Looking for a place to camp near Onalaska with your horse? Whether you own a horse or are joining a tour group, equestrian camping is an adventurous and unique way to experience the city. With our help, you'll find the best Washington equestrian campsites from scenic to easily accessible.
Far in the Northwestern corner of the United States lies a world of magic, splendor, and mystical beauty. Perched atop the historical Mount St. Helens, Seaquest State Park is the home-base for thousands of volcanic visitors year round. Most notable for its proximity to the Mount St. Helens Visitors Center, this park is the home base for hikers, explorers, tourists, and adventures alike. It’s not just the volcanic aftermath that makes this area so special. Even before the eruption, Gifford-Pinchot National Forest has always been known for its dense foliage, as well as its beautiful lakes, tributaries, and waterfalls.
When it comes to nearby attractions, the area is packed with them. Miles and miles of trails fork and wind throughout the park. Beyond the confines of the park’s boundaries are numerous additional trailheads, all offering something unique to those seeking it. Perhaps the most popular trail nearby is the Monitor Ridge trail. This 10 miles round trip excursion will have you climbing 2,000 vertical ft. through grassy meadows and winding forest paths. The last 1,000 feet are especially difficult due to the volcanic debris and soot that cakes your clothes. However when you finally reach the domed summit, you’ll be pleased with your efforts. Massive and expansive, the St. Helens dome is unlike any other scenic viewpoint in the US. Nowhere else can you see the true force and impact of Mother Nature’s wrath.
Nearby, the Mount St. Helens Ape Caves give visitors a chance to traverse through the labyrinth of volcanic caves left behind by magma runs during the the eruption. Today, the caves are a popular attraction for families and explorers. There’s two separate options, one which is well-lit and suited for families. The other option will send you through a pitch black adventure trekking the depths of the craggy, drippy tunnels. If planning to visit, be sure to bring a strong flashlight or kerosene lantern, as you’ll be unable to enter otherwise.
Camping in Seaquest State Park is relatively painless thanks to the 52 standard campsites, 18 partial-hookup sites, and 15 full-service sites. RVers, tent campers, van travelers, and anyone else with a form of shelter should have no issues finding somewhere to stay here. Aside from standard camping accommodations, there are also full-service Yurts available for rental, complete with heaters to stay warm if you’re visiting in the chilly months.
$12 - $45 / night
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
Welcome to Riffe Lake Campground, the perfect place to get away. Riffe Lake Campground offers a friendly area for you and your family, pets included (excluding our cabins)! Riffe Lake offers beautiful scenery for your weekend away. Whether you are looking forward to Riffe Lake’s miles of hiking trails, her beautiful waterfalls, or want to wet your fishing pole’s line, you are sure to have a vacation filled with memories. Our campgrounds are surrounded by striking pines to provide a measure of privacy. If you’re bringing a boat, don’t worry! We are located less than 3 miles from the boat launch. Each site has a picnic table, a fire pit and is running distance to our playground.
$37 / night
This ORV-oriented campground offers access to Capitol State Forest's 89 miles of motorized trail. Campground has 24 campsites, and four toilets.
$65 - $71 / night
Washington State Discover Pass required https://discoverpass.wa.gov/
The campground loop trail allows easy access to the main trailhead. A trailhead parking area, found at the east end of the campground provides parking for day use. Over 50 miles of trails and closed roads are available from the campground.
$55 / night
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.
Scout
The "cabins" are essentially shed conversions on a flatbed and wheels that rock and sway. Not ada accessible. They have electricity but no insulation and the water reeks of sulfur. The loft style beds seem like they are for children.
The host Joann is money hungry and inflexible. Be sure to get travel insurance and read all rules and reviews on other platforms prior to stay to be well informed of issues and not be blindsided by uncharges here. She will enter your space as she sees fit. There are no boundaries for her but tons for guests with rule signage plastered everywhere on the grounds.
Campground is covered in rabbit feces, so parents with small children beware. I would never stay here again. For the headache of dealing with the host alone it made the entire experience one of an utterly uncomfortable inconvenience.
This place looks nice from an outside view but staying here is an entirely different story.
Also the fact that a Joanna left a 5 star reviews here when all other platforms have complaints is a bit questionable.
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.
TravelerLarge 36 acre peaceful Rv Park on the Clatskanie River. 2 miles on SWEDETOWN road. lots of bunnies and a cute petting zoo very relaxing.
