Best Dispersed Camping near North Bend, WA

The forested mountains surrounding North Bend, Washington feature numerous dispersed camping opportunities within an hour's drive of town. South Fork Snoqualmie River Dispersed Site offers riverside camping just minutes from Interstate 90, while areas like Keechelus Lake and Kachess Lake provide more remote options east of town. Most sites in this region are primitive with no facilities, catering primarily to tent campers and smaller RVs seeking a true backcountry experience. The Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and adjacent public lands contain dozens of informal camping areas along forest service roads, particularly in the Middle Fork and North Fork Snoqualmie River valleys.

Road conditions vary significantly throughout the area, with many sites requiring high-clearance vehicles. As one camper noted about South Fork Snoqualmie River, "Access road is right off the highway and unpaved, has a TON of holes so I wouldn't recommend driving down it without good ground clearance." Most dispersed sites require a Northwest Forest Pass or equivalent permit, with a typical 14-day stay limit enforced on national forest lands. Cell service is spotty at best, with some areas having no coverage at all. Weather conditions can change rapidly in the mountains, with snow possible at higher elevations well into June and returning as early as September.

Riverside camping locations receive consistently high ratings from visitors, with the sound of flowing water providing natural white noise that masks highway sounds. Wildlife sightings are common, with campers reporting encounters with deer, chipmunks, and various bird species. A recurring concern in reviews involves improper waste disposal at some sites. As one visitor to White River Dispersed Camping observed, "Spot was secluded even though there seemed to be two other groups camping at the site. There was an obnoxious amount of used toilet paper in the area but it was avoidable." Visitors are strongly encouraged to follow Leave No Trace principles, particularly regarding human waste disposal, as these areas lack sanitation facilities. Fall camping tends to be less crowded and offers spectacular foliage viewing opportunities.

Best Dispersed Sites Near North Bend, Washington (40)

    1. South Fork Snoqualmie River Dispersed Site

    18 Reviews
    Snoqualmie Pass, WA
    13 miles
    Website
    +1 (425) 888-1421

    "Access road is right off the highway and unpaved, has a TON of holes so I wouldn’t recommend driving down it without good ground clearance."

    "PLEASE LEAVE NO TRACE! Other wise we really enjoyed a quick night away in our van."

    2. Annette Lake

    3 Reviews
    Snoqualmie Pass, WA
    16 miles
    Website
    +1 (425) 888-1421

    $5 / night

    "Hike was definitely challenging for middle aged man but I made it and my 10 year old did too (albeit after handing his backpack to dad to carry)."

    "We hiked in to Annette Lake to test out some new backpacking gear as we’re just getting into backpacking - it was great!"

    3. Keechelus Lake

    7 Reviews
    Snoqualmie Pass, WA
    19 miles

    "Great spot to land after long day of driving."

    "Super easy to drive up to the lake and camp, have a fire, hang out and explore!"

    4. Lake Dorothy

    2 Reviews
    Skykomish, WA
    19 miles
    Website

    "The lake is ice cold, which is nice if you’re just finished a hot hike in. There are some areas sort of cleared for camping, that have clearly been used before."

    "Easy stair stopped trail; a bit harder with a 40# pack. Lots of camp sites to choose from, but the one on the far shore of the lake is my fav. Great for groups. Primitive toilets along the way."

    6. White River Dispersed Camping

    24 Reviews
    Greenwater, WA
    36 miles
    Website
    +1 (360) 825-6585

    "Right outside the entrance to Mt."

    "If you come here you must leave no trace."

    7. Kachess Lake Logging Road Campsites

    4 Reviews
    Snoqualmie Pass, WA
    25 miles

    "We almost made it to the end of the dirt road before we found a lot with a fire pit that could fit our group of 4."

    "Lots of dispersed camping opportunities leading up to the Rachel Lake Trailhead and the Box Canyon Creek Site on NF-4930. Also many spots on the NF-118 spur, which is where we stayed."

