Best Equestrian Camping near Olympic National Park

This is another one of those late evening finds for us that makes this no reservations lifestyle work. Driving along Hwy 112 on the Olympic Peninsula can feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere and then this little gem pops up seemingly out of nowhere. 

There’s just a handful of sites situated in a line at the end of a large parking area for the OHV access trails nearby, but they are lovely. These sites are FREE with your Washington State Discover Pass ($30 annual pass), and we can imagine that it gets pretty crowded on popular weekends.  

Campsites we’re pretty packed together, with picnic tables and fire rings.  Pictures were taken on a Monday morning when everyone else had already left. : )  Had the place to ourselves for a couple of hours.  

There is a vault toilet and a fresh water tap.   We just stayed the night on the way to/from the west side of the peninsula back to the east side, so it was perfect.

Nearby OHV trails and dirt roads offer lots of recreation opportunities, as well as the nearby Olympic National Park. Driving distances in this area are pretty far, so plan accordingly. 

The closest town with all services is Port Angeles, but many gas stations, general stores and mom and pop restaurants can be found in the small villages through which you will drive.

We love this campground so much, I almost hesitate to write this review. Like a number of Washington State Parks, the plug-in sites are in a large field, with very few trees around and kind of look like a lot of other standard RV parks with three or so levels of close parking with lovely views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca between the US and Canada.

While the view is lovely, this is not where this park shines. Go further, into the primitive camping loops, there you’ll find paradise. The sites are small, and situated under a diverse coastal Washington beach forest. A few of the sites have some good solar opportunities, while others are completely under canopy. Most could only accommodate smaller rigs, but a few could get a mid-sized Class B, vans and smaller trailers aren’t a problem. 

Aside from reminding us of the kind of campsites we went to as kids, this place just feels like a great place to hang out and let the kids run feral. This park offers one of the most stunning tide pool experiences that these two naturalists have ever seen without getting in a boat. It’s so richly filled with creatures in the intertidal zone, that it has to be seen in order to be believed. Just a short walk from the campground, go armed with good footwear and the curiosity of a child. Trust us, just put it on the list. 

There’s lots of hiking within the park as well, from the short coastal path, to exploring the WWII ruins, and down to the sandy beach below the bluff on which the campground sits. Nearby Olympic National Park offers many recreational opportunities for the outdoor enthusiast, the hiking is particularly stunning there. 

Port Angeles is less than 20 minutes away where you can get resupplied, or treat yourself to dinner, or get more information about the National Park. The nearby communities have gas stations, general stores and convenience stores but only a few Mom and Pop diners/ cafes along state route 112.

We discovered this park by accident almost 30 years ago and I was happy to find that it is still a great place to camp. Close to Port Angeles and the Olympic National Park Visitor Center, it is located on the banks of the Strait of San Juan de Fuca. The sites that have water views are reservable; when we arrived on a Thursday in June, these had all been reserved(although not all were occupied). Many of the non-reservable sites were available. We were not able to get two consecutive nights in a prime spot so we returned a second time! No hookups in the loop but there are three tiers of 39 RV sites that have decent water views. Each of these has an electrical and water hookup and a paved pad but you are stacked up as you would be in a typical RV park. Restrooms are reasonably clean(but no garbage receptacle) and there are showers but there is a fee. If you have a water view site and the weather cooperates, you will enjoy a glorious sunset. There is a playground for children, but the best feature is the tidepools that are accessible at low tide; our girls had a blast exploring these when they were young.

Littleton Horse Camp is on the edge of the very popular Lake Crescent area of Olympic National Park. It's hidden away from the crowds, but still super close and convenient to all of the ONP activities and hikes on the eastern part of the peninsula - and was a perfect place for me to really put my new OOFOS to the test.

Campground Review

The Littleton Horse Camp is a haven in the midst of summer national park chaos! There are only a handful of actual sites - but it is a horse camp, so the sites are HUGE, and well spaced out. Each site has a table and firepit as well as an area with the posts to tie up your horses (or your hammock). There were lots of trees as well for hammocking!

Since this campground is in the national forest instead of the national park, there is a lot more flexibility. In fact, if you turn up here and there aren't any actual sites left, you can camp in any of the green space here around the trail head. When we woke up, we found a lot more tents in the common area then we did when we settled in for the night. The campground itself is the trailhead for Muller Mountain.

The campground wasn't well maintained during the weekend of our visit, there was a giant pile of trash by the trash can (which wasn't ever picked up while we were there), the drop toilet was in the kind of state that you don't want to go into unless you really have to, no one was collecting the $10 fee for the sites, and there weren't any envelopes to register.

There is no running water - or any water source, so you have to pack everything in. You're also only 4 miles from the Fairholm camp store if you have to stock up on anything.

The campground is not marked from the road, but it isn't hard to find if you're looking for it. It's 4.4 miles past Fairholm (ONP campground) going west, up a forest service road. This campground works as a great base for Lake Crescent (especially is Fairholm is packed out- and it's 12$ cheaper per night than the NP campgrounds)

Campfires were permitted here in fire rings despite the overall ban burn in the area. This changes and will be clearly marked throughout the National Park and Forest.

