Best Dog-Friendly Camping near North Cascades National Park, WA

Spacious sites with beautiful Mountain View’s. RV sites equipped with water & electric hookup. Nice clean gravel sites with fire ring & picnic tables.
20 miles to North Cascades National Park.

This campground is right alongside a sweet and fenced neighborhood playground, on the banks of the river. Pretty, tranquil spots and camp hosts on site. There isn’t much here, but a diner nearby has great reviews and it’s a good spot to jump off into the North Cascades National Park.

This is by far the nicest campground in North Cascades National Park that one can drive to.  If you are lucky to be able to reserve beach side spots on Diablo Lake you will also have lots of privacy and incredible views of this amazing turquoise blue lake and maybe even your own water access/beach.  If not, the dock and beach are only a few steps away. Bathrooms are pretty basic, no showers. Cell reception is non-existent.  Amazing access to the lake and incredible hikes from your campsite!

Sweet little spot on the Skagit River, just west of Newhalem, run by the National Park Service. Water spigots, picnic area, boat launch for kayaks/rafts, and pit toilets (a bit stinky, but cleanish). Very wooded with private sites. Some spots are close enough to Hwy 20 to hear the road, but others that are deeper into the campground are quieter. Close to the North Cascades National Park Visitor’s Center and some easy hiking trails. A few spots for larger trailers/campers. Cost=$16. First come, first served, iron ranger.

Gorgeous backcountry campground, complete with firepits and privy -- makes roughing it even easier. Water is easy access from Thunder Creek, which is just down the hill. This site is about 10 miles south of the Colonial Creek Campground, a great basecamp option for this trek, as you start the hike through old growth forest. This is the perfect site for a large group, but it also has quite a few smaller “tucked away” spots for individuals, couples, etc. The views of Boston Glacier (currently the largest glacier in the North Cascades National Park) and multiple waterfalls are fantastic. Bear canisters are required, as the predominant fir trees in the area are not conducive to hanging food. Cost=free! Permit required from NOCA Visitor Center.

Came in mid October on a Saturday. First come first serve and no fee in the off season, despite being October, it was busy. Got a spot after driving a few loops around the campground and asked someone if they were leaving. Was able to put chairs in the site before they left to secure the spot. Nice picnic area along the river we hung out at while waiting for the site to open up. Safe enough to dip in the river. Very close to multiple hikes in North Cascades National Park. Pit toilets, picnic tables and fire rings available. No water in the off season. Had 3 bars of Verizon service. Lots of options for tents, trailers, or vans. Would definitely come back for off season camping.

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.

We headed out to North Cascades National Park for a close to home camping getaway on Labor Day Weekend.  After admiring the Alps of America and the turquoise blue waters we ended up on the east side of Hwy 20.  We drove through Lone Fir Campground first.  Everything was (not surprisingly) full.  Then we drove through Klipchuck and found a great campground!  We got a site that had just been occupied 10 minutes before, everything else was full.  We felt very lucky to have found this site on Labor Day weekend.

It was very hot, mid 90's all weekend.  We were in site 18 that did not offer a lot of shade until late afternoon.  Most sites, including ours, are very large with plenty of parking.  Clean, even sites, well spaced, and quiet. Water spigots were placed all over the grounds. There are several vault toilets that stayed well stocked and clean.  Garbage dumpsters are located throughout the grounds as well.  

There are several trails that lead from this campground.  The "Creekside Loop" is a short but steep trail down to Early Winters Creek.  It was at least 15 degrees cooler down by the water and the water itself was frigid!  Not fun for little kids to play, but great for us adults to cool off.  The "Scenic Trail" is Early Winters Trail.  We did not explore the whole thing, only 30 minutes in and back on the morning we left. 

Nearby Mazama is worth a stop.  The General Store has unique gifts, espresso, and grocery items.  Winthrop is a fun stop as well, a little further down the Hwy 20.  

