Best Glamping near Spanaway, WA

told macdonald is super cute park and campground! they offer the typical primitive campsites with fire pits and picnic tables, as well as yurts and shipping container conversions for those who want more of a "GLAMping" outdoor experience. the campground, park and trails are very well maintained and they even provide you with garden carts to help you get your stuff across the bridge. great spot for steelhead + salmon fishing. we've fished steelhead and pinks out of the snoqualmie river in the past. it's located right smack in the middle of carnation so on a nice sunny day you could walk out of the park to get pizza, ice cream or even mexican food. the suspension bridge is pretty cool, but hold onto your phones tight because it could slip through the holes into the river below. i would rate this place as 4-5 star park / 3-4 star camping since it's not even close to roughing it. those bucolic woods are our backyard.

I have camped here a number of times over the years. This is a nice woodsy campground just south of Olympia, WA located on Deep lake. It has a very old growth forest feel to it. This campground offers many activities: hiking trails, fitness trails,fishing, boat rental, and even a concession stand. The fishing is good for trout,bass, and sun fish. This park offers both hookup and non utility tent sites as well as glamping tents.

Cons: most of the hookup sites are in a field with zero privacy but there are a few that are much better like the last spot I stayed at.

The primitive sites are better but the roads are quite narrow with limited access for RV's.

The "Glamping tents"are very nice but crazy expensive at over $300 a night. Like most of the State Parks reservations book up quickly so it pays to plan ahead

Pros: fishing is pretty good even from shore. The day use area is great but pretty rustic. Lots of trails to hike but not as well marked as I would expect. Really close to Seattle so it is ideal for a weekend getaway Friday after work.

Beautiful spot, though tightly packed and crowded/noisy. We stayed in spot 59 on a Saturday night. It was rainy and the fire pit area had plenty of puddles. Lots of folks came in later in the evening with multiple cars and sat out talking; plenty of them packed up and left before 8 am. We walked the fen trail, which was spooky and different from our home of Colorado! Reservations needed. There are also glamping cabins. Nice clean bathrooms with flush toilets, water available at multiple locations, showers available with tokens.

This is a very nice, typical Washington state park with plenty of trees, greenery, hiking, pathways and even a lake. There's a camp store along with several large outdoor kitchens that would be good to use for groups. Many of the structures like the kitchens and even bathrooms were built back in the 1930s by the CCC, which is pretty cool. It's just far enough off I-5 to not have the freeway noise, but close enough to be convenient. It's also nearby to Great Wolf Lodge if you're looking for a place to stay near there.

On the other hand, the RV sites especially are basically in a big field with a cement road going around it. The sites have tables and fire pits, but no privacy what-so-ever. The tent sites are slightly better, with more trees, but still very close to one another.

The campground also has glamping available (canvas permanent tents) that looked cool.

They have glamping! Or as the campground calls it: pampered camping. This is a beautiful park located on Deep Lake just outside of Olympia.  The park itself is huge offering lots of options for campers.  Super easy to get our trailer in and out of the spaces and there was lots of extra parking for our larger group.  A quick walk around the grounds offered a nice hike and showed us some pretty awesome sites Id like to stay at in the future.  They are on a progressive price, meaning depending on the site is what your price will be.

The canvas tent option was one I didn’t know about until I got there.  The tents are cabin shaped and have a few chairs and BBQ grill outside it.  Great option for families.

The park also offers a cottage right next to the lake.  This is a nice alternative to traditional camping.  One thing that was great about the park was the various kitchens around the grounds.  This offers a great way for larger groups to have a set space for meals.

Great PNW experience minutes from Olympia!

Campground review: First off this is not a primitive experience by any means. However this is a really interesting state park that has something for EVERYONE. The campground itself is separated into 3 separate sections. There is a larger trailer loop down by the main entrance, standard tent camping and lastly "glamping" and yes you heard me right. This campground also boasts a beer garden AND a boat house with kayak and canoe rentals. If this is all sounding a little much I understand. Surprisely though the campground was almost completely filled when we were there and do to it being densely vegetated and how it's laid out. Our campsite was very private and spacious. The campground itself was very clean and well kept and rangers were on regular patrol. It was a great fun local escape for us and our kids loved it!! They also have a few trails but we did not check them out this visit. My only complaint would be the restrooms are few and far between for how large the campground is just know this before your visit. Happy Adventuring!

