Best Tent Camping near Rochester, WA

Being a new visitor to WA, we wanted to spend our first night in the middle of nowhere and this did it.

A bit of a climb for our truck camper so 4x4 was handy. There were some lower tree branches but easy to (delicately) pull to the side to get by. The road is 1 lane, gravel but nicely maintained. Not many areas to pull over so go slow and prepare to back up if necessary.

It's first come, first serve with no hookups or trash service but there is a bathroom. There's a couple spots for a bigger truck camper like ours and a handful of secluded tent sites you can walk to from the parking area. The tent sites we saw had a fire ring (fire ban in place right now) and a picnic table all nestled in the trees and ferns. There's 1 main place to fish from and several little nooks as well. There's a LOT of old, picturesque trees/ stumps in the lake, hence the name. A gentleman we met said the lake is stocked and our son caught some rainbow trout (approx 8 inches) so we put them back to get bigger for the next person.

There's also paths to enjoy a walk through the trees.

As far as cell service, we had great Verizon signal and there's a cell tower over the top of the trees so that explains that. 🙂

You need a Discovery Pass to camp here but it's either $10 a night at various campgrounds around WA (so I read) or $30 for the annual pass.

Enjoy and please pack it in, pack it out. It was a really nice campsite so let's keep it that way. Thanks!

Snag Lake Campground (360) 577-2025 https://maps.app.goo.gl/VmQbRypN42ciJemCA

arrived at the farm and were greeted by the owners. they got on their quads and led us down a private road through a super nice cedar gated entry and showed us our spot. they gave us a quick run down of the place and let us be. our spot was the Trillium site which has a few hundred foot hike from where you park your car and the portable toilet. the site was pretty cool and very secluded. it had a fire ring with some sawn cedar benches, a pile of firewood and a giant old spool for a table. we threw our marmot up and took a closer look. there is a camp box with info, instant coffee, guides to area sight seeing and food along with a log book to write about your stay. there were also some cool led lighting which was great at night. fire ban was on but they put a big candle on the grate of the fire pit so we had something. we kicked around on the trails which look like they are used by horses and motorcycles but not heavily. some interesting plants in the area. they were working on a new trail that is supposed to eventually lead out to the lake but it wasnt complete yet. however it was covered with wood chips and had a hand cut cedar bridge built on it. you gotta see it. sounds like they are constantly evolving the farm looked like a lot of things in the works. definitely will come back for more time here. night time got spooky with coyotes howling in the distance but the morning there were so many birds chirping and singing you couldnt hear yourself think! oh we found a corn hole game in an open area that they have several picnic tables staged at.

I just completed my third stay at Dragon's Gate, and I've now stayed in each of the different sections (Moon Meadow, Giant Crystal, Jessie's Camp). Each gives a completely different but wonderous experience, either with open views of flower pastures and woods, or a more insular green surrounded by trees. Each reservable space is massive.... 4-5 times the size of most campsites. While you may reasonably run into other campers within each section if you go for a walk, you won't even know anyone is in the other sections, its so private. Sing at the top of your lungs or let your dog roam, they won't run into anyone. 

Its just SO pretty. Each campsite is really well maintained- the roads and campsites are mowed, carving into the meadows. There are porta potties and access to drinking water and a great deal on both wood and eggs. Wooden picnic tables are in each site, and a well appointed fire ring. The hosts are really lovely as well, and overly accommodating. The entire site is organic, so they do ask that you participate in their policies of no charcoal usage and leave no trace.

Tenino itself is a cute little historic town, with a surprisingly well appointed supermarket and hardware store, and on Saturdays there's a farmers market. 

Mostly, I love how my dog can safely roam, and how, even when I am completely by myself camping, I still feel safe.

Campground

Fairly large campground, free as long as you have a discover pass! Close to town yet still secluded in the woods. Tons of trails for hiking, horses and dirt bikes! Plenty of sites for trailers and tents. Vault toilets, picnic tables, fire rings and water hook ups. The camp host even had free bottled water for guest if needed. There was a creek near by with people panning for gold which was interesting!