I was really impressed with this campground it's one of the nicer National Forest Service campgrounds I have ever been to.  It was really clean and well maintained.  Many of the sites are well shaded, big, and private.  The inner loop seemed like the best for shade.

pet friendly (on 6’ leash), quiet, shaded. Clean bathrooms, but no showers. Fire ring, table, and bear proof cabinets at each site. surrounded by forest and on Diablo Lake! water is cold, but stunningly beautiful. some really nice hikes

This ia a beautiful camping location, but we have encountered fires, rattlesnakes, and torrential rains - including flooded camp gear. Fun spot, but have woken up to snakes sleeping under tents - probably not the best spot for kids or curious pets

Washington Rolling down the road on the Cascade Loop I took in all the scenery and enjoyed every moment. But something I noticed along the way was that cell signal was minimal and with that it made it a bit harder to find locations to stop for the night. Typically I enjoy a more remote site or a good forest camp, however along the loop, though there are many forest service roads, most certainly with camping available, being so remote without cell signal and roads looking more questionable in some areas, I feared going to far off the beaten path into the unknown in my small car. 

This brought me to the Riverbend RV Park, a Good Sam park along the loop which actually allocates some of their spaces to tent campers. Privately owned the features were a bit more expansive than many of the sites I had visited along the way including running water and full hook ups for those in RVs. Additionally they had a propane refill station which was quite nice for a small charge without having to wander into town to find supplies. 

The layout of the location was nice as it formed a large loop easy to access even by the largest of rigs. The office welcomed you as your drove in and made it easy to stop, pay for your site and find out all the information you needed to know not only about the campsite but also the surrounding area. A few brochures inside noted area attractions and information about the loop itself. This office also housed a small general store which had a few items you might need while at camp and some general items which could be nice in way of snack and food. Nothing large, but certainly helpful for those who were weary from the road and all the traveling excitement. 

This park welcomes families but also their pets, with a large pet area for them to run free and enjoy stretching their legs. Otherwise throughout camp they do ask you keep your pets on a leash, which seemed more than fair considering the large space they were given to enjoy free of burden. 

The kiddos were also welcome with their own play area that was well maintained and away from the other campers just enough to not disrupt the silence of the camp. This area had its own water fountain to assure hours of safe and hydrated play. 

The sites themselves were typical of an RV park, a standard picnic table and enough room to move around a little but still somewhat closer to your neighbors than you would be at many forest campsites. I found that the camping area I checked out for myself had a little more distance between the sites which was nice but there was no tree coverage so it is a bit of a trade off for space or shade. 

On premise is an activity room and also a restroom area. Restrooms offer showers and warmth on the cold days and night and the activity room is a large room with plenty of space to enjoy a game night or some time watching television in a more social setting. There is also a laundry facility at this building which was super helpful for catching up along the loop after several weeks of travel. 

All in all though this was privately run and thus a bit more expensive, around $30 a night, the benefits of the stay at this location were vast. Though it wasn’t my style of camping for every night a stop here was a nice way to check out some of the many amenities which contrast some of the other camps along the way. Definitely worth a stop if you are in an RV or if you want to have a place with a lot of benefits.

TIPS: 

• If you are a larger unit this is a great place to stay for amenities and size of spaces you will easily be able to pull in and get comfortable with your slides at this location.

• Location of this campsite is key as it is close to town but also along the loop within driving distance of the North Cascades Park and also some of the Washington State Parks.   If you can detach and use this as a home base it will work well with your travels.

We came to this little gem of a campground from 6/22-25/2107. Based off our research, Black Pine CG had more use than we expected but we found a nice site (#23) away from the cluster of activity with a beautiful view of the mountains and lake. Even though the CG was almost full on the weekend, it was quiet (no loud or hooligan activity). There are two sections to the CG, upper and lower. We would have liked site #3 in the upper section if it had been available. There was quite a bit of day use activity at the lake with cars going in and of the campground beginning around 12:00 noon (weekdays and weekends).

