Best Cabin Camping near North Cascades National Park

The Winthrop KOA is similar and on par with most other KOA campgrounds, as far amenities go. The campground is right on the Methow River which is great, however, early in the camping season the current is so swift, you would not be able to swim in it. The campground itself has a western vibe, with old wagons that you can actually rent to sleep in, log cabins, and western-style artifacts throughout. The campground is right off of the highway, so there is a little car noise during the day. At night, we didn't really notice it. With the location of the campground in Methow Valley, it can get really windy. One of the nights we were there, we had to douse our campfire because embers were flying everywhere. We had site 18 which was at the end of one of the rows and it was very spacious with a big grass area and a few trees.

We liked the location because it was close to Winthrop and many of the outdoor activities available in the area such as hiking trails, off-road tracks, fishing, kayaking, etc. The area is beautiful and has much to offer in the scenery department, even for folks that are car-bound.

I actually did a solo overnight backpack up the trail from colonial to fourth of July pass. Unfortunately the backcountry campground I stayed at is not on this site yet. Diablo lake is gorgeous, but because of the accessibility of colonial campground via the main road it is very popular. The amenities are all there and well maintained. The ranger working the gate told me I had to pay to park when the main station had informed me that I didn't because I would be in the back country, so that was a time-consuming little mix up but besides that the Rangers are knowledgeable and willing to help out. My hike to fourth of July pass was nice, 4 mIles with around 2000 feet of elevation gain. I got great views of Diablo lake, ragged ridge, and a glacier across the valley. North Cascades National park is kind of out of the way so it is much less known than its counterparts Rainier or Olympic, and therefore I highly recommend checking it out if you have the opportunity. It has been dubbed the American Alps due to its severe peaks.

I generally enjoyed this location in North Cascades National Park. It is a beautiful area with hikes nearby and chilly swimming. Mosquitos weren’t bad which was a relief. However, sites at this campground are close together and not very private. It feels a bit like a carnival at times instead of camping in the woods.

We found ourselves in the middle of the Pace family reunion while visiting. Apparently all the adults coordinated and rented sites by each other for this event instead of renting a group site. The adults yelled across our site to each other, their children ran through our site to adjacent ones, and they were up and noisy by 6 AM. We also were treated to dirty looks, I’m guessing because it was their “usual spot”? They said they camped there for over 30 years so they clearly feel like it’s their private park at this point. This certainly impacted our enjoyment, and ability to relax.

In the future, we will consider a site away from the water for more privacy.

Despite the presence of bears, there was also a pretty cavalier attitude to bear safety and adherence to those rules. There were a lot of kids and adults day drinking so they just weren’t as alert as they should be. This can put those around them at greater risk for a bear encounter. A fed bear is a dead bear, so this was frustrating to witness.