Best Glamping near Olympic National Forest

This campground is so high and remote. It's not glamping, by any means. Sites are nice, but there's very little in between them for privacy. Views are incredible. I've been going here since I was a kid.

The Quinault Lake campground in Olympic National Forest is one of those rare quiet and scenic car-camping sites where you can fully immerse yourself in the beauty of the place without having to backpack or drive up rugged remote roads. We camped in early October and there were many beautiful sites to choose from. And I mean beautiful. We chose a site right on the lake with a tent platform under a Western red cedar and a separate section with a full table. There was a bathroom just a short 2 minute walk away. It rained - as it tends to do in the Olympics - all night but with the shade of the cedar and our waterproof tent we remained dry. The campground is just down the road from the Lake Quinault Lodge - a beautiful, rustic resort where we showered in the morning, sat by a roaring fire, and got a delicious (and decently priced) breakfast.

Campsite Review: The Coho campground in Olympic National Forest is pretty interesting as it’s just off Lake Wynoochee, formed by the Wynoochee Dam (I don’t think I ever really got the Indian names down quite right). This portion of the National Forest is really cool and feels very secluded as you drive for miles and miles from any real civilization into some wonderful old growth forests. The 46-different pull-through, back-in campsites are all fairly separated and you’re not at all bothered by your neighbors. There are also 10 walk-in tent only sites and a handful of Yurts (which looked interesting). Since you are off quite a way down an old logging road (paved one way, unpaved the the other) you have absolutely no highway noise to deal with and no one is coming and going at all hours of the night. All of the campsites themselves are a decent size with nice flat areas, huge tables, fire ring, etc. We stayed at site 41 in loop B which was open to the road, but we had no one behind us or on either side. When getting your site be careful about the exact size allotment if you’re in a big RV or have a 5th wheel, etc. Felt really bad for the guy trying to back into site 38 beside us. He tried for 30+ minutes pulling around and trying to get a better angle 2-3 times before they found the camp host and to move to site 40 which was empty. While the site might say it’ll fit your vehicle, the roads are narrow and there are random boulders here and there which may impede your maneuvering. The sites which are “on the water” aren’t really on the water, but overlook a pretty steep decline to the lake with the 16-mile lakeshore trail in between. If you’re a boater you’re also not too far from the boat access ramp.

The toilet facilities in Loop B were nice and clean. The facilities right by us seemed to have been properly maintained and no guests had come in and destroyed them. There was hand soap and plenty of paper towels and toilet paper (in case you forget to bring your own).

Amenities: Definitely larger than standard picnic tables, fire rings, plus flush toilets, potable water, & trash cans which were emptied first thing in the morning |Prohibited: pets off-leash

Nearby Hikes: Wynoochee lakeshore trail, which goes by a couple waterfalls & Working Forest Nature trail, which gives you a little insight into the life cycle of the forest

Gear Review: As a Ranger for The Dyrt I sometimes get the opportunity to test out products and the highlight of this particular camp site was my testing of the Belmont Blanket #AdventureBlanket The best all-purpose blanket ever!! This is a truly fantastic blanket and completely different from the other “outdoor blankets” which either are supposedly waterproof or keep you warm. This blanket does it all. I felt like this was designed specifically with mastering the outdoors in mind.

• I was really impressed with the size that this rolls up into. Was thinking it wouldn’t be nearly as warm with such a small packed size for a 6’ x 5’ all weather blanket.
• Similarly, this blanket is huge. I’m 6 feet tall and this blanket can cover me from head to toe. So many times with an “outdoor” blanket, I can’t fully stretch out.
• The #AdventureBlanket is really soft on the plush inside, it’s very comfy and has actually become not only our outdoor blanket, but also our couch blanket.
• Can’t attest to the waterproofing in the wild (thankfully haven’t yet had to test out if we’d get ‘wet butt’ or not), but our makeshift water bottle rain test proved the blanket was fully waterproof (not resistant) which is awesome.
• Really like the design with the awesome leather accents. The colors are really sharp and make the blanket pop.
• Probably one of the best features of this blanket is that it’s Handmade in the USA!! How many companies or products can claim that now a day.

I give the Belmont Blanket #AdventureBlanket 5/5 stars and it's my go to "blanket" for any picnic/fest/outdoor activity and I actually got myself a second one!

This is a fairly large site with some yurt and walk in campsite options, besides the normal type of spots. This campsite gives you open access to the beach. Though there are many better and more remote coastal campsites, don't pass this one up if your looking for simplicity.

Coho Campground sits on the Wynoochee Lake at the Wynoochee Dam. Lush forest, tall trees, and moss make this place so beautiful and a magical campground for kids to play in! Campsites are private and shady. In spring, piles of wood are stacked in piles all over, from those which fell in winter. The lake has a great day use area and the campground also has yurts, with a lake view.

There isn't a lot of privacy between slots but this campground offers RV, tent and yurts. Electrical HU only but dump site available. It's right off the beach with a little shop in walking distance. There's also a motel with an accessible laundry room nearby. There is a huge expanse of beach to play on when the tide is out. Most campers leave dogs off leash on the beach. Tons of kites flying through the summer days, it's beautiful. Campfires on the beach allowed. Camp hosts are great and facilities upkeep is well managed. Two shower tokens per dollar, each token = 3 minutes. Summer books up quickly, need to secure 9 months in advance. Cell service is very spotty and campground WiFi is as well.

Proximity to the beach makes this a necessary stop while exploring the Washington coast.

