Best RV Parks & Resorts near Oroville, WA

There is the state park and 3 other resorts on the lake. All have full hook ups.

I stay here at least twice a year for a week at a time. The lake is very refreshing on a 100 degree day. The old western town of Winthrop is only a couple miles away. There’s around a dozen campsites right on the lake with your very own private beach access. No hook ups on the beachfront sites, but plenty of full hook ups available away from the water.

Great RV Park

We are all familiar with KOA and that the company prides itself in bringing more features to their campers. But many times I have found that comes with a hefty price tag. On some occasions I have been ready to spend it and other times I have to be convinced a little more due to the location. 

When pulling into Winthrop I really wanted to find out a little more about their KOA and if it was more of a hit or miss. Themed much like the other portions of the community in western decor, the campground welcomed me immediately. I found that the rustic them of the stacked fence and the cabin like exterior of the main office was just a taste of the what was to come within the community. 

It only continued with their other offerings. They had many old pieces along the way which would be perfect for taking photos, enjoying a piece of the old west and setting the tone.

 This park offered camping for RVs and tents but also had cabins. Cost was on target for the other options in the community and came with many luxuries which others did not including a store, pool and play area. Laundry was offered at this location as well and they had kayak and boat rentals if you were wanting to go and enjoy some of the many waterways in the area. 

I really enjoyed the spacing of the sites, however many were not well covered by trees and left something to be desired. The gravel roadway was muddy from recent rain and made it a bit sloshy to get to the sites themselves. So while they were nice overall that particular thing would something I would say is a bit of a let down in comparison to the rest of the facility. 

The play area was another area which would be perfect for grabbing a few memorable photos, with oversized brightly colored chairs which could fit then entire family. Additionally they offered a nice outdoor space with patio chairs and umbrellas by the office which was a nice place to stop in and enjoy some time. 

Overall the biggest asset to this campground still laid in their proximity to the community itself. From here you can drive only a few miles and be in the middle of the historic downtown western themed community and enjoy some very unique activities. For that I would say that the benefits outweigh the downside of cost which is between$30 and$50 for tent or RV camping. 

Tips: 

• Book online in advance of your stay if you are wanting a tent site, they are more limited. 
• If you are in a larger rig, bring a detachable vehicle to navigate in town as there are not a lot of places to park larger rigs in the community itself.

We stayed here for 3 nights in mid September. Warm enough to swim, some sun, and a few showers. Park is mostly full, but most of the the time is quiet. Bathrooms and facilities extremely clean and well maintained. A little boat noise at times, but not too bad. We had a site right on the lake with a small beach. No hookups in our site, but many have partial or full hookups.

General: A variety of different campsites in two sections ranging from economy to basic to popular, with and without hookups, and priced according to peak or non-peak season. There are also three cabins and two group camp areas. 

Site Quality: We are happy we were able to book a basic tent site with our campervan (there were more than a few others with RVs in these sites). Parking was on grass and not completely level, but we made it work. Each site had a picnic table and fire ring (although there was a fire ban in effect when we were there). The sites with utilities had paved camper pads. 

Bath/Shower house: Clean with soap and air dryers. The showers are free but you are asked to not use more than three button pushes. My shower in the afternoon was completely COLD and I am not sure if it was the time of day, the particular shower, or user error. My husband’s shower got hot midway through. 

Activities/Amenities: All things water-based including jet skis, water skiing, kayaking, SUP, and fishing. There is also a boat wash. There are also numerous trails used for hiking, running, and mountain biking. Other activities include volleyball and horseshoes.

Despite my cold shower and the fact that state parks are becoming increasingly pricy (with reservation and out-of-state fees, we paid $ 77 for two nights for a tent site), we enjoyed our stay here.

The Winthrop KOA is similar and on par with most other KOA campgrounds, as far amenities go. The campground is right on the Methow River which is great, however, early in the camping season the current is so swift, you would not be able to swim in it. The campground itself has a western vibe, with old wagons that you can actually rent to sleep in, log cabins, and western-style artifacts throughout. The campground is right off of the highway, so there is a little car noise during the day. At night, we didn't really notice it. With the location of the campground in Methow Valley, it can get really windy. One of the nights we were there, we had to douse our campfire because embers were flying everywhere. We had site 18 which was at the end of one of the rows and it was very spacious with a big grass area and a few trees.

We liked the location because it was close to Winthrop and many of the outdoor activities available in the area such as hiking trails, off-road tracks, fishing, kayaking, etc. The area is beautiful and has much to offer in the scenery department, even for folks that are car-bound.