Gear Review:

HellaGood Belmont Blanket

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I occasionally get products to test- today I am testing the HellaGood Belmont Blanket. Right away I was surprised by how light weight and extra durable this blanket was. Easy to pack in a backpack and bring to the water front with us and made a great blanket to cozy up under after a few hours of paddling. It was also a great additional play space for our kids at our camp site. The bottom is waterproof and the top is a soft fleece like material so I didn't have to worry about washing it when we got home. In the past we have just brought a beach blanket camping but this is for sure our new go to! www.belmontblanket.com

Millersylvania is located South of Olympia on Deep Lake. The campsites are nice, they have both RV, Yurts, and Tent sites. The RV loop does pack you in their like sardines. Deep Lake is a murky lake but is stocked with fish and has designated swim area.

If you are in Tacoma and dont have a chance to get to the East side or the coast, head to Dash Point. Just twenty minutes from Tacoma, Dash Point has a great camp ground and yurts a plenty for a quick getaway. Easy water access and lots of trails to explore make it very family friendly.

This is our second time going to Kanaskat Palmer Park and we decided to enjoy four nights in there yurts between the fall and winter transition season. I must say I was very impressed to see that the bathrooms and showers were still very clean ever since the pandemic and that it was quite a nice place to stay during the weekdays if you wanted a quietly stay in the woods with the sounds of the flowing river. We will definitely be back again next year!

What a beautiful place! The campground is in 500+ acre Tolt-McDonald Park, far enough away from any busy road so that there is no traffic noise, just the sound of the Tolt River rapids. All the RV sites are drive-through, with water and 20, 30, and 50-Amp service. (There is a privately-run RV dump on the way to the park.) The sites are wide because of the driveway. No trees between sites, but some bushes between sites offer some privacy for the back half of the sites. The 17 RV sites are around a huge lawn, with the restroom building at one end, and a path down the middle that is part of a long, level, paved bike/walking trail. There is a shower in each restroom, so the whole building is heated (which was really nice, since the lows were in the 30s in April, 2022) Access to both rivers is at the South end of the RV loop. There are tent-only sites to the North, and also yurts and more tent sites across a picturesque foot bridge over the Snoqualmie River. There are carts available to roll your stuff over the footbridge.

General: 50-site campground (including six yurts) plus a group campground. The campground is in two loops: one with electric hookups and one without. 

Site Quality: All sites are level and are a mix of back-in and pull-through. Site 24 was a pull-thru. Sites in the tent (no hookup) section are gravel while sites with electricity have paved camper pads. ADA-accessible sites (one in each loop) are completely paved. Heavily wooded sites afford good privacy between sites. 

Bath/Shower house: one building between the two loops with six all-in-one (toilet, sink, shower) units. They were clean. At first glance, it appears you need tokens for the shower but upon closer inspection, it did look like they were free. However, you were asked to conserve water and that the hot water was turned off at night due to vandalism.

Activities: Several trails that are open until dusk. Several places to put in and take out boats but you are warned that some sections of the Green River are Class III or IV and where you should take out if you are not a highly experienced boater. We also saw some people fishing.

This was our final stop on our North Cascades loop trip. The campground is located about an hour outside of Seattle yet it was very quiet (except for several trains throughout the day and night). Surprisingly we had zero cell coverage(Verizon).

Let me start off by saying - if there are so many campsites in Washington, why would you want to stay at the same place multiple times???

Ike Kinswa is the place I would stay at repeatedly. Between the incredibly helpful and friendly staff, to the private tent sites, to the water access, we’ve already stayed twice this summer!! So incredibly impressed with this gem!