Guide
I gave this park a high rating primarily because of its location. It is a great place to launch your Mount Saint Helens exploration, with a Washington State Visitor Center you can walk to from the campground. We had hookups but our site was very close to the site next to us and we had no privacy there. If you don’t need hookups, I would recommend the loop that has 32 - 54. These were much more private and actually had better Wi-Fi than our location. Bathrooms are convenient and have free showers. There was better hot water at the bathroom on the loop with sites 32 - 54.
ScoutSeaquest has something for everyone. My campsite was not close to the road , but I stayed when Johnston Ridge was closed, so maybe road noise would be a factor at other times.
Some pluses here include: some private sites, lots of trees, bathroom / showers, playground, open areas, close to other points of interest. And for those who can’t live without it: WiFi.
Although bathrooms were clean, I believe they could use an upgrade. Showers in particular.
ScoutFantastic place. Long trailers might have trouble
ScoutI very much liked the facilities, camp host, campsite.
I’m a light sleeper though, and could hear cars and trucks driving till 1am. I was in a tent though, if you have a camper I’m sure it is far less noticeable.
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.
Legend
This is a beautiful campground! Lots of tall trees, & ferns. Feels like you are in Boreal forests . Several shower/bathrooms buildings throughout the park. It adjacent to the Mount St Helen’s Volcanic Preserve, but on the back end. We hiked into the NP to Cathedral Falls. It is convenient for exploring Mt. Saint Helen’s, and Mt Rainer.
ScoutWe went over Labor Day weekend with a small group and had two adjacent campsites. The sites were large and well graded. They were also well separated from each other with lots of vegetation dividing them. Bathrooms seemed to have been recently upgraded and were some of the nicer state park bathrooms we’ve come across. Kids enjoyed the junior ranger program and the Mt St Helens visitor center across the road has great exhibits on the eruption. About a 40 minute drive to Coldwater lake where you can access a number of trails closer to the volcano.
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.
RangerBut the wireless is really only in the day use area. I'd love it if it works throughout the campground but no. The spots are nice though and there is a lot of shade. Odd to be so near a big lake and really, it doesn't seem to have any access to it. Loads of trails though which is nice.
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.
GuideWell maintained state park. Spaces are large and fairly level. Close to Mount Saint Helen.
Traveler
There are 8 walk in sites and one drive up site, all first come first serve discovery pass required. Some sites are larger than others, but in ours we were able to fit two 6ptents and one 2p tent. All campsites have a fire ring and picnic table. You’ll still see and hear your fellow campers, but it does seem semi private. Make sure to bring toilet paper, the bathroom seems to never be stocked. Make sure to haul out all trash.
You can’t use motorized boats and can only fly fish in the lake, but a very nice 1 mile hike is adjacent to the day use area. Also very close to Cougar for gas and supplies for emergencies. Driving distance to popular day hikes. No cell service.
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.
GuideIt was a great place to escape from everything for a night. We stayed at site 35 in a tent, and it was perfect. A little dip down and isolated enough perfectly for my wife and I. A nice fire ring, picnic table, and plenty of space for our Rav4. It was really busy but our area was almost completely empty so we had a blast. Awesome staff and clean bathrooms.
Scout
Cabins are nice,showers didn't work,park host less than friendly but beautiful park
GuideThis was what I would call perfect winter camping- no rain but chilly. It was like being deep in the forest but with the convenience of a full-hook ups. (Water is shut off in the winter but you can fill your tank at the park. The “tt” sites are just like regular rv park types- field of grass w/ picnic tables. The straight #s are the sites in the forest.
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.
LegendDiscover pass required
Merrill Lake, just outside of Cougar, WA feels very remote, despite its relatively close proximity to the Portland/Vancouver area. This campground is best suited for tent camping, as there is only one RV site and sometimes it’s occupied by a camp host.
I met up with some folks who were in tents and occupied the tent spots and spent the night in the parking lot in my van. Several other folks did this as well. You're just a little ways from the campsites that have picnic tables and fire pits.
The lake is the real attraction here. Great for paddle boarding or kayaking. There's a boat launch. Best of all, it's free!
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 :)
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Onalaska, WA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Onalaska, WA is Seaquest State Park Campground with a 4.1-star rating from 44 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Onalaska, WA?
TheDyrt.com has all 18 equestrian camping locations near Onalaska, WA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