Overall, the only thing about camping here that wasn't optimal was that it rained for almost our entire visit! So we didn't get as outdoor time hanging out around a campfire here liked we'd hoped. When the downpour started, we drove back to the Lake Crescent lodge, ate lunch on their covered patio and did the Marymere waterfalls hike.

Product Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time - at the LIttleton Horse Camp (and all through my week of Olympic National Park camping and hiking) I tested out the Women's OOMG Low Shoe from OOFOS.

I was excited to test out a pair of OOFOS, because their shoes are designed to relieve pressure and speed up the recovery process for your feet. I do a lot of hiking, and was planning to hike an average of 6-10 miles per day during my Olympics camping adventure.

OOFOS come in both flip flop / slide style and a full covered slip on shoe style. I picked the full covered shoe because I'm always cold when I'm camping and I hate having dirty feet in my tent and sleeping bag. I wasn't sure if I'd like the way they look on- but I'm not super stylish in the campground anyway, so I went with the black full shoe with white sole.

The biggest challenge I had with my OOFOS was getting my size right! I'm a 9-9.5 usually, and wear my running shoes a half size up in a 10. I mistakenly went with the 9 since I wasn't planning on wearing them with socks, and they were too small upon arrival. I had to send them back for the 10, and luckily I still got them the day before I left for my trip. (note: the return process was pretty easy, customer service actually called me back when I left a message, and I see now that OOFOS has added to their site that they recommend ordering up on half sizes)

What I loved (and learned) about camping with my OOFOS:

1. These are soooooo comfortable. I didn't wear them to hike, but I literally wore them every other moment of my trip (and I'm still wearing them every day a week later). The insole is soft, but supportive in all of the right places. It's like wearing properly structured marshmallows on your feet.
2. The full shoe slips on and off as easily as a flip flop. While my camping mate was struggling with setting up her tent with half of her body in and out so she didn't have to take off her shoes, I was able to easily slip mine on and off any time I wanted to pop into the tent or into the hammock. The easy on and off, also makes this super easy for changing in and out of clothes.
3. Because the insoles are made of the same recovery foam material as the outsole, wearing these sockless didn't feel super great in the rain. They felt much better in the rain once I put on some socks, and I learned to dry my feet off before I wear them without socks. (If you have sweaty feet, you'll want socks)
4. I got the white soled shoes because they seemed the most stylish option, but they got dirty very quickly in a mucky campground. They do clean up pretty easily, but if you don't want to clean the soles, black may be a more practical option for the outdoor lover.
5. I did a 14 mile hike the day these arrived in the mail, and they were amazing to put on my very tired feet and calves. I don't know the scientific reason that they work, but they made my feet happy. They will be the shoes I pack from now on to slip on when I take my trail shoes off.

Sadie Creek Campground west of Joyce on Highway 112 is perfect for a certain group of people, and not so amazing for another group of people.

If you enjoy Off-Roading or motorized anything this is the spot for you! With six spaces and plenty of parking for your trailer or RV, Sadie Creek has everything you could ask for. Also an extensive system of trails both on the northern and southern end of the highway will give days of riding through heavily wooded (and probably difficult) terrain. Also a great place for equestrians although if your horse spooks easily perhaps not.

If you are a tent camper or enjoy solitude as apposed to the social aspects to the great outdoors I would heavily advise against this campground. It's ok for a quick night's stay if a spot is open but the sites are practically right next to each other and expect to share the space with others that may not be so quiet. I would suggest Lyre River campground 6 miles to the east if that's what you're after.

Although there's no hook-ups there is a pit toilet on site. With a yearly Discovery Pass ($30) the campground is free. You have Murdock Beach down the road which gives great views of the Salish Sea. Closest town would be Joyce 10 miles to the east, with a great general store and through street to Lake Crescent. Multi-use trails run out from the north or south of the campground so great jump-off point for hiking or trail running in the Olympic National Forest.

I discovered Littleton horse camp out of necessity. I dont usually make reservations when I camp which proved quite difficult when journeying through the Olympic Peninsula during peak season. Most campgrounds I planned to go to were not only completely full, but has so many cars and campers on a frantic hunt for a place to stay for the night. Crescent Lake was no exception. All the campgrounds in the area were completely full, and while there is BLM land in the surrounding area, I was camping by myself and didnt feel comfortable doing dispersed camping.

Luckily, I found Littleton Horse Camp. The camp is intended for those with horses, but many people ended up car camping here due to a lack of anywhere else to go. There was no host there so it was kind of a free for all. I dont recommend camping here if there are other options but it was a good backup since there was no where else to go. There were about 5 groups of campers when I arrived in the afternoon, and when I returned from my day at the Lake, there were about 20 cars there. There is a put toilet, but no water. I found a place behind one of the horse posts where there was a little clearing ands set my tent up there. If you really need water and have a filter, there is a creek when you begin go on the trail to Mt Muller which is located along the road heading into campground.

Its about a 15 minute drive to Crescent Lake, and the trailhead to hike Mt. Muller is on the way into Littleton Horse camp. I highly recommend hiking up to Mt Muller for a great uphill butt-burner with spectacular views alongside beautiful fauna and cedar trees.

Glad to know about this place in case im in a pinch next time I come back to enjoy the beauty of the area.

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.