Winthrop/ N Cascades NP KOA

Nice KOA! The sites are HUGE for a KOA and very well maintained. Sorta a western vibe which goes along with Winthrop City. Nice little town but somewhat tourist trappy. Not horribly so and a cool boardwalk to walk along. If you take away all the traffic and replace it with horses, etc you would almost be in an old west town. The river that meanders along the back of the campground is the stopping point for tube rentals. The river is very rocky so not enjoyable to walk along but apparently good for fishing. There are two very cool wagons that are rentable to stay in, as well as cabins. The campground was very quiet (except for the playground straight across from my site) and not busy on the weekdays we visited. On the side of the playground was a nice camp kitchen with tables and large sinks. The laundry room and shower house are in the same building. The one strange thing is the dump sites location. You have to go to the far right side near the back of the park and then drive all the way back to the front. A lot to do and it would be easy to occupy your vacation time.

This KOA is a great campground, it's clean, it's centrally located to the town of Winthrop and there are close by amenities for groceries, etc. A very kid friendly place to stay as well. They even have some sites that are fenced for privacy and these sites have a hot tub and grill.

This long closed campground has finally reopened for camping. The USFS has thinned out the dense tree cover and reopened for the 2023 season just in time for our motorcycle camping club.

We only stayed here one night, but we enjoyed our stay. We had 50 amp electric service and fresh water. There is a communal dump station. Lots of grass to walk the dogs.

Swimming pool, bike rentals, mining for gems, arrowheads and fossils; purchase from store, playground. Cabins are quieter than tent/RV sites. Very nicely maintained. Grass. Not much privacy and very busy bathroom.

Winthrop is an interesting place for campgrounds.  I did a bit of driving around and exploring my options, of which there were a few, before settling on this site.

Campground Review:

Big Twin Lake Campground is located 3 miles south of Winthrop, which makes it feel a little out of the way, in a good way.  They have both tent and RV sites.  The camp host made a variety of helpful suggestions for spots to camp, both in the traditional tent spots and further out in the 90 acres they have. 

The tent and RV campsites are mostly close together, under a spread out stand of trees, all with lake views.  There are 'orchard' spots available as well, which have more space between them. We settled on a spot at the end of the tent sites, before it turns into the orchard.  So one side of us did not have other campers, which was nice.  There is little to no privacy between the tent sites, but it ended up not being an issue the night we stayed.  The spot had a nice fire pit (but there was a burn ban, so no fire for us) and a picnic table set up.

The campground offered paddle boats, fishing, and I understood there was swimming available, though we did not utilize these items.  I did buy ice from the campground at a decent price.  They have toilets for use at both ends of the campground and a pay shower at the larger bathrooms. All in all, it was a decent stay.

Product Review: As a Ranger for the Dyrt, from time to time I get to test products. At Big Twin Lake Campground, I tested a variety of the Stream2Sea Products.

Prior to staying at Big Twin Lake, I had been camping and hiking in the summer sun, so I had plenty of time to test their products.  I tried their Standard Sunscreen, Tinted, Chap-stick with sunscreen, Shampoo/Body wash, and Leave in Conditioner and the Body Lotion.

Here is what I have discovered: 

1. These products seriously work.  I was using the Stream2Sea sunscreen while my hiking/camping buddy was using a different sunscreen. I was surprised that the Stream2Sea worked better - he got burned, but I did not. 

2. The sunscreen kept me cooler while in the blazing sun. 

3. The Shampoo/body wash works great as a way to clean dirt off yourself if no showers are nearby.

4. The sunscreen/chap-stick does not taste like sunscreen. 

5. The non-tinted sunscreen goes on white and, honestly, tends to stay that way.  I was completely fine with that as I'd rather be pasty and my skin healthy.  

6. I love the way the body lotion feels, it does seems to be very hydrating. 

7. Stream2Sea is coral safe, which I didn't get to test but love about them and they are biodegradable.  A company that cares about the environment and makes products that seriously work - that makes them all-stars in my book.

