Best Glamping near Morton, WA

I have camped here a number of times over the years. This is a nice woodsy campground just south of Olympia, WA located on Deep lake. It has a very old growth forest feel to it. This campground offers many activities: hiking trails, fitness trails,fishing, boat rental, and even a concession stand. The fishing is good for trout,bass, and sun fish. This park offers both hookup and non utility tent sites as well as glamping tents.

Cons: most of the hookup sites are in a field with zero privacy but there are a few that are much better like the last spot I stayed at.

The primitive sites are better but the roads are quite narrow with limited access for RV's.

The "Glamping tents"are very nice but crazy expensive at over $300 a night. Like most of the State Parks reservations book up quickly so it pays to plan ahead

Pros: fishing is pretty good even from shore. The day use area is great but pretty rustic. Lots of trails to hike but not as well marked as I would expect. Really close to Seattle so it is ideal for a weekend getaway Friday after work.

Beautiful spot, though tightly packed and crowded/noisy. We stayed in spot 59 on a Saturday night. It was rainy and the fire pit area had plenty of puddles. Lots of folks came in later in the evening with multiple cars and sat out talking; plenty of them packed up and left before 8 am. We walked the fen trail, which was spooky and different from our home of Colorado! Reservations needed. There are also glamping cabins. Nice clean bathrooms with flush toilets, water available at multiple locations, showers available with tokens.

This is a very nice, typical Washington state park with plenty of trees, greenery, hiking, pathways and even a lake. There's a camp store along with several large outdoor kitchens that would be good to use for groups. Many of the structures like the kitchens and even bathrooms were built back in the 1930s by the CCC, which is pretty cool. It's just far enough off I-5 to not have the freeway noise, but close enough to be convenient. It's also nearby to Great Wolf Lodge if you're looking for a place to stay near there.

On the other hand, the RV sites especially are basically in a big field with a cement road going around it. The sites have tables and fire pits, but no privacy what-so-ever. The tent sites are slightly better, with more trees, but still very close to one another.

The campground also has glamping available (canvas permanent tents) that looked cool.

They have glamping! Or as the campground calls it: pampered camping. This is a beautiful park located on Deep Lake just outside of Olympia.  The park itself is huge offering lots of options for campers.  Super easy to get our trailer in and out of the spaces and there was lots of extra parking for our larger group.  A quick walk around the grounds offered a nice hike and showed us some pretty awesome sites Id like to stay at in the future.  They are on a progressive price, meaning depending on the site is what your price will be.

The canvas tent option was one I didn’t know about until I got there.  The tents are cabin shaped and have a few chairs and BBQ grill outside it.  Great option for families.

The park also offers a cottage right next to the lake.  This is a nice alternative to traditional camping.  One thing that was great about the park was the various kitchens around the grounds.  This offers a great way for larger groups to have a set space for meals.

Wonderful stay! Gracious, welcoming hosts! Privacy! Turn key camping! Farm Animals! Clean! Proximity to Portland! This place is great!

The Details: This was our first glamping trip and we booked via Tentrr. Our site had a large canvas tent with all the comforts of home: queen bed, heater, water, seating, a desk, WiFi, and even a front porch with two Adirondack chairs. We also added a second tent (large dome tent) for our friends and their two kids to stay in.

There is an awesome, covered kitchen area with three burner propane stove, kitchen sink, prep station, picnic table, food storage bin, soap and hand sanitizer, and more. We brought our camping supplies for cooking, and didn’t need most of them.

The fire area was one of our favorite areas. Lots of seating, bev holders, firewood and tools (Hatcher, fire starter etc), and even a citronella plant. We didn’t see a single mosquito while we were there.

The Loo is amazing! SUPER clean and creative. It has a clean and non-smelly compostable toilet, hand washing area, and very creative/useful shower. The shower worked so well and was unexpected!

For kids: you’re basically camping next to a pet zoo! We had a farm tour by our wonderful hosts (Lisa and Bonnie). The kids got to feed alpacas, goats, ducks, and even Jack-Jack the donkey! This was the highlight for the kids! The kids also loved the playground on site too.

We got some great hiking in on the Lewis River too. About 15 minutes for our site are Moultain, Lucia, and Yacolt Creek Falls.

This was truly “turn key” camping. We appreciated the less time setting up and more time enjoying the outdoors that this place offers.

Definitely stay here! You’ll love it!

Great PNW experience minutes from Olympia!