    8. Ranger Creek Airstrip Dispersed

    14 Reviews
    Greenwater, WA
    35 miles
    Website
    +1 (425) 783-6000

    "We had high hopes for this USFS campground, having read that it’s on an airstrip, it sounded neat. But we decided not to stay here after we checked it out."

    "We had high hopes for this USFS campground, having read that it’s on an airstrip, it sounded neat. But we decided not to stay here after we checked it out."

    9. Old Cascades Highway Dispersed

    7 Reviews
    Skykomish, WA
    30 miles

    "Just a couple miles East of Skykomish, up a paved road, the campsite is just before you go over the bridge on your right and had enough room for high clearance vehicles to pull into it and smaller cars"

    "You could put 2 rigs down here if you’re friends, but plenty of turn offs for smaller vehicles"

    10. Kachess Lake Lakebed

    7 Reviews
    Easton, WA
    31 miles

    " Great boondocking. We made it fine in our 26ft class c, but the big sharp-edged rocks were concerning to drive over."

    "Dispersed camping , plenty space but some times overcrowded if temperature is above 80."

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Dispersed Camping Reviews near North Bend, WA

138 Reviews of 40 North Bend Campgrounds


  • RThe Dyrt PRO User
    Sep. 7, 2021

    White River Dispersed Camping

    Riverside perfection

    Plenty of sites along the river with multiple ingress/egress options from the road. Right outside the entrance to Mt. Rainier National Park and the access road to Crystal Mountain. 

    4x4 / high clearance vehicles recommended - saw some subarus trying to navigate into a cleared area and it was pretty scrape-y. 

    Great place to stay if you can't get a spot at White River / Ohanapecosh.

    Leave no trace.

  • Ashley M.The Dyrt PRO User
    Dec. 5, 2020

    Dispersed near Salmon la Sac

    Dispersed near Salmon la Sac

    Single campsite off the forest service road. No porta potty, no water, no electricity. Could accommodate a group. No picnic table. Not an actual metal fire pit but someone made a rock ring. The downside is the shooting pit right below the site. When we were there a family came to shoot but they stopped by our site to let us know beforehand.

  • Theresa K.The Dyrt PRO User
    Aug. 18, 2023

    Dispersed Camping Beckler Creek

    Repulsive

    Every dispersed campground we checked along this road (maybe five or so) was littered with human feces and toilet paper everywhere. We found a literal bucket of human waste beside the river with a soiled pool noodle nearby I can only assume was being used as a toilet seat. Please, if you care about keeping nature wild, carry out your toilet paper and dig a cathole or use the outhouse in the campground. If you don’t know what a cathole is, you should probably should not being using dispersed camping and try the campground down the road. We ended up staying at the campground because we couldn’t find dispersed camping where there wasn’t poop and had a positive experience there. Leave no trace!! 

    https://www.nps.gov/articles/leave-no-trace-seven-principles.htm

  • Laura M.The Dyrt PRO User
    May. 18, 2025

    Ranger Creek Airstrip Dispersed

    Not for Us, But We'd Try Again

    We had high hopes for this USFS campground, having read that it’s on an airstrip, it sounded neat. But we decided not to stay here after we checked it out. There were lots and lots of other campers there, lots of camo, lots of large pickup trucks that don’t slow down on gravel roads, lots of “don’t tread on me” flags. 

    We drove to the end where the bathroom is and decided to turn around, though it seems that the camp spots do continue after that point. This was on a Saturday, in all fairness, so the vibe might be different during the week. 

    It’s a 14 day stay limit, and other than the toilets there are no other amenities, so please pack out your trash. At the entrance it says that the following passes are honored: Annual Northwest Forest Pass, Golden Eagle Passport, and Washington and Oregon Recreation Pass. However, at the bathrooms, there’s another sign that says a $5 day use fee required. Doesn’t make sense that camping is free with certain passes but for day use it’s a $5 fee, but since we weren’t staying we didn’t look much into it. No ATV or off road riding here. 

    Cell signal was very weak for Verizon and non-existent for ATT. Giving it 4 stars instead of 3 because it wasn't so bad that I wouldn't be willing to check it out again the next time we're in the area.

