Best Equestrian Camping near Kelso, WA

Hares Canyon Horse Camp is one of three campgrounds in Stub Stewart State Park and unlike other horse camps which often allow the overflow of tenters and rv'ers without horses, this horse camp is equestrian only.

The Campground is set up in one loop and offers both single and double sites, ADA facilities, showers, toilets, and trash. Each site has a picnic table, fire pit, and a corral. There is a double corral on the double sites.

You must clean up after your own horse. Manure bin as well as shovels/brooms are provided onsite.

In mid May, the sites were very wide open.

I love Seaquest for their beautiful campsites and the proximity to a wonderful forest to bathe in. But don't go for the RV sites, which are laid out in a parking lot setting with no real distance from neighbors and not surrounded by trees. Unless that's your jam. It was definitely not ours, tent camping alongside some friends with a trailer who liked nothing more than to hang out at said trailer, and walk through the campground to look at other.. trailers. I don't think they even stepped foot in the 7+ miles of forest trails which is a few steps away. If you can step away from the hookups and get a real campsite off the RV pad, it is a stunning experience. Each site is surrounded by trees, creating privacy and serenity.  Another great option is the yurts. We stayed in Yurt 2 (the only pet friendly yurt) and loved it. 

For those with RV's, trailers, campers - look into the regular sites because I think some of them even have hookups and can accommodate most sizes. Just steer clear of RV sites T1-T16.

We love it! For a lot of reasons. Part of the reason is it’s close, so that’s part good. Driving up there the way we drive (from Vancouver) you go up through ranching/farming territory and it’s nice and green and pretty, so it’s nice getting there. You do have a lot of options, in that the first time we went up there was with our hiking club, and we went up there for a hike around the calderas so it’s easy to do a day trip in a car. Part of our discovery was while we were there is that the food place is really good and very nice. The kids playground was great for the grandkids.

As far as the camping, while it’s open, for the most part you do have a limited amount of privacy in the campground. The campsite we picked was a mix of things: just far enough away from the restrooms where we don’t get all the traffic there, but close enough so it’s not too far either. We were within easy walking distance to two restrooms/showers.

One thing that always looked intriguing is they do have the cabins, so maybe one of these times we’ll rent one. Another thing that some people might like is that they do have horses and some of the trails around the lake you can have horses on, plus a separate area/campground where you can have your horses, which are fun to see.

It’s a small lake but big lake, meaning they do not allow motors on the lake, even electric motors, so it’s all floats, kayakers, etc. A lot of people grab the big inter-tubes and go with that. And of course fishing up there is generally pretty good, especially when they stock it. The trails around the lake are kind of fun also because you have a high trail (very forested) and you also have a certain amount of low trails right on the water where you could have your own spots to fish and swim.

Like most campgrounds, it has its peak season and its off-season, but you can go there year-round if you choose to. The beach area isn’t big, but that’s okay. Wherever you’re heading (from the campsites down to the water, to the playground, to the food shack) you always have different trails and options for how to get from one place to another if you want to explore. If there’s anything you forgot (groceries, fishing gear etc.) you can be in the small town of Battle Ground within 5 miles.

We had the campground to our self midweek.  This is a wonderful campground far enough off the beaten path and being listed has a horse camp most likely keeps the crowds down.  While this is a horse campground, only 8 of the sites are for horse campers, a small tent/RV camping loop of 3 sites is also available, but the parking pads are small so don't think most RVs will fit in the spots.  Each campsite has a picnic table and metal fire ring.  Nice flat ground for your tent with plenty of shade from the large trees.  Campground has a hand pump for water.  Dish wash stations are through out the campground for pouring out you dish water.  The horse camp sites all have corrals for the horses.  Nice hiking trail starts at the tent camping area, "Big Tree Trail" will take you past some monster sized trees.  This will be a campground we return to the next time we visit Oregon

I gave this park a high rating primarily because of its location. It is a great place to launch your Mount Saint Helens exploration, with a Washington State Visitor Center you can walk to from the campground. We had hookups but our site was very close to the site next to us and we had no privacy there. If you don’t need hookups, I would recommend the loop that has 32 - 54. These were much more private and actually had better Wi-Fi than our location. Bathrooms are convenient and have free showers. There was better hot water at the bathroom on the loop with sites 32 - 54.

A great place to camp with the familyin tents or an rv, groups, rent a cabin or hold an event like a wedding. Bring your horses and ride the trails and stay at the horse camp.

Tent and two RV sites are on the first right turn and there is even a stream to play at. Cabins are the first left turn and each has a cute porch swing. Adirondacks are all over and great for scouts to group camp.

The lower bathroom is old and needs updated. The showers are free but the water just sprays everywhere and you have to keep pushing the button for more water. The upper bathrooms are amazing and worth the walk near the horse camp. The tent loop only has a porta potty but it doesn’t stink.

If you do not reserve your spots you can only stay one night and there is an additional $5 transaction fee to pay on site.

Oh and there is no map at the beginning but if you go to the horse camp there is a full map.

Sprint and Verizon have no signal for sure and no Wi-fi is available.