Whether you're an RVer or tent camper, South Cle Elum, WA is a great place to post up for the weekend—or longer. There's so much to see and do, from exhilarating hikes or bike rides to exploring the local dining and shopping. Get the dirt on all the best camping near South Cle Elum. Browse campgrounds by amenities, site types, and more.
"You can float the river down to Cle Elum lake. Once the weather warms up the river lowers and slows down. Lots of area for kids to create their little pools to swim in."
"Lots of space for big groups, but it does get crowded on the weekend. Lots of little secluded spots which are more quite at night. Easy river access from all camp spots."
"This is a great place to camp and ride ORVs they have a beginners loop trailhead attached to this site as well as a trail head to a larger trail system."
$14 / night
"Cooper Lake is absolutely stunning and admittedly the campsites are situated pretty well for views and privacy but there are definitely Pros and Cons to this campground."
"Ranger Review: OOFOS OOMG Low Shoe at Owhi Campground on Cooper Lake, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, Washington State
Campground Review: [Owhi Campground](https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea"
"We had a hard time finding an open spot so we could set up camp. We almost made it to the end of the dirt road before we found a lot with a fire pit that could fit our group of 4."
"Lots of dispersed camping opportunities leading up to the Rachel Lake Trailhead and the Box Canyon Creek Site on NF-4930. Also many spots on the NF-118 spur, which is where we stayed."
"Right outside the entrance to Mt."
"If you come here you must leave no trace."
$10 - $25 / night
"This campsite is hike-in only. It is located near Leavenworth, WA. It is a popular location, so permits are hard to come by."
"I would suggest 6 to 8 hours to hike in, sight see around the lake and hike out. Moderate to heavy traffic. Get to the parking lot early or no parking."
"This lake is a fairly easy hike in from the end of Forest Service Road 4312, my hiking guidebook says to park at the Thorp Lake trailhead but the path is pretty overgrown and if you want to just camp park"
"Originally we were set up on a small pull off on the side of the road, but then we took a walk and saw a small road shooting off the side with 3 large spots with fire pits."
"Each of the 3 spots had easy access to the river. It's only 2 miles away from the Stuart and Colchuck Lake TH too!"
LegendCampground Review
This campground is at the base of Mt Rainier National Park in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. To get to the campsite, you have to drive down into the ravine of where the Cowlitz River cuts through the campsite. There are many sites on the river, with the rest in the trees covering the expanse of the grounds. Large RV/ trailers can only be in the upper Loop H.
The road is a one way and for the most part, campers respect the speed limit, though there are some idiots who drive fast through.
There are no hookups, so you will be dry camping if you bring an RV. This is very close to Packwood and a great place to stay during Memorial Weekend for their annual Flea Market. There is no cell service at this site. Site claims to have flushing toilets, but those were removed a few years ago, there are only vault toilets and no showers. Depending on how the snow melt is during the spring, will dictate fishing and camping opening.
Product Review
I had the opportunity to review a GCI Outdoor Backpack Event Chair. This product is amazing for lugging around from campground to fishing and back. The chair has four different positions for reclining and hard arm supports for getting up and down. There is a large pocket on the back allowing for easy toting of items from car to wherever. The backpack straps make toting a breeze and the clip to close keeps the chair in place. It is very light and easy to transport and has a weight limit of 250, but my very large cousin (300+) was able to sit with no problem.
https://www.gcioutdoor.com/camping-chairs/backpack-event-chair/
LegendWe stayed here 2 nights and will definitely be coming back. Tons of open sites to choose from right along the river. Designated fire rings but currently there's a burn ban. No vault toilets or picnic tables. Pack it in, pack it out! When we first arrived we spent about 20 minutes cleaning the site we chose after the people whom were here before us. Not such a big deal just a little saddening. #1 rule is to leave no trace. Extremely grateful we get to explore and camp on land that is free. We should all do our part and take care of it.
A little surprising that we had cell phone reception with sprint!
Near this area there are a lot or activities. Biking, hiking, swimming, fishing, kayaking.. to name a few!
LegendCampsite Review: This campground is really in a nice area of the old growth forest but it's camping amongst crowds when we went in the high season, the entire 188 sites were filled. There were very few walk-up sites and the rest of the campsites themselves are a decent size but not spaced far enough away from other campers and there is no underbrush to separate you from each other at all. We stayed at site 54 in loop A and had people constantly walking through/by both sides of our campsite to get to the toilets which were located on the next level higher than us. People literally walked right by our fire ring and through our chairs at one point to then hike up the hill instead of traversing around to the right for some stairs. If you can go off season by all means try and do it, but avoid this particular site at all costs…
The toilet facilities weren’t the nicest ones I’ve been to and could have used a little TLC. The facilities right by us were dirty and a bit rusty. They also had no soap or hand drying instrument what-so-ever (neither paper towels or hand dryer). Thankfully we had these things ourselves, but usually in NP campgrounds you don’t have to bring them yourself to the restroom.
Amenities: not sure if every site had one, but lots of bear boxes (you’re in bear and cougar (mountain lion) territory), your standard picnic tables, fire rings, plus flush toilets, potable water, & dump station for you RVers |Prohibited: pets off-leash, & firewood gathering (The camp host drives around selling wood if you haven’t already gotten some at a store) we came right during a fire ban, but as soon as it was removed they drove around letting everyone know. There then seemed to be a truck driving around with firewood for sale, I wasn’t able to confirm though as we were headed off to Paradise and then the Olympic peninsula.