Campground review: First off this is not a primitive experience by any means. However this is a really interesting state park that has something for EVERYONE. The campground itself is separated into 3 separate sections. There is a larger trailer loop down by the main entrance, standard tent camping and lastly "glamping" and yes you heard me right. This campground also boasts a beer garden AND a boat house with kayak and canoe rentals. If this is all sounding a little much I understand. Surprisely though the campground was almost completely filled when we were there and do to it being densely vegetated and how it's laid out. Our campsite was very private and spacious. The campground itself was very clean and well kept and rangers were on regular patrol. It was a great fun local escape for us and our kids loved it!! They also have a few trails but we did not check them out this visit. My only complaint would be the restrooms are few and far between for how large the campground is just know this before your visit. Happy Adventuring!

Gear Review:

HellaGood Belmont Blanket

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I occasionally get products to test- today I am testing the HellaGood Belmont Blanket. Right away I was surprised by how light weight and extra durable this blanket was. Easy to pack in a backpack and bring to the water front with us and made a great blanket to cozy up under after a few hours of paddling. It was also a great additional play space for our kids at our camp site. The bottom is waterproof and the top is a soft fleece like material so I didn't have to worry about washing it when we got home. In the past we have just brought a beach blanket camping but this is for sure our new go to! www.belmontblanket.com

This campground is about 20 minutes away from my parents place in Longview Wa. About 5 miles off of the freeway next to Silver Lake and the Mt Rainier Visitor Center. The campground is on the other side of the highway and you will need to drive to get to either location.

This is a pretty large campground, with spaces for RVs/ Trailers, tents and a loop of yurts called Yurt village. There are a few bathrooms and showers, all are ADA friendly.

My kids loved the addition of a playground. Many parks dont have this and it kept them entertained for hours. There is a bathroom and extra parking right next to the playground. They also host junior ranger programs during the summer. There are tons of trees reminiscent of Endor ;) and tons of places to hike. Trail entrances are clearly marked.

The yurt village was my favorite part about this campground. If you are camping with a large family this would be a perfect spot to try and rent all the spaces. you would essentially have your own bathroom, outdoor play area and there is a camp host dedicated solely to the yurts.

Bring bug spray, they werent too bad, but I am prone to mosquito bites and got hit.

I love Seaquest for their beautiful campsites and the proximity to a wonderful forest to bathe in. But don't go for the RV sites, which are laid out in a parking lot setting with no real distance from neighbors and not surrounded by trees. Unless that's your jam. It was definitely not ours, tent camping alongside some friends with a trailer who liked nothing more than to hang out at said trailer, and walk through the campground to look at other.. trailers. I don't think they even stepped foot in the 7+ miles of forest trails which is a few steps away. If you can step away from the hookups and get a real campsite off the RV pad, it is a stunning experience. Each site is surrounded by trees, creating privacy and serenity.  Another great option is the yurts. We stayed in Yurt 2 (the only pet friendly yurt) and loved it. 

For those with RV's, trailers, campers - look into the regular sites because I think some of them even have hookups and can accommodate most sizes. Just steer clear of RV sites T1-T16.

Love this Park! Under 2 hr drive from Portland. Big campground with large private sites. Also has yurt village separated from campground by day use area. Great place for families! Always quiet clean and family friendly!

Millersylvania is located South of Olympia on Deep Lake. The campsites are nice, they have both RV, Yurts, and Tent sites. The RV loop does pack you in their like sardines. Deep Lake is a murky lake but is stocked with fish and has designated swim area.

This is a great campground for families. They have bathroom facilities and an old school playground. We stayed in the yurt village, which was outstanding. The park staff works hard to keep this place clean. The Mt. St. Helens visitors center is a 10 minute walk from the campground. There is a wonderful ADA accessible 1 mile trail that goes through the wetlands.

It's a really pretty park. Very family friendly. The day use area is huge with a playground. Dry wooded sites. Stayed in a hookup spot with power and water. Pretty large spot and well kept. The full hookup spot are just a field. I hate that type spot, I prefer more privacy when I camp and the site I was in was really nice. The park is well laid out with a good mix of RV and tent sites plus yurts and a couple walkin sites. The restrooms are clean. They have pay showers. Over all it's a very nice place to camp and I would recommend it.

Campground Review:

I recently visited one of my favorite campgrounds with my family. Seaquest is at the base of Mt St Helens, right next to the Mt St Helens Visitor Center. They have tons of activities for kids and a great learning space about the volcano. At the campground, there are easy trails for kids to go on. The campground is surrounded by trees and wildlife. One thing I love about this space is the yurts are in their own area. We have yet to take advantage of reserving all the yurts at once for a family event, but I am excited for when we do. There is an amazing playground for the littles at the center of the campground. If you reserve a campsite around the playground, you can very easily sit at the fire, while being able to keep an eye on the littles.

