Best Dispersed Camping near St. John, WA

BLM land was easy to find right off the highway. Rough gravel road easily traveled in a truck, low clearance vehicle may have trouble. There were a few people with campers at the end of the road. A lot of dispersed sites, some close to the road, a few very private. Two nice lakes.. at the end of the road you cross to state park land which does not allow camping but is very well marked with a gate and signs. There was a fe portapottys scatter along the road. Light freeway noise, did hear one night train, but for free and a beautiful landscape not too bad.

The fishing area is closed for the season and there are no camping signs everywhere around it. Before you come there is a sign for the BLM land and you will follow that down. When you get to the end there’s a porta potty but the vault toilet is closed. There are no fire rings or tables but flat grass you can see used for camping. ATT service is limited.

Free pack in pack out dispersed camping

We found the most amazing site! We felt like we were on top of the world! Clear open skies! Loved the sound of the cows, coyotes, and owls! Total dispersed camping! Thank you to whoever left us wood!

This is great for boondocking and we liked it. Be aware that its gravel road and bumpy in spots. We came upon a group that had high centered their airstream trailer trying to cross a small drainage ditch to access a site. You may need to do some tricky maneuvering to get into and out of some of these road spurs and spots. We had very high winds one night, but by luck we had selected a spot at the end of the road near hog lake that had us nestled between to small "hills" and trees which protected us. we were not in the open and exposed to the wind directly. Even so, it shook our trailer but we were snug and secure. Not for the novice boodndocker. This is BLM open land camping at its purest.

Nice open blm area, rustic campsites. there's an established trail that goes to hog lake and the boat launch area which is only accessible on foot when we were camping. The lake access (with the toilet) is not open, gate is locked. Saw a rattlesnake on the trail but we kept our distance and he went on his way. Be kind to the animals, it's their home. Can stay up to 14 days

A lot of places to camp here all equipped with fire rings. We had a 30ft RV and drove in on the nice gravel road. We took the very last camping spot closest to the lake and it had a good amount of shade on all sides. It was big enough to fit two campers if camping with friends. The spot was very spacious and felt private. It was clean with only a couple specks of trash that we found.

We walked down to the lake and it looked great for paddle boarding or small boats/rafts but not for swimming. There is a lot of seaweed and it’s murky.

The area/sites are really dusty in July. Lots of dirt but the road is gravel. Sites are pretty well spread out.

We took a little hike and saw a buck with a big rack on it, other deer, and a coyote. Great spot for back country hiking.

This is a great mostly unknown little campground. Fun fact: This is the least used campsite maintained by the Lower Granite Natural Resources Management team. 

Let’s get to the bad/good, depending on how you look at it. 

1. There is NO running water available, unless you want to get some from the river(NOT suggested)

2. Absolutely no electricity here, not even for park lights. This makes for AMAZING star gazing. 

3. ZERO cell service at the campsite. You can get service if you absolutely need it at the top of Hammer Grade road, it’s steep. 

4. Limited sites have shade all day. Get there early to get one of these prime spots. 

5.Summer time is HOT here but, you have the river right there to cool off. 

6. There is a boat launch here though it is not maintained, use at your own discretion. 

7. There are fire/BBQ pits at each site as well as a picnic table. Wood fires are NOT allowed from June 10th through October 10th. It gets very dry out here. 

8. Bring bug spray! Day time the bugs aren’t bad but, when the sun starts going down, the mosquitoes are coming out. Also, spring into early summer, there are ticks. Summer through the rest of the year you should be tick free. 

9. This campsite is open year round and it’s FREE!

10. There are no trash cans or dumpsters. So keep that in mind and take out EVERYTHING you bring in. 

11. No dumpsites nearby. Closest I found is right off highway 395 at the rest area. 

12. You can cross the dam Monday-Thursday excluding holidays and only during daytime hours. 

13. Your trailer, tow vehicle and anything in the bed is going to get dusty getting here and leaving. It’s a decent trek down a gravel road. Speed limit is 45MPH. Good luck to you if you try to go that fast. 

14. Come prepared for the whole trip. Washtucna is the closest town and they have limited supplies. No alcohol is available at the “Store” there. 

15. If hunting season is coming up, get there as early as possible. 

We stayed here in the most shaded part of the campground with our Travel Trailer with a 50 gallon fresh water tank. It lasted the 4 of us the 5 day weekend. It was a hot weekend and we did end up having to run the generator for a few hours during the day to keep the newborn cool. 

I followed my GPS which took me off of Highway 26 and onto Old Highway 26. DON’T do this. Take Hay rd. Old HWY 26 will take you onto Hammer Grade Rd. This is NOT a fun road with a trailer. It has some very steep grades and you’ll be HAMMERING the brakes or exhaust brake. 

All in all, this was a GREAT trip at a great, hidden and secluded area.  We will definitely be revisiting this site.

Beautiful BLM area! Plenty of drive-in areas and tons of land around the lake to access. The single vault toilet is down at the lake, but helpful if needed. We will be back!

Quiet campsite in Fishtrap Recreation Area.

Pros:

Very quiet open sites. Plenty of opportunity for solar 3 bar 5g Tmobile Open mostly level sites Not very busy Some larger sites able to accommodate bigger rigs (25' at least)

Cons:

No amenities (where we are, maybe further in they have them) Dusty and dry Fire restrictions in place Sites have some trash in them.

Overall we enjoyed it for a layover stay. It's very quiet, open skies were good to recharge solar and stargaze and it was a nice break from some of the more crowded campsites.

This site has a very strange energy about it...though we were here on a hot weekend so perhaps the discomfort with the heat colored our experience. Campsites are equipped with rings and there is a restroom

We really enjoyed our night stay , it was very quiet and the campsites were spread out well enough that it was quite private! We will be going back . Can’t drive right down to the lake , but you can walk in and take the trail around it .

This campsite was the perfect break in our drive from North Cascades to Glacier. The road was easy to find and there were so many great sites. There is a porta potty too. We found a site that was both tent-able and hammock-able. Lots of mosquitoes though!

Stayed for a night to breakup a long drive. Arrived Monday evening and was the only one here. It’s just a large gravel parking lot with a single vault toilet, no other services. The road getting into here is very bumpy the last half mile so take it slow. Close to the interstate so easy to get to. Surrounded by fields and beautiful sunsets. Definitely would stay again and it’s free!

While this is not my favorite spot, it’s very close to where I live. This is my go to spot when I just want to get a quick overnight camp in. I will be returning here soon and will take photos to share.

Depending on the time of year it can be loud as motorists past. However, I have wondered into it wilderness to camp farther away from the trail.

The coordinates from this listing are incorrect and take you down the wrong road.

Laird Park is just down the road and you can get to nice river areas from both campsites. If you can’t get a spot here you can always try down by Laird as a backup.

Stopped here to sleep midway through a long drive. The main site is a large gravel lot with a vault toilet at the trailhead. We arrived after dark so it took some trial & error to find. Exit 254 off I-90 then travel east on Sprague Highway Rd E for at least 2 miles then left on Miller Ranch Rd then take the next right. About a half mile on the left will be the parking lot, trailhead & toilet. There’s other spots to camp but I think it would be hard to find them in the dark if you’ve never been before. Heard the train a few times off in the distance but it wasn’t too loud. We were the only ones there on a Monday night.

Pulled in, hoped out and immediately got stung.