Looking for a rustic and comfortable horse camping experience near Morton? It's easy to find Morton campgrounds for horse camping with The Dyrt. These scenic and easy-to-reach Morton campsites are perfect for equestrian campers.
Far in the Northwestern corner of the United States lies a world of magic, splendor, and mystical beauty. Perched atop the historical Mount St. Helens, Seaquest State Park is the home-base for thousands of volcanic visitors year round. Most notable for its proximity to the Mount St. Helens Visitors Center, this park is the home base for hikers, explorers, tourists, and adventures alike. It’s not just the volcanic aftermath that makes this area so special. Even before the eruption, Gifford-Pinchot National Forest has always been known for its dense foliage, as well as its beautiful lakes, tributaries, and waterfalls.
When it comes to nearby attractions, the area is packed with them. Miles and miles of trails fork and wind throughout the park. Beyond the confines of the park’s boundaries are numerous additional trailheads, all offering something unique to those seeking it. Perhaps the most popular trail nearby is the Monitor Ridge trail. This 10 miles round trip excursion will have you climbing 2,000 vertical ft. through grassy meadows and winding forest paths. The last 1,000 feet are especially difficult due to the volcanic debris and soot that cakes your clothes. However when you finally reach the domed summit, you’ll be pleased with your efforts. Massive and expansive, the St. Helens dome is unlike any other scenic viewpoint in the US. Nowhere else can you see the true force and impact of Mother Nature’s wrath.
Nearby, the Mount St. Helens Ape Caves give visitors a chance to traverse through the labyrinth of volcanic caves left behind by magma runs during the the eruption. Today, the caves are a popular attraction for families and explorers. There’s two separate options, one which is well-lit and suited for families. The other option will send you through a pitch black adventure trekking the depths of the craggy, drippy tunnels. If planning to visit, be sure to bring a strong flashlight or kerosene lantern, as you’ll be unable to enter otherwise.
Camping in Seaquest State Park is relatively painless thanks to the 52 standard campsites, 18 partial-hookup sites, and 15 full-service sites. RVers, tent campers, van travelers, and anyone else with a form of shelter should have no issues finding somewhere to stay here. Aside from standard camping accommodations, there are also full-service Yurts available for rental, complete with heaters to stay warm if you’re visiting in the chilly months.
$37 / night
Welcome to Riffe Lake Campground, the perfect place to get away. Riffe Lake Campground offers a friendly area for you and your family, pets included (excluding our cabins)! Riffe Lake offers beautiful scenery for your weekend away. Whether you are looking forward to Riffe Lake’s miles of hiking trails, her beautiful waterfalls, or want to wet your fishing pole’s line, you are sure to have a vacation filled with memories. Our campgrounds are surrounded by striking pines to provide a measure of privacy. If you’re bringing a boat, don’t worry! We are located less than 3 miles from the boat launch. Each site has a picnic table, a fire pit and is running distance to our playground.
Millersylvania State Park offers fun for everyone. Spend a summer day splashing in Deep Lake. Gather with friends in an historic kitchen shelter.
Conveniently located between Olympia and Centralia, this large, well-visited park beckons to adults and children alike.
Many of the park structures, including the kitchen shelters, were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s, making the park a great place to see and admire the hallmark artisanship of that era.
With two swimming beaches, miles of forested hiking and biking trails, watercraft launches, non-motorized watercraft rentals (kayaks, paddleboards, pedal boats) and abundant fishing, Millersylvania will keep you busy for a satisfying weekend or an extended outdoor vacation.
$12 - $45 / night
$12 - $45 / night
The Sahara Creek DNR Horse Camp, maintained by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, lies just a stone's throw from the entrance to Mount Rainier National Park. The camp provides great access to the state-managed Elbe Hills and Tahoma State Forests through the Nicholson Horse Trail System. Campground has 20 campsites, picnic tables, hitching rails, and vault toilets.
The Nicholson Horse Trail System has been maintained especially for equestrian use, with wide trails and sturdy bridges providing safe, enjoyable passage for all.
$30 / night
The campground loop trail allows easy access to the main trailhead. A trailhead parking area, found at the east end of the campground provides parking for day use. Over 50 miles of trails and closed roads are available from the campground.
$65 - $71 / night
Walupt Lake Campground offers scenic views of Mt. Adams and the surrounding forest on the west end of Walupt Lake. The sites here provide plenty of privacy and ample shade form the surrounding hemlock, cedar and fir trees. Walupt Lake Campground is a great choice for visitors looking to fish, swim, boat or explore the numerous hiking, biking and horseback riding trails in the area.