Product Review

Being a ranger I get to test some products from time to time! Today's product is the LEDlenser MH2 Headlamp!

This headlamp is very impressive! Certainly the brightest light I have ever explored with. It comes in a very nice package with a charging cord, two different colored lens attachments, a carrying pouch and a battery. My only complaint is that the headlamp itself doesn't fit very well in the carrying pouch but I made it work! It was also a little heavy and I had to adjust the strap to fit my head more often then I would have preferred. The brightness of the light made up for the flaws completely!

YOU NEED A WA DISCOVER PASS TO CAMP HERE!!! But it is free with the pass. And there’s a gas station 5 minutes down the road in Ashford where you can buy one. Very shady and quiet, not crowded at all. Primitive camping, no water, no restrooms just vault toilets, no trash pickup either so you need to pack everything out. Was hard to stake my tent down bc of rocky soil, but it worked fine cause it’s not windy. 15 minutes from the entrance to Mt Rainier. Good place if you’re here for that reason. Most of the sites are horse camping only, but there are a handful that allow other types EXCEPT FOR RV, to my understanding there is NO RV CAMPING HERE

Coho campground is a forested campground overlooking a large alpine lake. Lots of old growth forest, birds and squirrels live in the campground. The sites are large with a paved drive that can accommodate several vehicles and trailers. Large picnic tables and a fire pit on each site with an area for tents. No electric, water or sewer on the site. There are several flush toilets that are well kept. Bathrooms have an electrical outlet if you need to charge something. Faucets with drinking water. No showers. No cell service and starlink doesn’t work due to trees. Nearest gas station and stores about 35 minutes away. There is a boat ramp and a nice lake for kayaking. Several trails around the lake and campground.

I didn't have reservations.  Securing a spot was easy enough using the phone at the ranger station (it was after the rangers had gone home for the day).  Most of the sites had a level spot(s) for a tent.  There was a picnic table and I fire ring.  There was a. very clean bathroom with flush toilet and shower (shower operated on tokens; I didn't use it).  Near to the restrooms was a high flow potable water spigot (which I used to top off my water supply---tasted great). There were lots of families camping (August) and the expected noise that comes with kids playing.  The unexpected noise came from Hwy 504.  I was in the lower campground (closest to the highway) and the noise was omnipresent until about 1030pm and started up again around 530am.  If I were to return to Seaquest, I would make sure that I got a site further away from the highway.

General: Vista Park, located directly on the Columbia River between Long Beach or Astoria to the west and Kelso to the east. It offers a variety of sites from walk-in tent sites to partial to full hookups to yurts. 

Site Quality: Site 30 was a sweet little site; since it is a pull-through with trees on one side, it offers some privacy, it is tucked away and more private than many of the other sites. While it appears to be a very large site on the map, in reality, it was perfect for our campervan but would be problematic for larger RVs. In my opinion, Sites 27-29 are the most private with lots of trees separating them. Sites 27-33 have their own garbage receptacle at their site while others have a more centrally located garbage/recycling area. If you prefer to be closer to the water, Sites 19 and 20 and V1-V13 would be a good choice. 19 and 20 are very nice as they have a concrete pad, and sheltered picnic table. V1-13 have NO privacy between sites; the same is true for 34-43, which are tent-only sites. The yurts are located on top of the hill, away from the water. Although all of the walk-in campsites had reserved signs on them, not a single one was occupied when we were there on Labor Day weekend. 

Bathhouse: Basic but reasonable. The showers are $.50 for 4-5 minutes. The shower located in the center of the campground was ok but has seen better days. The shower at the top of the hill is better; it had a sign that said it was only open from 10 am– 8 pm but we were able to use it at 8:30 am. 

Activities: Fishing and boating (there is a boat launch). Two playground areas; one in the day-use area (but close enough to the camping sites) and one in the loop with sites 1-15. There is a short but nice beach to walk on and a hiking/nature trail that leads to the beach(the beach is also accessed directly from the day-use area).