Best Glamping near Thorp, WA

Spartan accommodation? Check. You're camping in a field, with thousands of other "campers." Be ready for wookies (depending on the show you're going to), dust, heat, wind. Several different levels here from Standard (zero frills with gen pop) to Glamping ($$$$).

Come prepared, chill out, and enjoy the show - a lot of the show will be your fellow campers. Can't recommend some sort of canopy enough - shade is a cheap luxury at the end of the day, especially if you're there for a three night engagement.

We typically pay up for Gold level RV camping even though we roll in with a tent, canopy, and SUV. Less riff-raff, closer to venue entry, calme vibe all the way around (quieter). Reasonable shower and decently serviced potties.

You can go find the party - if you camp in the party you can't leave it.

Cheers! See you at DMB this weekend!

This place is pretty cool. It’s close to Yakima and great for a place to visit while you’re in “The Palm Springs of Washington”.

If you like hot dry weather, tall pine trees and not much grass this is a great spot.  It is between a river and the freeway, so you get a lot of freeway noise but I thought the spaces were fairly far apart and spacious.  Lots of pull through spots too.  It's a big campground but super quiet.  The store has a lot of camping stuff, but not much food.  Easy to pop into Cle Elem or surrounding area to explore.  I needed an Eastern Washington fix so I really enjoyed it.

We visited in late June of 2024. Crescent Bar is a nice little community and the PUD park is beautiful. T.T. RV park was not in great shape. Sprinklers were busted in most of the park which created unpleasant dust storms. There are porta potties for the pool area and down the hill at the bathroom/shower you will find rotting interior walls and valves held together with copious layers of silicone. Fortunately for us this was just a stop over location while crossing Washington.

Typical state park for Washington. Clean and beautiful. A portion of the sights are walk in only, however they do provide wheel barrows to help pack in your gear. Walk is roughly a quarter mile on a paved trail. Great to ride your bikes to the cam ground. Group sites are also nice with large areas to congregate. Only draw back is the wind. It can sure make for a tough set up of camp. Sites do have a small wind break. See behind the tent in picture.

I visited with friends from Victoria BC. It's our tradition to rent an RV and drive down to Washington at least once every few years. This Spring we did just this, getting to the Yakima Sportsman State Park with little hiccups. The site was average, but not clean and our neighbors looked like the greasy type. We still had a blast because instead if renting an RV we bought a used cheap one and got it cleaned from Auto Detailing Victoria before hitting the road. Most of our camping was done on the road, so this campsite was actually a relief to us even if it wasn't great. Better than camping in a parking lot!

Crossing through the dry and rugged terrain of the eastern most portion of Washington, the pleasant surprise of the forest campground of Swauk could not have come at a better time.   Just after the rolling hills met the forested tree line this quaint campground welcomed me to the Washington I had wished to find on my adventures.   It was a first taste of the glory of the Pacific Northwest and a perfect way to find the solitude and beauty of the land during late fall.

Pulling into Swauk you first will find a recreation area where cross country skiing is permitted during the winter months and during summer months families can enjoy horse shoe pits, picnic and barbecue areas.    Parking here is plentiful and invites you to enjoy the land in its entirety.    

I noticed a small trail behind a shelter area and followed it to the gentle moving stream which passed throughout the back of not only the recreation area but also the camp.    Here you could truly get a glimpse of the beauty and wonder of the trees opening up and increasing in size, the ferns growing wild and abundantly and the pine needles lining the forest floor creating a barrier which seems to trap sound and create a hush over the entire area.

The shelter when I had passed housed a large fire place and additional picnic tables making this a perfect location for those chilly nights you find in the forest.

Just beyond the recreation area the campground welcomes campers with large sites and plenty of room to spread out and enjoy a day, a weekend or a week.    A self service pay station is located at the entrance to this portion.    Single sites are $18 while doubles are $36, envelops are available alongside other rules and regulations for the campground.

Once you have secured your campsite at this location you will place your tag on the site itself in a small plastic placard located at the entrance of each site to signify it is taken.   this allows you to navigate away from the campground to explore the forest and the many areas of interest near the Cascade Loop or the Gingko Forest.   

Vault toilets can be found in two locations, one at the mid point of camp and the other at the entrance and provide facilities, however no running water is available at these sites.  Running water can be found in the recreation area however if it is needed.    You will want to make sure you are able to sustain without power however because that is not available at any portion of the campground.