Nearby Hikes: Grove of the Patriarchs, & Silver Falls and not too far from Paradise which is a must do if you happen to come in wild flower season
Gear Review: As a Ranger for The Dyrt I sometimes get the opportunity to test out products and the saving grace for this particular camp site was my testing of the Leatherman Signal (Designed for adventure!!). This is a truly fantastic Leatherman and even if you’ve had them for years you should really check out the newer lines of specialized gear. I had an old PST (pocket survival tool) as a boy scout and had upgraded to the original WAVE, but hadn’t checked them out in years as I still have them and thought what could be better than what I already have. I was wrong. This tool and many of the other lines (skateboarding, surfing, skiing, hunting) are also really worth checking out.
I give the Leatherman Signal 4.5/5 Stars!
GuideThis is a great state park to set up camp. It is always very busy. The sites are relatively spread out. There are two different sections for camping: an upper and lower. To me, the lower section doesn’t seem as nice. It has more trees, but the camp spots seem to be closer together. Likewise, the lower section just feels a little more rough than the upper section. The views are spectacular. There is a boat launch, and a swimming area. Furthermore, there is also a small store, and a mini-mart across the street. What makes this place great is the actual camp sites. They are huge. What makes it difficult for tent camping is there are a ton of sprinklers that turn on frequently. It is important to watch where you stake down your tent. For this trip, we brought our RV and a tent. During the summer, the temperatures during the daytime are hot! Luckily each site is equipped with water and electricity. There is no WiFi, but the cell service is outstanding.
GuideCooper Lake is absolutely stunning and admittedly the campsites are situated pretty well for views and privacy but there are definitely Pros and Cons to this campground.
Pros:
Right on the lake and if not you get a very private site walking distance to water
Great hiking trail
Lake access 24/7
Lot's of big shade trees
No internal combustion motors
Vault toilets in good shape
Dumpsters
Cons:
Extremely busy (and LOUD) day use area
Steep hill and trails to all the sites - pack light and even then it is A LOT of work getting into your site
$18 for a walk in site...? eh a little steep for me
Did I mention the loud day use area with lots of screaming kids?
No bear boxes by the lake so you also have to trek your cooler/dry goods up the hill every night to not attract wildlife.
All in All this was a solid 3.5 stars. There were pros to out weight the cons but in the end if I am going to walk that far to haul my stuff into a site I want it to be pretty remote/serene OR be a little cheaper.
TravelerWe didn't get to camp right next to the water (unfortunately) as all of those spaces were full (for obvious reason). We were able to find a spot just on the other side of the bridge, which was a short walk to the creek. We ended up unhooking our tent-trailer to fit in the site, but there was lots of room and level ground to have set-up a tent elsewhere on the site (it just wasn't accessible with our tent trailer). Gorgeous surroundings, the sound of the rushing water lulled us right to sleep at night.
Vault toilet and potable water.
ScoutThis campground is better suited for tents, not RVs or camper vans. Many of the sites are small and lack privacy, especially those in the west end. We reserved on line and there was no notice that sites 30 and 31 share the vehicle space! Since we were camping in a van, we felt like we were in an ordinary parking lot and not camping. Two strange vehicles parked immediately next two us the whole time. There were some other shared parking sites too. Ok for tent camping because you can tent away from the parking area, but not ok for vehicles.
In addition, people kept walking through our site (and we watched them walk through other occupied sites). One day, my hubby wasn't feeling well, so we took a nap only to be woken by our dog growling because a man and women were peering into the side window of our van! WTH! Numerous people walked through through our site even though the end was a restoration area clearly marked to stay off of, but people walked through it anyway. And, then there were the young men playing football in our site. Oh, and the dogs not on leashes. One knocked me over when it jumped on me from the bushes as I was heading to the restroom at night.
The only good thing was that the vault toilet was the cleanest ever vault toilet. No odors!! Kudos to the guy who cleans it!
GuideI’ve spent a couple of nights up here this year and I LOVE this campground. It is large, but there is plenty of separation and the sites seem to offer fairly good privacy and have a good amount of space.
I camp in a hammock and there are a lot of sites that offer enough well spaced trees to set up hammocks. There are nice fire rings at each of the sites, nice tables and firewood is available at the camp site. I didn't know before I went, but dogs are allowed as long as they are on leashes, BUT they aren't allowed on most trails around the mountain.
The campground is well situated to get you close to Paradise as well as a ton of hikes nearby.
There aren’t any showers, but the bathrooms are clean and have flush toilets.
LegendThis is a popular, reservable campground at Mt Rainier. There are 5 loops with A loop and R(Road) loops not reservable. There is a fancy electronic iron ranger at the ranger station(something the rangers want you to use even when they are in their booth and clearly able to handle reservations). I had a nifty little bridge connecting my car and the picnic table to the the tent pad. I also had kids running through the trees and the middle of my campsite from the sites behind me. Most sites had good hammocking trees, and it looked like all had picnic tables. There is an amphitheater in the campground that had a nice draw of campers for the evening program. Bathrooms were clean and well maintained, but no showers. E loop was a no generator zone, which means it was fully booked while I was there. There is a good hike to Carter Falls along the Wonderland Trail, which cuts right through the campground. You are fairly close to Paradise which has more hiking trailheads and a visitor center.
Tent camping near South Cle Elum, Washington, offers a blend of stunning natural beauty and a variety of outdoor activities. With several campgrounds in the area, campers can enjoy serene settings and access to recreational opportunities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near South Cle Elum, WA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near South Cle Elum, WA is Salmon la Sac Road Dispersed Camping with a 4.4-star rating from 5 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 109 tent camping locations near South Cle Elum, WA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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