Best RV Parks & Resorts near South Cle Elum, WA

Stayed here for the first time in July 2021.  I understand this opened last winter.  Talking to the host, I found out it is far more popular in winter when ski season is open. It was quiet and sparsely filled in July on a Friday and Saturday night.

3 different areas respectively for large RV and 50 amps power, small RVs and 30 amp and tent only area. A fee picnic tables (no benches) available toward the tent only area.  Bathroom are just two sani-cans. Relatively clean.  There is trash and recycling behind the office which is adjacent to the host RV.

Free WI-Fi (the host will give you code) and good LTE connection on AT&T.

Silver Creek runs behind the lot and gives a  bit more of a natural feel. Otherwise you are in a giant parking lot (Lot B).  

Can't beat the location for skiing and hiking or biking at Crystal Mountain!

I wanted to fish for a few days without having to drive to somewhere else to fish. We chose Squaw Rock for its amenities and its river access. Our rating is based on how well it met our desires. We felt Squaw Rocks location was good for making day trips. We'd stay here again. This is a mixture of cabins and RV sites. The cabins are nice and nicely laid out on the property. The RV sites back in onto the Naches River, unless you decide to drive into the site and face the river like we did. We ran our water and electricity under the coach to the service point. Our site was very close to level. The sites are very close together and you share the site utilities. It can get tight. Not all sites have sewer hookups. The common grounds are well-kept. The pool was clean and checked/serviced each day. The staff were very friendly and helpful during our stay. We found others staying here easy to meet and/or chat with. Know what you are getting! Single utility service serves two sites. The water spigot has a Y splitter to share a single water connection.- Power has one 30 Amp and one 50 Amp socket. The first rig arriving gets to choose which one they want to use.- There is NO Park RV Dump station. You're in a valley with NO cell service. Wi-Fi in the park is non-existent. There's a weak signal near the office. We camped at Squaw Rock Resort in a Motorhome.

Nice campground on the SW corner of Mt Rainier NP. We were here in the off season, meaning that reservations are not taken and everything is FCFS. You stop at the ranger office at the campground entrance and you’re given a campsite. $20/night. Zero cell service in this whole area (but there was good cell reception and wifi at Paradise, and free wifi at the museum 2 miles down at Longmire). 

There are water spigots at this campground, flush toilets, no showers, trash dumpsters, and glass, plastic, and aluminum recycling. Each site has a picnic table, bear box, and fire pit. The dump station has been non operational for several years and the ranger said she doesn’t think it’ll ever be fixed. 

The length limit here is 35 ft for a motorhome, and us at 28 ft head to toe felt very big here. The Wonderland Trail hike can be accessed from this campground, just across the road. Lots of trees in this campground, and we struggled to keep our batteries charged via solar, though there looked to be enough open sky for starlink (we don’t have starlink so I can’t say). All the loops here in this campground are pretty similar in layout and landscape.

We stayed 1 night here for the maiden voyage of our recently purchased travel trailer, which was nice since it's only about an hour away from our place near Seattle. Arrived Friday early evening and it wasn't busy at all.

The check-in process was easy, even though their reservation system was down at the time. Filled up w/ some fresh water at the dump station, which was clean and well maintained.

Campsites in the RV loop were spaced out enough with vegetation between them so as to provide some privacy. Our site had a pull-through driveway, 30amp hookup, a fire ring and picnic table. Bathrooms in that loop were pretty nice... heated and very clean.

Took a walk down to the day use area by the river, which was easy for us, but some portions of the trails closer to the river were slightly overgrown w/ a few obstacles, which could be problematic for some. Didn't see any kids play structures down there, which would be nice to have for families.

We heard a couple trains while there, but the noise wasn't too loud. Never heard the fire siren that they warned us about. Overall, it was a good camping experience for a quick trip and would return!

Salmon La Sac campground feels remote but is within two hours of Seattle. You will not hear the hum of freeway noise or cars swooshing by at high speed, as this camper’s haven is at the end of a paved road and sits smack in the middle of the Cle Elum and Cooper rivers. The growl of water flowing quickly downstream over huge granite boulders can be heard from most sites, with some sites nicely placed adjacent to river’s edge. The sites are decent in size, some with adequate tree coverage and others with plenty of sun. There are restrooms dotted throughout but some were lacking hand sanitizer which in the midst of a pandemic was baffling. There also didn’t seem to be enough trash bins for the number of sites, but there weren’t any overflowing with refuse. Just plan to walk a decent clip to dispose of your spent items. With that said, the bathrooms were clean and the camp host greeted new arrivals with a smile and useful information. The weather and time of year was not ideal for playing in the water without a wet suit but is a great spot for whitewater kayakers to put in. There are many off-road adventure opportunities in the area for ATV, UTV, and other 4x4 enthusiasts. Fly fishing from the shore is also popular and if you have a boat, Cle Elum Lake is not far from the campground but be warned later in the summer the water level gets extremely low. Lastly, there are so many hiking trailheads in the area, no one could be disappointed. Salmon La Sac campground has no electric or water hookups but does have potable water available from hand-cranked pumps (well water). Sadly, the spigot on the pump doesn’t fit a standard hose, so we weren’t able to get much water into our travel trailer this made for a less than ideal experience but we managed for our short stay. Many RV and trailer campers love this place. We sure do!

This campground had availability when I called less than a week in advance and was not super busy when we were there, making it the perfect place for our family to group camp for mom’s birthday weekend. We were in sites 15 (20’ truck camper) and 16 (30’ Class A RV), which both have water/electric hookups. Some sites have full hookups but there are super clean bathrooms with showers and porta potties so you’re good to go even if you don’t have a full hookup site or if you’re car camping with a tent. Both of our sites had gorgeous views of the lake.

The campground has a cafe and convenience store in the main building. Firewood for sale. Dump station for those without the full hookups. It is close to hiking trails and scenic attractions. We walked the Clear Lake interpretive trail (paved and accessible for all ages and abilities) and checked out Clear Creek Falls, which was spectacular.

Couple minor drawbacks: the road noise since you’re right off hwy 12 and the sites are pretty close together. Considering the size of the campground, they did a good job with site placement. It is definitely not one of those parking lot campgrounds where rigs are lined up side by side. But if the place go busy, it would be a little cramped for our preference.

Overall, a great place and we would come back again!