This site overall is a great way to enjoy Washington  and I found that visiting was an unexpected treat.    To visit the facilities make sure you understand that this is not a State facility thus the Discover Pass is not accepted.  Instead you will want to make sure you display a National Park Pass, as this is a site maintained by the Forest Service, though I will say no one was there to check it and there was no clear signage to mark this.

Tips:

* Bring your own firewood.   There are signs posted throughout camp mentioning that you cannot cut trees in the area for any reason.    There is no firewood station at this campground either so if you are planning on having a fire make sure you come prepared.

* Because this site is a part of the Forest Service there are also signs posted about saving the vegetation.   This means you will want to park only in the areas that are marked clearly.   If you have a rig which does not fit within the bounds, consider another site at the campground.

* If you need supplies you will want to find them in the larger cities or towns along the way.   When I was here I noticed there are very few stops which provide basic essentials for many miles.

My son and I are from the area and have been Boondocking all around Washington State for over a year now in our old RV's. My son purchased a panel truck to convert, and my shower is on the fritz, so we decided to give Yakima Sportsman Campground a try. We needed the advertised shower facilities as my son had court in Yakima the following day. Not ONE of the FOUR showers worked!! The camp host was a pleasant enough man, but had no idea (apparently) about the shower issues, and the Ranger wasn't due back until Wednesday. This was on Monday...the week before LABOR DAY! The campground loses at LEAST one star for being located in YAKIMA... I've been living in Parker since 2011, but my mother is from Parker, and the house I lived in has belonged to my family since she was a child (she passed last year at 78 years old), so I believe I've earned the right to say Yakima is the LAST place on the planet that I would bring my family for vacation. It's safer in COMPTON, California. I was raised in the East Bay, near Oakland, and used to travel frequently to the LA area for work, so I have a reference point for comparison. In fact, I'm Boondocking in preparation for a move back to California next month. Besides the dangerous location and the non-working showers, this would have been a 4 star visit, the sites had power and water, we're level and adequately spaced apart, and mine was the only "sketchy" looking vehicle around.... Which is appropriate, since I'm a little "sketchy" myself... Lol! (Blame it on the RAP... WEST SIIIIIIDE!!)

OK. Some friends and I arrived the day before the first of 2 shows by Dead& Company. We had Big Rig Gold camping tickets. First off they searched every vehicle for guns(I get it) but the dogs would alert if there were any, right? So why do they have some 20 something enter my RV afterward and search it while I'm being FRISKED! Here again wouldn't the dogs work for this. Second it wasn't an organized ordeal getting in at all. You have all these big motorhomes and travel trailers you know are coming so they water the grass? Yes alot of people got stuck in mud and had to be towed out. There was a paved road(for the staff) right next to where we had to enter. I guess they count and we didn't. Personally I think whoever was in charge of Big Rig Camping entrance should be fired. I sounds harsh but it was a complete cluster F%#k! Ok then we get in and it's a beautiful campground with a staff that didnt seem to have the slightest clue of where peoples awnings would be in relation to the sun in 90+ degree weather or how to park vehicles accordingly. I had to argue with the kid to park so we wouldn't fry in the sun for 3 days. He kept telling me"So you can get out easy". I finally told him"I know how to drive" and after 5 or 10 minutes he FINALLY gave up and I parked correctly for the weather. So finally all is well(I thought) LOL. 5 in our party with 3 vehicles and three disabled ADA customers. Day 2 time to go in. The regular ADA gate as shown on their website map is closed off and we have to cross several lines of people(At least the other customers were helpful-to the extreme) to get to the ADA entrance into the venue. Finally got there and all went well. Day 3 the same thing crossing through all the other people in line to get to our entrance(ADA gate on map still not open) Then someone obviously decided all the disabled people had to be searched AGAIN after the front gate fiasco. I felt like I was being punished for being disabled. The search relulted in all the cripples baking in the sun with no shade and warm water to drink(That is if you brought your own). All in all another Cluster F%#k. LiveNation obviously doesn't care about their customers since they practically have a monopoly on large venues. Tickets were grossly oversold. I went in 2019 and there was no problem finding a place to sit on the grassy hill to watch the show then. This time it was standing room only and still hundreds and hundreds of people kept coming in until it was so crowded it got very uncomfortable with no real air circulation due to it being so crowded and 90+ degrees. Before LiveNation they used to have misting stations for people that overheated. So crowded my wife fainted(I've been with her 22 years and have NEVER seen her faint or wilt in the heat in the slightest. She's always lived in central Washington and is used to the heat. Thank God there was a nurse behind us that took charge and helped her. Kudos to the medical staff that did get there once a customer dialed for help. 911 I think. Once they arrived they acted in a very efficient and kind manner and checked ALL her vitals right down to blood sugar levels at the medical tent. They gave her 2 IV's of saline and the Doctor made sure she was OK before releasing her. They then gave us a ride back to our campsite. The medical staff was amazing! The rest of the personel NAH. LiveNation ruined yet another venue. I will NEVER EVER go to another LiveNation venue, I'm done! For the prices they charge, what you get in return is pathetic.

