Looking for a place to camp near Olympia with your horse? Finding a place to stay in Washington while traveling with your horse is easy. With our help, you'll find the best Washington equestrian campsites from scenic to easily accessible.
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
This ORV-oriented campground offers access to Capitol State Forest's 89 miles of motorized trail. Campground has 24 campsites, and four toilets.
Porter Creek Campground is a popular area for motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), and picnicking in the day-use area. This 16-campsite campground is near Porter Creek and surrounded by large Douglas-fir trees. Campers are required to register on-site. Download a map of the area. After Labor Day, the campground will remain open on a first-come, first-serve basis until Nov. 2.
Rainbow Falls State Park is a 129-acre camping park on the Chehalis River. A variety of campsites and a tranquil river setting make this a popular overnight stay for hikers, cyclists and horseback riders tackling the Willapa Hills Trail.
This park has 40 standard campsites, eight partial hookup sites, three hiker/biker sites and two equestrian sites. Maximum site length is 60 feet (limited availability). One group camp is available and has 14 camping units and can accommodate up to 60 people. A dump station, three restrooms and two token-operated showers are located nearby. You can buy tokens from the machine at the park entrance station.
$27 - $45 / night
Washington State Discover Pass required https://discoverpass.wa.gov/
This campground is a favorite among local equestrian groups. The trailhead provides access to hiking, horseback riding, and mountain biking opportunities. Fall Creek Campground has eight campsites, a horse corral and a restroom. Be sure to check the Capitol Forest event schedule above for events that could impact campground availability. Check out the Fall Creek Trail System map here. The campground will remain open on a first-come, first-serve basis until Oct. 5.
$12 - $45 / night
$55 / night
$65 - $71 / night
Guide
After months of trying to get reservations for this popular campground, we finally got one for Thanksgiving weekend! The park is on their winter schedule so only sites 1-7 and 226-248 were open. It made for a nice, quiet weekend even though the open sites were 80% full. We had a pull-through site right across from the dumpster, bathrooms, and camp host. We had decent service for Verizon. There are ample trails throughout the park including a lovely trail along the lake, which is not far from the campground. The only reason for 4 stars instead of 5 is because our site had a huge mud puddle from the road going to the power and water hook-up. The thin layer of mud on the pavement made things quite slick as I was trying to get leveling blocks down.
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.
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.
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.
LegendJust 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.
Scout
There were several campsites near the river where you could smell human excrement,see large piles of used toilet paper (specifically 16 being the worst), along with garbage littered around almost every campsite and a ton of broken glass. I don’t believe there was a camp host. Several people came by to let us know there were raccoons raiding campsites. It’s such a bummer because the trail and creek are beautiful. (although plenty of litter). Also lots of random hikers/walkers coming through and walking through the campsites themselves to get to the creek and tossing more garbage onto the creek bed. I didn’t expect it to be so dirty, I would’ve brought more trash bags.
Traveler
Great loop of campsites. Open field. Clean restrooms. Rock/Cliff water access. And, wooded campsites with lots of privacy.
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.
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.
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.
Scout
Nice open sites with space for multiple vehicles or trailers. Easy access to ORV trails. Expect lots of noise from off-road vehicles and music.
ScoutLoved this place! We were lucky to nearly have the entire camp site to ourselves. Quiet and serene place to stay. Set up was easy and quick. Highly recommend.
GuideNot sure why it says $30, this place is free WITH your Discover Pass, 7 day limit in a 30 day period.
Vault toilets are pretty clean.
There is NO trash here, pack it in, pack it out. Keep it clean. Lots of horses here which is enjoyable. An ADA trail is level for walking the dog.
Shooting range is close by, doesn’t bother me but it’s pretty noisy. Can hear some highway noise, but again, hasn’t bothered me
I depend 100% on solar. There is deep shade in all camp spots, I chose a fairly sunny spot, but it wasn’t enough to charge my batteries. Just a heads up.
Will return if visiting rainier again :)
ScoutSitting in our peaceful and private campsite amid a grove of trees, I felt I must share kudos for this state park. Many of the structures were built in the 1930’s by the CCC and it has an iconic feel. Add the easily accessible trails, one through one of the last standing groves of old growth forest. Our site #18 was large and could easily accommodate a large family. The tent site is very nice. But it’s just us, our pup and the teardrop trailer which was easy to park on the level lot.