  • Laura M.The Dyrt PRO User
    May. 18, 2025

    Ranger Creek Airstrip Dispersed

    Not for us, but we would try again.

    We had high hopes for this USFS campground, having read that it’s on an airstrip, it sounded neat. But we decided not to stay here after we checked it out. There were lots and lots of other campers there, lots of camo, lots of large pickup trucks that don’t slow down on gravel roads, lots of “don’t tread on me” flags. We drove to the end where the bathroom is and decided to turn around, though it seems that the camp spots do continue after that point. This was on a Saturday, in all fairness, so the vibe might be different during the week. 

    It’s a 14 day stay limit, and other than the toilets there are no other amenities, so please pack out your trash. At the entrance it says that the following passes are honored: Annual Northwest Forest Pass, Golden Eagle Passport, and Washington and Oregon Recreation Pass. However, at the bathrooms, there’s another sign that says a $5 day use fee required. Doesn’t make sense that camping is free with certain passes but for day use it’s a $5 fee, but since we weren’t staying we didn’t look much into it. No ATV or off road riding here. 

    Cell signal was very weak for Verizon and non-existent for ATT. Giving it 4 stars instead of 3 because it wasn't so bad that I wouldn't be willing to check it out again the next time we're in the area.

  • Parker C.The Dyrt PRO User
    May. 24, 2025

    South Fork Snoqualmie River Dispersed Site

    Pretty neat spot

    Access road is right off the highway and unpaved, has a TON of holes so I wouldn’t recommend driving down it without good ground clearance. There are a number of established sites where you can pull off the road and drive back into the woods a bit. And I had cell service everywhere!

  • Megan C.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jul. 14, 2017

    Ipsut Creek Camp — Mount Rainier National Park

    Crowded yet Cozy

    Ipsut Creek Campground is a relatively easy 5 mile trek or bike ride with a 700’ elevation gain, down a closed road (due to the road wash out about 3 miles in) to a wooded campground nestled along the Carbon River.

    Located at the trailhead are two bathrooms, a covered picnic area and a handful of parking stalls with additional parking located along the road. 

    The trail begins behind the closed gates into the shade of the old growth forest. The trail then alternates between the shade of the forest and sunny skys with river views and wildflowers along the way.

    There are a few side trips off the main Carbon River Trail even before reaching the Ipsut Creek Camp;

    1. Mini Rainforest Loop, 0.25 miles

    2. Old Mine Trail, 0.6 miles round trip

    3. Green Lake & Ranger Falls trail, 3.6 miles round trip

    Note: Sadly, the trail to Chenuis Falls has washed out, so now there is just a log bridge into the water to nowhere.

    Once you reach the campground, it has about 20 campsites with about half the sites located on the river. We were lucky enough to swoop up site number 15 though, strangely, another family decided to share it with us for our easy river front access.  Thankfully the river is pretty loud and drowned out the noise of our close campers. We did choose to camp on the high-profile weekend of the 4th of July, so all the cool campsites along the river were obviously full, which is why we think we had “friends” join us. There was a large fallen tree sort of splitting the camp site in half, so we took the left half, with the smaller 1 picnic table option, while the strangers took the right half with 2 picnic tables. 

    The trees in camp are great for setting up hammocks. We set up a hammock triangle upon arrival in camp near the river for lazy afternoon naps. My siblings both slept in their hammocks fulltime, while my husband and I set up a tent in a small clearing on the opposite side of the picnic table, closer to the bear lockers (bear lockers are a huge plus, meaning a bear canister isn’t necessary if you’re not heading deeper into the backcountry). 

    The campground had a decent amount of wildlife running around.  We had a number of chipmunks running around our camp cleaning up any scraps left daily; we found a live mouse chilling in a water bottle one morning upon setting up for breakfast, and deer came through the camp just about anytime it was quiet.  

    The campground does have two restrooms but they smell like the bog of eternal stench, so bring strong essential oils, a scented hanky, or a shovel to dig cat tracks in the woods far from camp and water sources. 