Anglers can fish for brook, rainbow and cutthroat trout in Walupt Lake. Swimming and the use of motorized and non-motorized boats is also permitted. Numerous trailheads can be accessed from this campground. Walupt Lake Trail, Nannie Ridge Trail and Coleman Weedpatch Trail are popular hiking and equestrian trails.
Walupt Lake spans 384 acres and is the second largest lake in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The clear mountain waters are popular with anglers who come here to cast for Rainbow and Cutthroat Trout. This campground is surrounded by the Goat Rocks Wilderness, named for the rugged peaks where numerous mountain goats are found. Scattered throughout the area are alpine meadows, lakes and ponds.
Walupt Lake's location between Mt. Adams, Mt. Rainier and Mount St. Helens makes it possible to explore any of these areas on a day trip.
This location has limited staffing. Please call (360) 686-3008 for general information.
Cancellations Individual Campsites: Cancellations up to 2 days before a reservation start date incur a $10.00 cancellation fee. A visitor who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee including tax and applicable add-on for a campsite. Cancellations for a one-night reservation will forfeit the entire amount paid and will not be subject to an additional service fee. No-Shows A no-show visitor is one who does not arrive at a campground and does not cancel the reservation by check-out time on the day after the scheduled arrival date. Staff will hold a campsite until check-out time on the day following the arrival date. No-shows are assessed $20.00 service fee and forfeit the first night's rate, taxes and applicable add-on for a campsite. Refunds Visitors may submit a refund request through their Recreation.gov profile within 7 days of the end date of their reservation. Refunds will not be issued after the 7 days has ended. Refunds for debit or credit card payments will be issued as a credit to the original bank or credit card used to pay. For check or cash purchases, Recreation.gov will mail a Treasury check for refunds of cash, check, or money order payments to the address associated with the reservation. Treasury check refunds may take up to 6-8 weeks to arrive. In the event of an emergency closure, the Recreation.gov team or facility manager will refund all fees and will attempt to notify you using the contact information within the Recreation.gov visitor profile.
$25 / night
Guide
You are supposed to have a Washington State Discovery pass to stay here, also they want you to fill out self registration once you arrive, fyi there are no pens onsite to do so.
This was a nice spot to stay the night, clean, nice picnic tables and fire pits, one pit toilet.
Traveler
Discover pass required. Host on site. Paved pads. Some pull thru.
Traveler
The hike is beautiful and the lake at the end is stunning. It was a great place to start gaze
Guide
They have several back-in spots, some with partial hookups and some with full hookups. Most of the spots are well-shaded from the trees. A specific area is designated for tents only, and some cabins can also be rented. It was a 5-minute walk downhill to reach the lake, which had a very long and nice boat ramp deep enough to accommodate just about any boat. Regarding cell service, I got 3 bars of LTE with my iPhone. Overall, it was a nice, quiet, shady place to visit, and I will definitely be back.
Guide
Sites were super shaded. Lots of trees for some privacy. Easy lake access close by. Only complaint is that it’s deeep in the woods and took a while on a gravel road to get there but that’s not a real problem is it. Lots of mosquitoes in July so bring your bug spray. Toilets are vault toilets I’d bring extra TP just in case. And bring your paddle board or kayak!
Guide
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.
ScoutSeaquest has something for everyone. My campsite was not close to the road , but I stayed when Johnston Ridge was closed, so maybe road noise would be a factor at other times.
Some pluses here include: some private sites, lots of trees, bathroom / showers, playground, open areas, close to other points of interest. And for those who can’t live without it: WiFi.
Although bathrooms were clean, I believe they could use an upgrade. Showers in particular.
ScoutFantastic place. Long trailers might have trouble
ScoutI very much liked the facilities, camp host, campsite.
I’m a light sleeper though, and could hear cars and trucks driving till 1am. I was in a tent though, if you have a camper I’m sure it is far less noticeable.
Guide
We came early June to try and hike near Mount Rainier. Unfortunately it was way too snowy and foggy to do any hiking. However, this campsite was incredible. Right by the river with bathrooms and clean sites.
GuideThis park is huge! Lots of space to hand out and swim. There’s always kids running around so it is great for young ones. Bathrooms were clean and big.
Legend
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.
Traveler
Camped in dispersed campsite across from campground. Walked through campground. Has decent outhouse. Watering trough for horses. picnic tables and nice fire pits with grates in every campsite. Great picket lines for horses in each site. Use caution, since there is an abundance of bear in the area. And cougar have been sighted around the area
Legend
This is a beautiful campground! Lots of tall trees, & ferns. Feels like you are in Boreal forests . Several shower/bathrooms buildings throughout the park. It adjacent to the Mount St Helen’s Volcanic Preserve, but on the back end. We hiked into the NP to Cathedral Falls. It is convenient for exploring Mt. Saint Helen’s, and Mt Rainer.