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. I’ve been coming here since a child and I bring my kids here to learn how to ride and enjoy all the great outdoor have to offer.

Fee is $5 per night

Arriving later than expected, when it is darker than can be believed, is bad enough.  Then there is setting up in the dark: ARGH!  But the camp host turned our anxieties around, as he came whipping cheerfully through the gate in his golf cart to let us in at 9:55, exclaiming “You just barely made it!.”  (No kidding! The Campground Rules state that “Campers must be checked in and through the gate by 9:30, and set up in their site before 10PM.”)  Without any further ado, he led us to our site, was very kind and understanding, and helped my husband back our trailer into our site in the pitch black. He kindly came around again in the morning to check on us…  We had to get going early so I can’t comment on the entirety of the campground, but our site was beautiful and clean, and within a very short walk to the gorgeous Yakima River.  The bathrooms were pristine, and the hookups worked great (our first time hooking up with our new-to-us vintage trailer in the wild!) They even had a couple items that we needed in their tiny store, which is largely stocked with RV tools and equipment, a few gifty items, ice and snacks.  We wished we didn’t have to be on our way so early…  Next time we will stay a couple!

We stayed here for just over two weeks back in May. Enjoyed a lot of relaxing, hiking and mushroom hunting. The staff was friendly and very accommodating with our changing plans! Lots of sites, very well laid out and easily maneuverable/accessible. They are right off of I-90 and on the Yakima river. They have some brand new dry camp sites set up by a pond down the road that we spent a couple of nights at and thoroughly enjoyed the privacy. The sites are level and fairly well spaced. It is open in some areas, so not a ton of privacy in some of the sites. A little bit of noise from I-90 depending on where you are in the park. Daily garbage pick up from your site which is nice. Wi-fi is there, but can be pretty spotty. We overall enjoyed it and we will be back!

Lots of clean large camp spots to choose from. Vault toilets. Shallow Creek runs thru campground. good place for rock hounds…or kids to cool off . Sheltered picnic area. Horshoe pits, ball feild, lots of room for kids to run and play or ride bikes

We went here as a spur of the moment thing we found one spot and there was black ants all over the place so we moved and then the people next-door said that there was a black bear that stole their peanut butter and bread and then came back and was wandering around their campsite I was more worried about the ants and all of the spiders in the bushes

Camped here on August 28-30, 2020 on warm sunny days with my boyfriend. The campground is well-spaced between each other allowing for privacy. Our campsite was number 7 and it can fit about 3-5 tents in it which is pretty big for a campsite. I loved it. There is plenty of mosquitoes so be prepared with your repellents. Also, on our first night, a bear passed by one of our neighbor's site so make sure you clean up after yourselves and don't leave food out at night. There is also a bear cage with a trap since the bear seems to linger and wander around (although it isn't aggressive and seems friendly). There is no water and the toilet is a honey bucket. This campground needs some extra maintenance because the porta potties needed to be serviced as it was getting quite full during our stay. The lake is walking distance and provides plenty of space for everyone to splish and splash around although the water is quite cold but wonderful. There is a day use area too for picknicking and the likes. We went on a first-come first-served basis on a friday morning and there was plenty of spots to choose from, but come night time and the lot was full. There is also about 2-4 two-family campsites that can fit about 4 vehicles in and is ideal for groups and is located along the entrance of the campground. The mini grocery store is located about less than half a mile if you are needing supplies such as ice or firewood. However, be wary if there is a burn ban. Overall, great place with no reception except out on the lake.