TravelerGreat campground. Great price. Just had to purchase a Washington state parks pass for $10. Had great biking and atv trails right by the campground.
Guide
Very secluded, deep wood camping. About an hour on unpaved road until you get to the actual camp but the drive is gorgeous! Old growth and new baby trees line the roads and there’s about 10+ little streams along the way. The bugs weren’t too bad with citronella bracelets and candles but bring bug spray if you like. There’s river access and lots of trails to explore. There’s even horse trails and a huge horse stall area for a group site/horse trailer.
We drove past 3 piles of bear scat along the dirt road into the campground, which was fine. Our dog growled into the woods a couple of times while on some nature walk which was a little worrisome but with the right tools, actions and preventative things we were fine.
LegendThis is a beautiful green, quiet, peaceful campground. We arrived mid June mid week and there was plenty of availability. Sites are reservable or available as drop in sites for one night at a time.
Sites are kind of pricey:
$32 or $37 for dry camping (not sure why the difference??)
$45 for electric/water sites - if we were staying more than a day we'd probably have to opt for one of these as I don't think that we'd get enough sun through the thick trees for our solar panel.
$27 for sites that are near the entrance. Nothing wrong with these sites, just that they are small and kind of close together and exposed, almost like overflow sites.
Showers are token operated, I don't know how much they are but there's a little machine to buy tokens at the entrance.
Nice hikes and walking paths throughout the campground area. There's a large field with horseshoe pits and a group gathering gazebo.
Campground is open year-round.
Cell service is ok with Verizon (roaming) and good with ATT.
ScoutThe Campground supervisors were amazingly excellent people they as soon as you pull in come around introduced them selves ask if you need anything and they’re always available and always very helpful and knowledgeable in questions you have to ask great hikes beautiful campsites
Traveler
We got an awesome river spot with our brand new set up. It rained but was a beautiful and oh so green area to camp.
GuideSuch a fun experience and had the best spot in the entire campsite! Great trails and swimming spots for the doggos. The campsite was spacious and was plenty of room to fit 2 large tents. Really enjoyed the open field to do some late night stargazing! Overall was a cool place and I would definitely come visit again!
GuideStayed here as part of a 20-person group. Great spot for meeting between Portland and Seattle! Only 20 minutes off the freeway but you feel way out in the country. The only downside is the road noise nearby. People zooming by on the country road. Outside of that, it’s a beautiful spot. Dogs played in the river. Camp was clean and spacious.
GuideBig open park space for kids to play. Hiking along falls is fun. Swimming in hot weather would be great. It was COLD in June. Sites are nice.
Legend
This is a pretty nice campground! There are 3 loops, one is dedicated to horses M-F. Both visits I arrived Sunday afternoon and found a few spots to pick from. There’s a vault toilet per loop. No trash, no water, no hook ups so come prepared. There’s a host onsite and they are very kind. You do need a discovery pass in order to stay and just register up front. Was able to get decent sun for my solar so was able to stay for a couple of days with no issues. There’s hiking trails all around you!
TravelerEnjoyed the sound of the river right there. Restroom was not too smelly, no tp when we arrived, but most of us prepare for that. Would go again but would be more selective of site. Our spot was a little more marshy but the river spots looked fantastic.
GuideWe arrived late after leaving Portland for Mt Rainier. We stayed in a tent site right on the main road. Cars started going by early in the morning (Friday). Had a beautiful morning walk through the old growth forest before packing up and heading to the National Park. We had water, but the bathroom was only a porta potty. I think if we’d stayed in the main campground our stay would’ve been great but we were using it as a quick overnight stop only.
Horse camping in Washington offers a unique blend of outdoor adventure and equestrian enjoyment, with several well-reviewed spots catering to horse enthusiasts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Olympia, WA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Olympia, WA is Millersylvania State Park Campground with a 4.1-star rating from 31 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Olympia, WA?
TheDyrt.com has all 20 equestrian camping locations near Olympia, WA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