ScoutWe went over Labor Day weekend with a small group and had two adjacent campsites. The sites were large and well graded. They were also well separated from each other with lots of vegetation dividing them. Bathrooms seemed to have been recently upgraded and were some of the nicer state park bathrooms we’ve come across. Kids enjoyed the junior ranger program and the Mt St Helens visitor center across the road has great exhibits on the eruption. About a 40 minute drive to Coldwater lake where you can access a number of trails closer to the volcano.
ScoutThe road is quite bumpy, and the river is dry. But there are plenty of spots to camp that are level with rock fire pits.
Traveler
Great loop of campsites. Open field. Clean restrooms. Rock/Cliff water access. And, wooded campsites with lots of privacy.
LegendBut the wireless is really only in the day use area. I'd love it if it works throughout the campground but no. The spots are nice though and there is a lot of shade. Odd to be so near a big lake and really, it doesn't seem to have any access to it. Loads of trails though which is nice.
TravelerKids really enjoyed the creek nearby and it was great for our tent camping. We were able to hike around and had water, and restrooms that were clean.
Guide
We were traveling along the Oregon coast and then needed to divert inland to the Portland airport and continue north to Tacoma for a wedding reception. Not far off I-5, this place was gorgeous. Tall trees, lush foliage, immaculately maintained. As others have noted, the sites with hook-ups across the road on the east side are for large trailers and not as picturesque. To the west are these beautiful sites, facilities, and walking trails. In the morning, we hiked the old growth loop prior to resuming our journey. Be aware, Google Maps says you enter off of Park Road, but that is incorrect. The entrance is on Jackson Highway.
GuideWell maintained state park. Spaces are large and fairly level. Close to Mount Saint Helen.
Traveler
There are 8 walk in sites and one drive up site, all first come first serve discovery pass required. Some sites are larger than others, but in ours we were able to fit two 6ptents and one 2p tent. All campsites have a fire ring and picnic table. You’ll still see and hear your fellow campers, but it does seem semi private. Make sure to bring toilet paper, the bathroom seems to never be stocked. Make sure to haul out all trash.
You can’t use motorized boats and can only fly fish in the lake, but a very nice 1 mile hike is adjacent to the day use area. Also very close to Cougar for gas and supplies for emergencies. Driving distance to popular day hikes. No cell service.
ScoutThe RV park is separate from the camping tents and smaller campers. Those are in a beautiful forest. Unfortunately, we had to stay in the RV section. The RV section had six spots. 3 of those spots back up to a busy paved road with traffic. The road is mere feet from the camper. Dangerous for dogs and kids. Not relaxing at all. Waste of money. Terrible RV site. Don’t waste your money to park your RV next to a busy paved road.
GuideIt was a great place to escape from everything for a night. We stayed at site 35 in a tent, and it was perfect. A little dip down and isolated enough perfectly for my wife and I. A nice fire ring, picnic table, and plenty of space for our Rav4. It was really busy but our area was almost completely empty so we had a blast. Awesome staff and clean bathrooms.
GuideThis was what I would call perfect winter camping- no rain but chilly. It was like being deep in the forest but with the convenience of a full-hook ups. (Water is shut off in the winter but you can fill your tank at the park. The “tt” sites are just like regular rv park types- field of grass w/ picnic tables. The straight #s are the sites in the forest.
Scout
This a a free camp ground if you have a Wa “Discover Pass” it is a shady campground not great for solar. It is a pleasant campground but can be noisy at times as there is a shooting range not to far away.
LegendDiscover pass required
Merrill Lake, just outside of Cougar, WA feels very remote, despite its relatively close proximity to the Portland/Vancouver area. This campground is best suited for tent camping, as there is only one RV site and sometimes it’s occupied by a camp host.
I met up with some folks who were in tents and occupied the tent spots and spent the night in the parking lot in my van. Several other folks did this as well. You're just a little ways from the campsites that have picnic tables and fire pits.
The lake is the real attraction here. Great for paddle boarding or kayaking. There's a boat launch. Best of all, it's free!
Washington offers a variety of stunning locations for horse camping, perfect for equestrian enthusiasts looking to explore the great outdoors with their horses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Morton, WA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Morton, WA is Seaquest State Park Campground with a 4.1-star rating from 44 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Morton, WA?
TheDyrt.com has all 26 equestrian camping locations near Morton, WA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