Product Review

I also love how quiet and safe this campground is. I allow my littles to ride their bikes through this campground. Using the Midland X-Talkers with them makes communication so much easier! Each child, my husband, and I were able to have a radio. My girls were in love with their "camping phones". I was able to put their radios on their bikes very easily and by turning the volume up all the way, they were able to ride and listen. The radios have belt clips that held up during my run and my girls' bike rides. They also are small enough that they fit easily in a 6-year-olds pocket. I plan on making a clip for their bikes for easy holding on their handlebars. The range was tested to over five miles!! The only downside was the radios used 4 AAA batteries rather than having a rechargeable battery. However, so far, it seems like the battery life is really good, so I can't complain that much. We tested these with Midland radios one of my uncles has, and the radios were compatible with the X-Talkers so my young cousins could use them.

Overall, I am very impressed with the radios and look forward to using them for future trips.

https://midlandusa.com/product/x-talker-t20x4-walkie-talkie-four-pack/

Let me start off by saying - if there are so many campsites in Washington, why would you want to stay at the same place multiple times???

Ike Kinswa is the place I would stay at repeatedly. Between the incredibly helpful and friendly staff, to the private tent sites, to the water access, we’ve already stayed twice this summer!! So incredibly impressed with this gem!

One of my favorite campgrounds in Washington! Lots of camping spots right on Lake Mayfield with tons of trails in and around the campground. Private swimming areas are awesome for paddle boarding and kayaking. Also has its own boat launch which is great during the summer. Really quiet in the spring and fall which is my favorite time to go. Make sure to take one of the hikes north from the campground along the Tilton river, it's beautiful.

This campground is split into three loops; an RV loop, Mixed loop, and a predominantly tent loop. As with other Washington State Parks, the loop and camp spotseach have a different cost ranging from $20-$30+ a night. That is a major detraction to camping here. We stayed in #74 which was $25 a night in the popular season. The spot itself was very spacious with plenty of room for multiple tents and space to sit around the fire pit. There are several miles if hiking trails which would be rated as easy for most and would be a great intro to hiking for familys.

I gave this park a high rating primarily because of its location. It is a great place to launch your Mount Saint Helens exploration, with a Washington State Visitor Center you can walk to from the campground. We had hookups but our site was very close to the site next to us and we had no privacy there. If you don’t need hookups, I would recommend the loop that has 32 - 54. These were much more private and actually had better Wi-Fi than our location. Bathrooms are convenient and have free showers. There was better hot water at the bathroom on the loop with sites 32 - 54.

Just 20 minutes south of Olympia, WA you can pull off I-5 and pitch a tent beneath towering old growth Douglas Fir and Hemlock trees. This stunning state park reminds us both of the kinds of campgrounds we frequented as kids. 

Most of the campsites in the forest loops are small with limited parking and the narrow roads would not serve larger camper rigs. Our little 15 foot travel trailer made it in without any problem. The feeling of camping under the old-growth canopy is so classic Washington, but the solar gain is pretty minimal. Ironically, the electrical hookup sites, which more easily accommodate the big rigs, are out in a more cleared area where there would be solar gain for days. 

We camped on the closest loop to the full-hook up RV area and were able to get our solar suitcase out into the sunshine on its extension cord for a few hours. The bathrooms in the forest loops are pretty simple ranging from pit toilets to flush varieties with showers. There is a more modern bathroom facility with nicely clean and refreshing showers near the larger RV field. Things to do in this park are abundant. The water is super chill, shallow and warm. 

Only “cartop boats” are allowed in the lake, making it ideal for stand up paddle boards, small kayaking boats, inflatables, canoes, fishing dinghies and just swimming around.  Lightening storms in this part of the world are pretty rare, so very fun to see one over the lake while we were here.  The lake shore has some classic picnic shelters, built by the CCC, that are reservable, offer wood burning stoves, and lots of places to cook for a family get together. 

Hiking and trailing running in the park is wonderful, and with all the loops your efforts can range from 30 min strolls to half-day hikes. The trails are well mapped, and signed making it nearly impossible to get lost. 

Tumwater is about 10 miles away on country roads to the north, and Grand Mound is 10 or so miles to the south. Either of these communities provide the usual suburban supplies for groceries and restaurants. There are also some nearby convenience and general stores where you could pick up some ice and such. During the summer months the park has a small cafe and ice cream shop.