This campground is hidden in the middle of a major Western Washington city, Federal Way. Once in the campground, you would have no idea that you are surrounded by a sprawling metropolitan area.

The campsites are small but private. They do allow for campfires but you should bring your own firewood. 

There is a trail that follows a creek down to the shoreline. If you are into geocaching we found a few along the trail. Depending on the season this trail can be quite muddy.

One of my favorite campgrounds in Washington! Lots of camping spots right on Lake Mayfield with tons of trails in and around the campground. Private swimming areas are awesome for paddle boarding and kayaking. Also has its own boat launch which is great during the summer. Really quiet in the spring and fall which is my favorite time to go. Make sure to take one of the hikes north from the campground along the Tilton river, it's beautiful.

"Firstly, I just have to say what a positive and amazing experience I had at this campground. The volunteers were friendly, kind and absolutely awesome to interact with. Also, the camp was clean and beautifully laid out. I will definitely be camping here again the next time we go to Washington. I'm definitely impressed with how up to date and organized everything was around here. From the website updates to physical maintenance and upkeep - as close to perfection as we will ever get to as humans. I learned that volunteers are in high demand though so... I know what i want to do next summer!

Dash Point State Park is your average, nice Washington State Park, with trees, grass, pathways etc. When we were there at the end of March, only about half the campground was open, and we were able to get a last-minute spot in the late afternoon on a Thursday. Sites are mid-sized, with some having more privacy than others.

Cons: While several other reviews talk of the cleanliness of the campground, we had the opposite experience, with large and small trash everywhere we walked (including a whole foam mattress thrown away). It was also pretty muddy, as well as loud (from the airplanes passing over head until the middle of the night).

Pros: Across the street, the day use area is amazing, with a lovely beach, picnic tables, hikes, etc. Generally a very nice place to spend the day.

Tips: Unless you're there with another group or family, avoid the spots that look like they're parallel on the map (9 & 10; 15 & 16 etc.) since they're basically one big site split up with two driveways right next to one another.

My family stayed here for a night when we went out to Washington a few months ago. It was a nice little place. Mostly we stayed here because of how close it was to seattle, so we were't at the campground very much. It does have a pretty good amount of sites. It's got showers and bathrooms which is always nice at a campground. It does have a lot of activities because of how close it is to the water. We saw people fishing, diving, sailing, etc. The only thing I didn't like about it was that building wood fires isn't allowed in the campground. 

The seattle area has all kinds of things to do. My family went to Pike Place Market which was awesome to see. We saw a Mariners game, the space needle, and went on some awesome hikes around the area. 

Overall the campground was a pretty nice place to stay, especially if you are trying to visit the seattle area for a couple of nights. Great place!

After flying into SeaTac late in the afternoon this campground was a great place to start our Washington trip and only about 30 minutes from the airport. Located within the Dash Point State Park, there are day use facilities in addition to the campground including an ampitheatre, beach access and lots of hiking trails. The campground itself is well appointed with spacious spots, although the sites aren't huge, they are wooded enough to provide decent privacy. Our site (#21) was right across from a trailhead that led down to the beach which made for a great sunset watching location, I would definitely recommend reserving a spot on the lower loop by the beach trail. The site has a paved parking pad, flat spots for a tent, a picnic table and a fire pit with a grill top. The bathrooms are easily accessed by wooded trails and kept quite clean. Even visiting during the middle of the high season the campground didn't feel crowded. Although unfortunately there was a bit of trash by the beach, the campground was quite clean altogether and I would definitely stay here again.

Just 20 minutes south of Olympia, WA you can pull off I-5 and pitch a tent beneath towering old growth Douglas Fir and Hemlock trees. This stunning state park reminds us both of the kinds of campgrounds we frequented as kids. 

Most of the campsites in the forest loops are small with limited parking and the narrow roads would not serve larger camper rigs. Our little 15 foot travel trailer made it in without any problem. The feeling of camping under the old-growth canopy is so classic Washington, but the solar gain is pretty minimal. Ironically, the electrical hookup sites, which more easily accommodate the big rigs, are out in a more cleared area where there would be solar gain for days. 