 My boyfriend and I stayed at Tiffany's resort this weekend , August 28, 2021, for one night at Cabin 5. We found the place dirty to the level of being worried for our health and safety and the only positive was the lake view. We arrived at 5:15 pm, we brought our stuff in the cabin and had to leave and returned at 8:00 pm. The owners leave at 5:30 pm, thus, when we came back there was no one to contact about the state of the cabin. The cabins have obviously been constructed at time when lead paint was used in these facilities. The cabin has tons of decaying wood peeling paint and obvious mold growing in and around the sink area. The caulking was little to nonexistent there was cracks in the concrete floor in the living room and bathroom, the floors were so dirty that we had to wear our shoes and there were light fixtures that did not work. The windows did not stay open and if they did they had, there were broken screens which were duck taped to seal the screen. There was a serious gap in the door which allowed the outside wind and air to enter the cabin including bugs. When we looked up at the light at night there were tons of little green flies around the light. The beds were covered with old, motel like cover, which was not clean, smelled like bio, and the bed was covered with thin sheets, on an old mattress. I checked for bed bugs... did not see anything, but who knows? All of the furniture in this cabin, was old, dirty and run down; bed side tables were missing handles. In the bathroom we found two soaps and no shampoo. The gas heater in the living room did not work, and had slimy dust in it the couches were filthy, and all stained and dusty, God knows what was on them...You would not want to bring a blue light in this cabin. There is no doubt when the facilities were originally constructed, they were fantastic and were the place to build family memories. In the review book, people reference those magical times, but now these cabins pose a serious health hazard to those hoping to enjoy the lake. There's a serious concern of mold spores, being dirty, lack of sanitation, period, not to mention the required sanitation due to COVID-19 protocols, the structures severely asked the question should they be condemned for health and safety purposes? We understand staying in a rustic cabin, we also do not mind an older cabin, but we have not agreed to pay to stay in filthy and condemned place. We rented it as a choice for staying in a tent, as the nights are getting cold and we knew we were coming in late, but this type of facility looks like something that you would find abandoned with no maintenance being done for years. And all this for the price of$118.00 plus tax, per night, when the state park across the way charges$30 a night for a tent spot and the grounds there are spotless, pristine and maintained amazingly. While the cabins are decaying slowly, the owner is building a new building and their current home, which is right on the property, oozes with the fanciness and richness of a Beverly Hills like mansion with big expensive looking signs with warning of no soliciting or trespassing on their private property with "top of the line quality" sectional on their porch. At check out we provided the feedback about the cabins. The owners were only concerned because another potential client was in the room at the same time with me and heard what I was saying about the state of the cabins. Moreover, owners continue asking me why we didn't leave when it was so bad...or why didn't we say anything. How can one provide feedback when no one is available after 5:30 pm. The owners responded that they are sorry, and as soon as I walked out, I herd them excusing themselves to the client in the room, saying that they were sorry the client had to hear what I had to say. They did not seem to see that this was a health and safety concern, especially in the world of COVID-19. We won't be back!

Based on visit in August of 2019. The lake had a pretty significant bloom of algae and a lot of mill weed at this time, but it was still a great visit.

The lake and surrounding area is gorgeous. If coming from the West I recommend taking Hwy 2 across the Cascades then take Hwy 21 north across the Columbia (via the free Keller Ferry) and all the way to the Lake. The whole stretch of Hwy 21 between the border and Columbia is one of the best in the PNW. Take Hwy 20 back from Republic for more splendor.

Decent-sized IGA for groceries, convenience stores, and a few restaurants in Republic nearby

This is a big campground on a big lake, but the three loops help to create three different experiences. We camped in #79, one of seven tent sites on the somewhat isolated lower loop. All of the sites on the lakeside of this loop are pretty large and nice. Save for a few trees there isn't a lot separating each site and all are visible from the lake, so not exactly private either. South of the park are cabins across the bay that you can see and hear. During the day there is a lot of activity on the water, including speedboats blasting Nickelback (it is close to Canada).

Over a little hill from the lower loop is swimming beach and day-use area. This area was pretty busy with locals as the temperatures hit 100 during our visit. The bathroom has pay showers, outlets, and was recently renovated. Plan your showers for the morning or evening.

The middle loop is on top of hill that has a wooded slope on the lakeside. There are two distinct areas here, one is literally a loop of sites on grass in classic WA State Parks fashion. The other section is series of 10 or so sites on the hillside and in the woods that you have to park and walk into. The sites were all different sizes and distances from each other. More privacy here, but there is a trail just above the shore that runs by many of them, so keep your shorts on.

The upper loop is the largest and has mix of RV and drive-up sites in a little valley ringed by walk-in sites on top of the hill. Note that from the sites in the valley you can't really see the lake but there are scattered trees to provide some shade. Not my cup of tea, but there is another shower area and a little store operated by the hosts that had ice, wood, and some frozen treats.

Back to our experience: the lower loop is on edge of a small bay and natural marshland. We had a clear view of an Osprey nest (see pictures) that the hillside trails goes right by.

In addition to the Ospreys we saw many birds drawn to the marsh and trees, several kinds of fish, turtles, and nutria in the water. In addition to a few red squirrels we also were visited by a tiny skunk who sauntered up through the reeds on the hillside to lick the griddle I left on the ground by our table (always clean up, folks). It left without incident, but I was glad we didn't have out dog with us or else things could have ended quickly.

In the area are hikes in the Kettle River Range, the Ferry County Rail Trail (which I want to check out next time), and numerous back roads to explore. Because of the heat we did some trips in the van up to the border, Ranald MacDonald State Park (smallest in the state), Swan Lake, the city of Curlew, and of course the ice cream serving establishments of Republic.

I wish the lake would have been more pleasant to be in, that's the only reason for the 4 star review. I'm not sure if it is like that every year, so I would contact the park office or check on social media to see.

Not super busy, about half full on a Sunday night. Bathrooms and showers for campers are clean (the public ones closer to the lake are much less clean, showers there are closed). Lots of flat spots, every one has a picnic table. Paid $26 for a dry spot. Lake is also pretty.

$26 for a standard site. Campground is a large grassy opening with minimal privacy each spot has a picnic table and fire ring. Flushing bathrooms with coin operated shower rooms on back of building. One row of sites are right on the lake.