One of the prettiest lakes in Washington. Can get pretty busy in the summer but mostly empty otherwise. Little to no cell service. lots of options for camping and backroads all around.

On out road trip we ended up in forks washington where the twilight flims are based off of. This town is close and the koa was wonderful

Our Trip down the coast ended at Pacific Beach Washington, camp or rent a cottage and walk off deck to your own private ocean front spot!! Beautiful sunsets, though the coast can be cold certain times of the year I love the Pacific Ocean!!

Lucked out with a dry Saturday night. Cold, 28 degrees. On the main loop the camp sites to the right are along the river with great access to the water. Stay away from the left side inner loop spots as they are tighter to each other, although, they are great for multiple groups looking to camp together.
About a 20 minute drive to Mt. Ellinore and Mt. Washington if you’re looking for good hikes with great views.

These campsites were closed indefinitely due to flood damage, but man were they beautiful when open. The entire Washington area is beautiful. Even though the campsites are currently closed there is lodging available in the Port Angeles area. You can also stay inside the park at Lake Crescent. The area is still open for hiking. I definitely recommend making a stop here during your Olympic National Park visit.

This was our first camping trip, as new Washington locals. While we do not normally do KOAs, this was a good call, as the campground does accept reservations, which is hard to find on the Olympic Peninsula. The campground was a great launching pad for all our explorations, including the Hoh rain forest and Victoria BC (a short ferrry ride away). I would recommend a stay here!

Beautiful but busy area. The sites were laid out weird, with little to no privacy between sites. There was no river access from the campground which was unfortunate. The resort itself was so busy and did not look peaceful to soak in. We spent most of our days exploring the park and the coast. It is nice that it is close to the falls but they are also very busy. Long drive back to civilization. I have stayed at much better campgrounds in Washington, and was a bit disappointed by this one.

I loved our night at Kalaloch Campground.

As we made our way up Highway 101, we were able to get a last minute reservation at Kalaloch for the night (which apparently can be rare).

It is about 11 minutes south of Ruby Beach (photos!) and has immediate beach access as well. There are fire pits, picnic tables, potable water and restrooms. No showers however. Its a pretty decent sized campground with over 160 campsites. No cell service at all which is good and bad (depending on if you need to to find the place!)

One of the only campsites on the west coast of Washington that is technically part of/near Olympic National park. We loved it!

Coho campground is a wonderful spot but it is a 35 miles off of the highway. If you go, pack everything you need. There are no stores or gas stations once you hit the paved road to the campground. The camp host does sell firewood and ice. Half of the campground is first come first serve. Reservations can be made on the other half. There is also a boat launch and a huge day use park. The reservable lake spots 29, 31,33, 34, 35, & 36 sit on a bluff overlooking the lake. These are the prime spots. The bathrooms all have flush toilets but no showers. There are showers at another campground a short drive away. Even when the campground is full on the weekend it doesn't seem crowded. Lake noise from powerboats, even though there is no speed limit on the lake, is rarely an issue. It can rain a bit at Coho so bring tarps. Like almost any campground in Washington State the campground empties out on Sunday and is almost empty during the early part of the week.

Stopped here on a bicycle tour during Memorial Day weekend, and there were no camp hosts, rangers, or attendants of any kind. Hiker-biker sites do not require advance reservation and are supposed to be reserved for folks who are traveling without cars. Because no one was managing the campground, car campers had taken over the hiker-biker area, and there were cars parked in the driving lanes with people were setting up tents along the foot paths to the bathrooms. It looked like music festival camping.

The campground is just outside Forks, Washington. After passing through the town, a truck full of men who had been drinking in a parking lot followed me out of town most of the way to the campground. Bad vibes all around in this area.

I don't know whether or not this is a nice campground when it is being serviced. It may be, but I had a bad experience here that doesn't give me the confidence to want to return.

This campground is so slammed during the summer camping season that I usually do not get around to going. When half the loops close down for the off season is another story. There are some great spots along the beach, with in a stones throw from the Pacific Ocean. The bathrooms are clean, the showers have great hot water and it is mostly empty off season. The tree covered park is a great place to unwind when needing a nature recharge while away from the city! I love the beach and spend most of my time camping here wondering around in the sand looking for treasures or taking pictures. I usually try to plan a trip with my other VW friends. We share stores of the road, meals made over the fire, our love for Westfalia campers and a cold beer or two. The area has some great sight seeing, beach coaming, great little restaurants, hiking trails and long slow winding roads that call out to me. I make plans to visit at least 4 times a year and I'm never disappointed! I highly recommend this campground if on the Washington coast!

This is another solid spot directly off Highway 101 that is managed By Washington DNR and only requires a Discovery Pass ($30 annually) to stay at! Set pretty close to Highway 101 a mile or so south of the turnoff to the Hoh Rainforest this is a much better bet than actually staying at the campground within the rainforest. If you're lucky you can snag one of the few spots right along the slow, cold and deep Hoh River and have a perfect view from your tent or trailer. Other spots are higher and away from the river but still settled in the trees of the campground. 

I only saw one vault toilet there but there is a second section of the campground I didn't look at that may also have a toilet. There's a self-registration station at the entrance and a handicapped-accessible spot. I wouldn't take giant RV's down to this campground but it can accommodate smaller pull-behind trailers. 

This is really an amazing spot and I'm sure it fills up during the summer. Beware though that this basically free camping can draw some sketchy people and if there isn't a camp host around I wouldn't leave any valuables out of your car(Iknow from experience) but most campgrounds do have host in the summer months.