    The campground is a good base camp to explore the surrounding Carbon Glacier/ Mowich Lake area. We visited Ipsut Falls, which was less than a half mile round trip out of camp, making for a sweet little trip to break up the day in camp. 

    We also chose to make the adventure up to the Suspension Bridge and to the Carbon Glacier view point. Our morning started off cool in heavy fog, which burned off throughout the day, giving way to magnificent views of the mountain and glacier. The trail was covered in wildflowers, cairns, creeks and mini waterfalls. It made for a beautiful day trip out of camp with plenty of opportunities to go further into the backcountry closer to Winthrop Glacier, out to Tolmie peak area or back out along the Wonderland Trail. Backcountry options seemed endless. 

    Though the trail and camp (and site) were crowded, the hike to the glacier made the entire trip worth our cozy campsite. The Carbon Glacier is a bit dirty looking but to be standing in front of something so ancient and magnificent is truly amazing.  My husband, sister and I have now added a new item to our bucket lists and that is to see as many glaciers as we can before they melt, here’s to our first. =) 

    Note: The campground is located within Mount Rainier National Park (no pets are allowed) so you’ll need to stop by the Carbonado Ranger Station for a Wilderness Permit and National Park Day Pass or Annual Permit to display for parking. No campfires within the campground.

  • Sara J.The Dyrt PRO User
    Apr. 21, 2024

    Dispersed Camping Beckler Creek

    Beckler creek riverside

    Nice large campsite near the water. There were many campsites along the road. I had to clean up a lot of trash when it got here. Please pack out your own trash and follow other leave no trace rules. The campfire was awesome

  • LThe Dyrt PRO User
    Aug. 24, 2023

    White River Dispersed Camping

    Secluded Spot

    This road was pretty hard to find but we’ll worth it. Spot was secluded even though there seemed to be two other groups camping at the site. There was an obnoxious amount of used toilet paper in the area but it was avoidable. If you come here you must leave no trace.


Guide to North Bend

Discover the beauty of dispersed camping near North Bend, Washington, where nature enthusiasts can find serene spots away from the crowds. With a variety of locations offering unique experiences, campers can enjoy the great outdoors while embracing the freedom of camping without designated sites.

Dispersed campers should check out South Fork Snoqualmie River

  • Nestled in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, South Fork Snoqualmie River Dispersed Site offers a peaceful setting by a creek, perfect for those seeking tranquility during the day and a starry sky at night.
  • While the area is popular, some visitors have reported feeling uneasy due to nighttime disturbances, making it less ideal for solo campers.
  • This site allows campfires and pets, but be prepared to pack out your trash as there are no trash services available.

Tips for free and dispersed camping near North Bend, Washington

  • For a more secluded experience, consider Lake Dorothy, which requires a hike-in but rewards campers with stunning alpine views and a refreshing lake to cool off in after a long trek.
  • Be aware that some dispersed sites, like Keechelus Lake, can get crowded, especially during peak seasons, so arriving early can help secure a good spot.
  • Always practice Leave No Trace principles, as many areas, including Dispersed Camping Beckler Creek, have been affected by litter and poor camping habits from previous visitors.

Scenic spots for dispersed camping enthusiasts

  • The Old Cascades Highway Dispersed area is known for its beautiful river views and small campsites, making it a great choice for those who enjoy the sound of flowing water while camping.
  • If you're looking for a picturesque creekside experience, Forest Road 7300 Pull-Off offers several lovely spots right next to the stream, ideal for relaxing and enjoying nature.
  • For those who appreciate a bit of adventure, Kachess Lake Logging Road Campsites provides access to stunning mountain views and is just a short drive from beach access, perfect for a day of fun on the water.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular dispersed campsite near North Bend, WA?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near North Bend, WA is South Fork Snoqualmie River Dispersed Site with a 4.1-star rating from 18 reviews.

What is the best site to find dispersed camping near North Bend, WA?

TheDyrt.com has all 40 dispersed camping locations near North Bend, WA, with real photos and reviews from campers.