We camped on the closest loop to the full-hook up RV area and were able to get our solar suitcase out into the sunshine on its extension cord for a few hours. The bathrooms in the forest loops are pretty simple ranging from pit toilets to flush varieties with showers. There is a more modern bathroom facility with nicely clean and refreshing showers near the larger RV field. Things to do in this park are abundant. The water is super chill, shallow and warm. 

Only “cartop boats” are allowed in the lake, making it ideal for stand up paddle boards, small kayaking boats, inflatables, canoes, fishing dinghies and just swimming around.  Lightening storms in this part of the world are pretty rare, so very fun to see one over the lake while we were here.  The lake shore has some classic picnic shelters, built by the CCC, that are reservable, offer wood burning stoves, and lots of places to cook for a family get together. 

Hiking and trailing running in the park is wonderful, and with all the loops your efforts can range from 30 min strolls to half-day hikes. The trails are well mapped, and signed making it nearly impossible to get lost. 

Tumwater is about 10 miles away on country roads to the north, and Grand Mound is 10 or so miles to the south. Either of these communities provide the usual suburban supplies for groceries and restaurants. There are also some nearby convenience and general stores where you could pick up some ice and such. During the summer months the park has a small cafe and ice cream shop.

When venturing to Mount St Helens area I wanted to find a campground relatively close by to stay before visiting the next day. I found Lewis and Clark State Park along the way and opted to give it a shot for an overnight. The site looked comfortable and quiet and was well shaded and welcoming. 

Pulling into the campground I noticed several areas to enjoy recreationally alongside camping including public park areas with covered outdoor kitchen zones perfect for those enjoying the area for day use. Additionally there were several areas with play equipment and outdoor activities for singles or the family to enjoy. 

Pulling into the camping loop area sites were well spaced and shaded by large vibrant trees. Soft mosses lined walkways and created a feeling of being deep into the forest without being far removed from actual civilization and it was a nice departure from many of the more commercial looking camps of the area which lacked the forest feel. 

The camp site I chose was equipped with the standard amenities of a picnic table and fire ring and the pull in section was just large enough for my smaller car. Throughout camp I did notice some sites were designed specifically for tent campers while others would cater better to larger units. Something unique about this location was it offered bike in campers sites as well with much smaller pull in areas but just as much space to spread out and set up their tents. 

The bath house was very nice as it was heated and had hot water, though when I was there I did encounter a slight concern with using this bathhouse because there was a current e coli water warning which was displayed throughout camp on all water spigots. This left me more than a little leary about using the water in the bathroom turning what could have been a warm amazing shower into a bit of a concerning experience. 

Because of this concern I noticed they had hand sanitizer placed in the restrooms, which was a great concession considering the issue at hand. 

While this was a campsite I did enjoy, I feel as though with the water concerns I could not fully embrace all the features of camp which did hinder me slightly from fully being able to embrace all of the options. Should I return to this area I would check in advance to see if the water was a concern before staying another night. 

The campground, like many in the area, advocate recycling.  Not only will you find trash cans and dumpsters throughout camp but you will also find recycling barrels scattered throughout camp.    I truly enjoyed this feature of the park as it is making a difference in the bigger picture and you can commonly find items created from recycled items such as benches and tables located throughout various state parks as continued improvements occur.

All in all, for someone just wanting to enjoy a night at a quiet campground this would be a great one to check out in the area. While it lacks some of the amenities of other campgrounds in the area which are more destination style camps it has a lot of charm for those wanting to enjoy fun with family or friends in a more traditional camping style. 

TIPS:

• Check in advance for water related issues not only at this campground but others in the area. 
• Make a stop just before the entrance of the park at the Jackson House Historic Site. This site is a major portion of the area’s rich history and with several unique signs which walk you through the significance of the area you will be enriched by this short stop.
• Make sure you have a Discover Pass!! Any stay in Washington you will want to make sure you have this pass.