The CG hosts were lovey. Lynn and Sherry keep the place spotless. Cleanest bathrooms ever! The camp supplied drinking water and there is plenty of firewood to be found. The pets on leash rule is strictly enforced.

Of course there were mosquitos but were only really bothersome at the usual morning and dusk time. It was not windy and overall was a beautiful and quiet CG.

We ventured down to the lake on day 2 and walked the short interpretive trail that goes about 1/2 way around the lake. Nice little trail and handicapped accessible. We only saw a couple of other folks on our walk.

There is active use for fishing from docks, kayaks, canoes, and rowboats. No motors allowed except for trolling motors but we never saw one. Discouraging site was the large brown trout in the garbage. Want and waste. Unfortunate.

In summary, Black Pine is a beautiful, peaceful, gem to enjoy and relax with easy access to trail heads in the area. We probably won't return because it was busier than we prefer. We're typically dispersed site campers but wanted to try out Black Pine Lake CG with our pop-up camper on this trip. It was an enjoyable location as we explore our new home state of Washington (transplants from Oregon).

Great Cabin Bunk Bed Came With sheets pool is warm great air vent the cabin was the best  I have seen in my life great staff the cabin holds 4 people and 1 Dog great playground made friends Great 2 Times I Came

This site will be on your right as you drive up NF-1062. someone made a firepit using stones, it will be easy to spot. 

This was my very first dispersed camping that i did with my dog. will comeback if i drive by or something.

Campground Review: Colonial Creek Campground

https://thedyrt.com/camping/washington/washington-colonial-creek

https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/255201

Colonial Creek Campground, Diablo Lake Washington, is the prettiest place I've been to in Washington! Half the campground is reservation only, the other half is walk in. There is something like 176 total campsites, if I remember correctly. Each campsite is equipped with a large bear box, fire pit, picnic table and tent pad. The restrooms are large with flush toilets and sinks. There are no showers. Large bear proof trashcans, and water spigots are spread through each side of the campground. Thunder knob Trail starts on the south Campground and Thunder Creek trail is on the North campground. There is a fishing dock and a boat launch on the North campground. We stayed in site #15 which was great during the week. I felt this site offered zero privacy, the fire ring was positioned so you had to watch the road, the rest of the large site had a creek, but the trail went past our campsite, so a ton of people, familes, dogs, would all walk past our site. There is parking for the walk in sites right next to you, but those also take the trail. There is also nobody on the other side of you. So it gave a sense of privacy on a Wednesday, but not Friday-Sunday. At $16 a night, I felt it was great compared to other campsites. The beauty of this Campground and surrounding area is unparalleled. Would defiantly be back, but I would probably try for a more secluded site.

Ranger review: Icemule Cooler

https://icemulecoolers.com/collections/pro-coolers/products/the-icemule-pro-large

As a ranger for the Dyrt, I sometimes get products in exchange for an honest review. Icemule coolers are perfection! This is the Large and it is huge! I was very surprised at the quality and size for the price. I love this cooler because it is super easy and comfortable to carry. No more big, heavy, bulky coolers to cart around. On this trip I used it as my main cooler. I froze 14 bottles of water to use as ice. I kept bacon, sausage, chicken, ground beef, hotdogs, butter, syrup and coffee creamer plus all the water bottles and soda in this bag. It was heavy, but held up to the challenge! It kept those bottles of water for 3 days before I had to buy ice. There is a compartment on the front for picnic supplies. I have also used this just as a dry bag. It's got great versatility and it even floats. I am 100% an Icemule cooler fan and recommend to anyone, whether a car camper or hiker, you will enjoy this cooler.

This is a very busy park/campground so it’s kinda noisy when you wanting to get away! However we still had a great time hanging out at the lakeside beach area, it’s dog friendly, hot weather, and close to downtown Winthrop for great shopping and food!