the upper side of Eastern Washington, or going to Canada, I highly recommend camping, boating and exploring this area. 

Ranger Review: Grubstick Deluxe kit

https://grubstick.com/products/deluxe-kit

As a Ranger for the Dyrt, sometimes I get awesome camping gear, in exchange for a honest review. Today I am reviewing the Grubstick. The Grubstick is a pretty neat camping cook tool. It has a long extendable handle to keep you and yours safe. It also has along several attachments, so you can become a hit with the kids and really inventive with your camp recipes. This camp trip was an adventure and to keep it easy, we roasted some hot dogs for lunch on the second day. 

First, I had the opportunity to get the starter kit and the Deluxe kit. Both pictured here. The Starter kit comes with a Handle, A grub cage (square cage for roasting smore's, fruit, or anything that will fit.) A fork to roast hotdog's and a release tool to open the cage. Its pretty basic but again, pretty great considering your options to cook on this are endless. 

The deluxe kit comes with all of that plus, an extra handle, and additional fork, a burgcage, a Grub Pocket to make bacon cups, bread bowls, etc, A Grubtube for making breadsticks, and a bacon clip! 

I feel like these are meant for quality food. The cheap hot dogs I had, split down the center seconds after exposing them to the fire, making it hard to turn the stick with out the hot dogs also turning, and trying to slide off the stick, so they were not getting evenly cooked. Again, not a testament to the Grubstick at all. I love the idea of it, it just didn't work right with the cheap hot dogs. I am super excited to try them in the future and use the other attachments. They shipped very quickly and they are made of high quality materials, They also came in great carry bags. I actually only brought the grubstick with me instead of my large bulky camp stove, while that would have been a nice idea, always bring a back up- in case there is a sudden torrential downpour that makes it so you cannot have a campfire. 

All in all, very cool tool, I can see using these on family camp trips with the kids and making smores. Brats or polish sausage would work better than hot dogs on the fork.

Ranger Review: GCI Outdoor Recliner chair at North Gorge Campground

Campground review:

North Gorge is a sleepy little place. Small campground with a small boat launch. There isn't a lot of parking so beware if you bring your truck and trailer here. The sites are small, seemed to be a decent amount of space between them. Vault toilets, well maintained. each site has your standard picnic table, and fire ring. There was a burn ban in August, no fires for us. They actually zip tied no fire signs to each fire pit. There are only a few sites, most for tent camping only, however there are a few that will fit a trailer or rv. It is $9 in the off season Nov 1st to May 30th, and $18 in the peak season

**Product review: **

**https://www.gcioutdoor.com/folding-recliners/outdoor-recliner/
**

As a Ranger for the Dyrt, sometime I get to test out awesome products in exchange for an honest review. The GCI outdoor Recliner is well built with quality materials. It is easy to slide in and out of the large storage back. easy to set up and take down. I love the mesh back, it helps to keep you cool in those hot summer days. The chair has 3 reclining positions and my favorite part was reclining the chair all the way to look at the stars, it gives the perfect angle. I also love the storage pocket on the back. just fold up the storage bag and put it in the pocket for a pillow. It has a cup holder, but I wasn't a big fan of the placement. I give this chair an 8/10.

We stayed here with our 21’ travel trailer. There are no hookups so we brought a our generator and made sure we had a full tank of water. The sites were far enough apart to provide some sense of separation, which we liked. The paved parking was quite small for the “max vehicle length” rating. This left us using every in of pavement we had. Access to the water is limited to the boat launch and there isn’t much of a water play area. The little store at the boat launch was nice, and the person working there was friendly. We also, utilized the free event dump on our way out, which was convenient located.

All of the Lake Roosevelt campgrounds have such great history and scenery. The Columbia River lake area has so much history of Kettle falls. In the spring the levels of the lake are low and you can take several walking tours of the ruins. This is a quiet campground with not a ton of lake views in the spring. The water level is too low. I'm sure it's great in the summer. In the off season it is only $9 a night and the campgrounds are empty. I'm sure they are busy in the summer season when it goes up to $18 a night. The bathrooms have been clean each time I go.

This is one of many Park Service CGs on Lake Roosevelt. There is a day use area, group camp, and marina all down the road from CG. Your experience will depend on time of day, season, crowding, site, etc. We stayed 10 days after arriving in area & finding everything else full. We had to move mid-way into visit from site 39 loop 2 to 70 loop 3. Camp host told me 39 was best site in CG - it was, though I got it by accident for 5 days without realizing. 70 was only average. 39 is huge lakefront sandy site. Host this summer was amazing & helpful. Sites near entrance to loops were more unlevel. This year all loops are reservation only. During day in week its quiet & emptier, & fills & louder till 10pm. Weekends very busy! Sites are all paved & most are small yet many RVs are huge (& people bring boats & large trucks) making driving thru loops hard on weekends. There were LOTS of kids on weekends. Interior sites are shaded (low solar collection). The road runs near each site so every diesel truck is near your camper window & every person walking by is near your site/window (this was a virus concern on 70 especially weekends). I could hear the paper mill - not an issue in RV - would be a issue in tent. There were many generators at all times and since it's a loop it can sound like you are surrounded by generators at busy times.