Best Dispersed Camping near Toppenish, WA

This is a dispersed campground with a bunch of informal sites. Just find a level enough spot for you. Gorgeous natural amphitheater. There are two pit toilets. Bring your own TP (the reason for 4 stars.) Camping is free with a discover pass. Lots of climbers use the site. I love it for the arid climate and extraordinary beauty.

Peninsula Camp is one of 3 designated camp grounds on the East end of Rimrock Lake. From the UPFS air field you will pass the first designated camp - suitable for dispersed RV'ing and the roomiest area. As you travel the One-Way loop, you will pass multiple locations for tent camping just off the road and cars lining the shoulder. You can find a few med sized camp site for RVs especially near the boat launch.

The views were amazing but all the campers made so much noise, we moved. This might be a better review on a less busy weekend.

Bring your own water and the facilities were lacking attention, if they were open at all. Be prepared to rough it.

This is a Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife fishing access site. It is free with a Washington State Discovery Pass for $30/year. This annual pass will also gain you admission to state parks. There are several boat launch sites here and a number of those Sani Cans. The area is spread out over open land with smooth rocks. It can be a bit bumpy if hauling a trailer unless you stick to the smooth rock roads. No shade except along the shore.

For a free site, it has its good points: easy access to highway 24/243 which will bring you to I-90, quiet, wide open space, near the Vernita Bridge Rest Area for free tank dump site. If you arrive on the last weekend of October, there is a huge king salmon fishing derby with about 100 entrants so you will have company. But, it is usually quiet midweek in the spring and fall. It may be busier in the summer midweek as there are lots of fishing enthusiast ps and boaters who live close by in the Tri Cities area.

If you need a quiet place for one night or are hauling a river fishing boat, this is a good place to stay.

The views are amazing, plenty of open campsites and nobody was around us when we camped. A perfect quiet getaway.

Waterfall, gorge, amazing scenery! There is a pit toilet and there were some people climbing. No accessible water. Only a couple miles from the highway. It was windy, as this whole area is. But well worth it! Note: some of the rocks on the paths to the campsites were pretty pointy, but the road in is well maintained.

We 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!

I could let go the dust, wind, noise, crowds of jerks not taking covid precautions (in Yakima County which has one of the highest infection rates in Washington, but one of the lowest pop. density in the state), such as gatherings of 30-50 people with none wearing masks, but I can't get over the poo and toilet paper littering the ground. You can see it just driving down the road. Forestry even posted a sign about the poo poo and TP. No wonder so many people are sick. Can't even go for a walk without dodging mine fields of poo and discarded TP. I drove 4.5 hours to get there. Terribly disappointing, disgusted, and left feeling dirty and possibly exposed to covid. BTW, got tested and was negative.

There was also no internet, calls or texting on Sprint.

Location 46°39'57.3"N 121°06'11.0"W (copy paste)

This is a really cool spot right on the creek and close to Mt rainier. The coordinates given here do not take you to this campground. Keep going north of these coordinates and very soon you will see a sign that says Rimrock recreation area on the right if you’re headed north (side of the road closest to the creek) turn down there and go a ways until you come to a forest road on your right. It will be pretty obvious it’s a campground when you turn in by the signage (that I have included in my pictures) and there are lots of spots if you go through. The road is very rocky and high clearance does best but we did get our minivan in there fine with some maneuvering.

Totally off grid. No amenities but worth the stay.

Driving in pulling up I was taken a back by how beautiful this place was. Then when we finally found a place, I was reminded of how much people suck. There was trash and toilet paper everywhere you look. It got really crowded and there were 2 parties within earshot. People were doing donuts and making huge dust clouds that would cover everything in dust. There were shoes and articles of clothing left everywhere. I suppose if you like that sort of thing, then cool. I was just looking for some peace and quiet.

The sites on the peninsula are pretty great, great distance between each other, fire pits, the basics.. the trash is rampant. Some shady looking individuals, too. Been camping here several times, and will continue to do so, have had people walk through my site. They have dumpsters by the airstrip upon entering the peninsula, so please carry it out! Facilities remain closed.

Privacy can be had if you take your time and find a good spot. However, be prepared to clean up behind the hooligans.

If people would just take care of stuff, this could be an awesome place.

Popular rock climbing area that gets many people through the day. Dispearsed camping in 2 areas. The first spot as you come from the road is much smaller and doesn't have any pit toilets. I prefer to park here when its not busy as the "Feathers" basalt columns are really pretty to camp up next to. The second open site down the road has pit toilets and is a much larger area. Both are nice but also there are many cars, campers, tents and becomes a much more lively area in the evening depending on the crowds.

I think this is a great spot but I move on during the day when the rock climbing crowds start to swarm and park near you. There are some nice trails that take you up above the climbing area and you can get to the backside to get some nice views and away from the crowds. Can get pretty hot here in the warmer months but a beautiful spot to camp if you can avoid the busy/peak times.

Great location so close to 90 but tucked away - will be staying here often

Very nice and quiet spot (at least while I was here mid march). Best to have high clearance as there are some good size rock outcroppings. Few people rock climbing, tall waterfall across the valley. Very quiet. Can hear birds fly by. Best to show up during daylight hours unless you have lots of Baja lights. Many sharp rock outcroppings and difficult terrain to drive over to find a spot.

I travel for work and I stay here almost every week to save money on hotels. I’ve also taken my family here over the summer for camping and hiking. We all love it. Very quiet. Weekends can get kinda busy due to hikers and rock climbing enthusiasts. I suggest coming up early if you plan to stay the weekend. Many beautiful views. There is even a waterfall I sleep across from. On clear nights you can see all the stars. Which is my favorite! There are lots of sites to camp. In car/tent/RV it’s pretty accessible. There are some rougher spots where you probably should have four-wheel-drive or at least a higher stance vehicle.

Beautiful overlook site. Perfect for Overland type vehicles. The entrance to the site is rough. Scouting is a good idea before attempting entry with a trailer.

This, like the other spots in Frenchman Coulee, is seldom empty, but it's much less packed than the areas closer to the climbing. This spot offers the best views, sunrises, and sunsets, at the cost of no shade and a healthy dose of wind. If you're going for the rugged feel, this'll do it. OF NOTE: The vault toilets are about a mile away from here.