I strongly think that Washington State has the best places to camp and hike. The Pacific Northwest has a large array of amazing camp grounds and hikes, and I love it!! I recently wanted to hike within the Goat Rock area, and decided to stay at the Walupt Lake Campground so I could be closer to the trailhead. I left Friday evening after work and headed to the campground. There wasn't as many people as I expected, but the weather forecast was calling for some rain. I went in the beginning of September, so was bummed that I wasn't going to see the fall colors (usually the end of September-beginning of October is when this happens). The campground was great, and I was glad that I stayed here. Because we got here around 7:00pm, we really only pitched our tent and grabbed a quick bite to eat. I didn't tour the campground because it was already getting dark. We woke up early in the morning and headed to the Goat Rock Wilderness. We spent the entire day hiking (13 miles to be exact!). From the top of the hike we were able to see Mount Adams, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Rainier. It doesn't get any better than that!! I would highly recommend this campground if you are just looking to camp, but also if you have a hike you want to do in the area early in the morning. 

PRODUCT REVIEW: Amber 28 Gregory Pack

As a DYRT Ranger, I was able to test the Amber 28 Gregory Pack. I was pretty excited to get to test this pack, because I have a few other Gregory Packs and have been eyeing this pack for awhile. During my 13 mile hike I was able to test this pack. 

3 reasons why I love the Amber 28 Gregory Pack:

1. Comfortable- I love how comfortable and form fitting this pack is. I love packs that don't sit right on my shoulders. This pack gave a little room between by shoulder and the pack which is great! I like being able to carry the weight of the pack by my hips, and this pack allowed that.

2. The space and pockets- I appreciate a pack that allows me to pack multiple items (10 essentials!). The pack had plenty of room, and extra zipper pockets. I was able to utilize all the space in this pack, and it still didn't feel heavy.

3. Breath-ability- The back of this pack has a wire meshing and pads to help with the breath-ability. I do sweat a lot when I hike, so I like this component of the pack.

Overall, I would highly recommend this pack. It comes in a few colors as well which is always nice :) You can find the Amber 28 pack here:

https://www.gregorypacks.com/packs-bags/day-packs/amber-28-77831XXXX.html?dwvar\_77831XXXX\_color=778315590&cgidmaster=packs-day-packs#sz=18&start=37

When venturing to Mount St Helens area I wanted to find a campground relatively close by to stay before visiting the next day. I found Lewis and Clark State Park along the way and opted to give it a shot for an overnight. The site looked comfortable and quiet and was well shaded and welcoming. 

Pulling into the campground I noticed several areas to enjoy recreationally alongside camping including public park areas with covered outdoor kitchen zones perfect for those enjoying the area for day use. Additionally there were several areas with play equipment and outdoor activities for singles or the family to enjoy. 

Pulling into the camping loop area sites were well spaced and shaded by large vibrant trees. Soft mosses lined walkways and created a feeling of being deep into the forest without being far removed from actual civilization and it was a nice departure from many of the more commercial looking camps of the area which lacked the forest feel. 

The camp site I chose was equipped with the standard amenities of a picnic table and fire ring and the pull in section was just large enough for my smaller car. Throughout camp I did notice some sites were designed specifically for tent campers while others would cater better to larger units. Something unique about this location was it offered bike in campers sites as well with much smaller pull in areas but just as much space to spread out and set up their tents. 

The bath house was very nice as it was heated and had hot water, though when I was there I did encounter a slight concern with using this bathhouse because there was a current e coli water warning which was displayed throughout camp on all water spigots. This left me more than a little leary about using the water in the bathroom turning what could have been a warm amazing shower into a bit of a concerning experience. 

Because of this concern I noticed they had hand sanitizer placed in the restrooms, which was a great concession considering the issue at hand. 

While this was a campsite I did enjoy, I feel as though with the water concerns I could not fully embrace all the features of camp which did hinder me slightly from fully being able to embrace all of the options. Should I return to this area I would check in advance to see if the water was a concern before staying another night. 

The campground, like many in the area, advocate recycling.  Not only will you find trash cans and dumpsters throughout camp but you will also find recycling barrels scattered throughout camp.    I truly enjoyed this feature of the park as it is making a difference in the bigger picture and you can commonly find items created from recycled items such as benches and tables located throughout various state parks as continued improvements occur.

All in all, for someone just wanting to enjoy a night at a quiet campground this would be a great one to check out in the area. While it lacks some of the amenities of other campgrounds in the area which are more destination style camps it has a lot of charm for those wanting to enjoy fun with family or friends in a more traditional camping style. 

TIPS:

• Check in advance for water related issues not only at this campground but others in the area. 
• Make a stop just before the entrance of the park at the Jackson House Historic Site. This site is a major portion of the area’s rich history and with several unique signs which walk you through the significance of the area you will be enriched by this short stop.
• Make sure you have a Discover Pass!! Any stay in Washington you will want to make sure you have this pass.