Whether you're an RVer or tent camper, Olympia, WA is a great place to post up for the weekend—or longer. Camping, hiking, biking: however you want to spend your days near Olympia, you'll find great campgrounds with The Dyrt. Find the best campgrounds near Olympia, plus reviews and photos from other campers like you.
$12 - $45 / night
"This is a very nice, typical Washington state park with plenty of trees, greenery, hiking, pathways and even a lake."
"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."
"Super peaceful, great fire pit location, water at the site entrance, portable restrooms away (but close), and best of all right at the river’s edge."
"This site does is a back in, but the slab is at a 90 degree angle from the drive. So you will have to back your trailer around a corner if you plan to park it on the slab. "
$20 / night
"After flying into SeaTac late in the afternoon this campground was a great place to start our Washington trip and only about 30 minutes from the airport."
"This campsite was awesome, we far enough away from other campers so it was still peaceful, you did not feel like you were on top of other campers. The fire pit was nice and had a grill."
"It is located at the base of Summit Lake, with a dock and great swimming spot. There are tent sites, adirondacks, and cabins. There is a great big field and lots of trails."
"The group sites are amazing, they have individual and large group fire pits. The bathrooms have been remodeled and are very clean. There is a nice park with a dedicated swim area, ticks for boats."
"The trash got picked up by the Rangers at least once a day, even more on the Saturday. The bath rooms were clean and had warm shower s."
$12 - $50 / night
"It rained a couple of nights but being surrounded by huge trees made it really cozy. Nice walking trails that follow creeks and go right along the sound."
"Friendly staff, clean sites and facilities, coin operated showers. This campground is located right on the hood canal which is filled with oysters beds. Many people were harvesting the delicacy."
$25 - $40 / night
"Sites fairly large & private with tons of old trees and right next to a creek. Bathrooms clean. Fire pits and firewood available from hosts. Easy access to Rainier NP. Hosts super nice."
"The owners are very friendly and helpful, it’s in a beautiful area (with a meadow to walk around/chill out in), the bathrooms are very clean and they have showers (coin operated, bring quarters, but only"
"When we arrived, the other spot was also taken. It’s an $8 fee to reserve online but it turned out to be worth it. We were there on a holiday weekend so keep that in mind."
"This campground is on Mayfield Lake where the Cowlitz River flows into the lake. We were in loop D, which was the only open loop along with the cabins (cabins are loop C and attached to loop D)."
$50 - $115 / night
"The outside porch and seating setup are lovely to drink tea at and absorb the beauty."
LegendThis 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.
TravelerBeautiful 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.
TravelerI 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.
LegendWhen 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:
GuideThis campground has super friendly staff, decent bathrooms and showers, laundry facility, access to a lake, fishing is welcome, swimming allowed, great playground for kids, allows pets, has a small store in the office with some essentials if you forget something. It is about a 1 Hour drive to the entrance of Mount Rainier National Park.
GuideThere is a river and salmon climb it to spawn in October I believe. Very cool to see. Campground is large, with about 20% of camp sites have good privacy. Walking distance to a gas station for supplies. Clean bathrooms with running water.
LegendThey 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.
RangerGreat 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
GuideThis place had it all; open RV camping, secluded van camping, tree canopy car/tent camping, walk-in camping, and themed safari tent camping, and one cute mini airstream.
Lake down the road. Water and electrical hookups, dump station with dump water and fresh water.
Restrooms and showers are scattered around. Showers are coin based and there is a machine to turn your dollars into coins.
Frequently Asked Questions
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Olympia, WA is Millersylvania State Park Campground with a 4.1-star rating from 31 reviews.
TheDyrt.com has all 43 glamping camping locations near Olympia, WA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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