Best Glamping near White Swan, WA

We picked up a last-minute reservation here for Labor Day weekend. The campground sits right on a lake northwest of Mt. Adams.

Our site was set up with a single tent pad up a little hill from the driveway and fire pit. It might not have worked for multiple tents.

We did some hiking on the trails right around the campground. There’s a nice loop trail around the lake through huckleberry-rich woods. From that trail, there’s access to the Takhlakh Meadows trail that climbs along a lava flow to a plateau with views of many surrounding mountains.

There is no drinking water or electricity available.

The campsites here were pretty spacious. With the road coming to a dead end, you simply find a place to park and carry your stuff to one of numerous sites (I think there were 8-10), with other spots where you could easily pitch a tent. The ground was soft, with the occasional root, and heavy tree coverage, with the only light sporadically shining through spots of the forest. Some brave chipmunks and squirrels to deal with, but nothing too difficult.

The waterfalls were beautiful, with a passing river that had a short hiking trail (< .5 miles) along it. We didn't do our research, but the site doesn't offer much in terms of hiking. It's perfect for people that want a relaxing camping trip, without the need to hike. Most of the spots had a table and fire pit, but some did not. It's essentially a car-camping site, so no need to pack super light. The campsite we stayed at was tucked away and with the white noise of the falls (they were that close), you couldn't even hear those in adjacent campsites. Sleeping near the falls was amazing, as it drowns out so much, especially at night. 

There was a pit toilet near the dead-end/parking lot, but no water available other than from the river. No permits required, and camping was considered dispersed when we went, so no charges or reservations were necessary. Definitely recommended for those looking to get into nature to simply relax and enjoy their time outside.

Sites 9-12 are reservable, walk in and right against the river. The river was running high while we were there, so it drowned out most of the road noise. All four of these sites has room for 2 cars in the parking area. The hosts were super friendly and helpful and did a nice job keeping the grounds and bathrooms clean. It's windy and cooler along the river. Had we known about the wind, we'd have brought a different tent! Fishing seems like it must be decent given the number of people with poles and the number of flies we found. The sites each have a firepit and a picnic table.

Site 9 is huge with room for several tents and hammocks. There's little to no vegetation between it and site 10, but the river drowns out conversation and music noise, so it feels more private and the space between the sites allows you to create a natural open barrier between groups.

We were in site 10, which was also large. The best tree for tethering hammocks (or the dog) from had, unfortunately, been used as a toilet recently with lots of TP at its base. This also affected our tent placement... Nobody wants to sleep with their head in someone else's poop or pee. Beach access can be found down a steep-ish hill, but with the river running high, only allowed for a few rocks to sit on. When the river is running lower it looks like it would have a nice beach area. The top of the dirt is pretty soft, but a few inches down it becomes quite rocky. MSR Hedgehog stakes did OK given the sail that was our tent.

Site 11 is smaller with more foliage, so it seems somewhat more private, but lacks direct beach access. It sits highers than site 12 with trees and a downward sloap between the two.

Site 12 has the best privacy and easy, level beach access, with a large hill on one side and smaller one on the other. It sits lower than site 11 with the upward slope and foliage to create a screen. It also has a nice, flat walk in from the parking area.

Bathrooms are Porta-Potties. They were kept fairly clean while we were there. The outside two "filled" the fastest, the inner two have sinks with soap dispenser, running water activated with a foot pump. The hosts kept the soap, water and TP full the whole weekend. From sites 9 - 12, the walk to them was very short and easy so I'm not sure why someone felt like the tree was the better, easier option. People are disappointing that way.

There's no running water at this time so bring your own.

Dogs need to be leashed or tethered and cannot be barky. If your dog barks a lot and disturbs other people, you may be asked to leave. Ours is pretty quiet, so we did OK and our neighbors on either side didn't seem bothered by her friendly antics the few times she tried to say hi to them. Site 10 had a good place for a Knot-a-Hitch, if you have one. See pictures.

All and all, we'd stay here again as a basecamp for exploring the area, but only if we could be against the river and we'd definitely bring a better tent for the breezy conditions. Our preferred sites would be 9 or 12. Pro tip: hand sanitizer will remove pitch/sap from the pine trees. ;-)

I was at Twin Falls Campground for the day (fishing) in July 2019, and stayed here back in June 2018. It's another of the smaller campgrounds with only 5 walk in sites. I usually stay in smaller places or go dispersed style when possible. 

It's a bumpy windy road down to the campground. I just drove through here (Aug 7th, 2019) and I wouldn't take a car down to the campground without high clearance.  Didn't need 4WD to get around but the ruts are deep in certain spots. Please don't try to drag a trailer down.

The sites are FREE, which is alway nice, and 1st come 1st serve. The sites are limited in number, but each site is pretty large. The river access is great. The sound is a little loud when sleeping, if you're here when the river is really flowing.

Decent fly fishing in the bend of the Lewis River. 

The falls itself is pretty. While not exactly twins, there are 2 waterfalls.

There is a clean vault toilet, but no running water. 

Kinda awkward that when parking for day use of the river, you still have to walk through a couple sites to get to the water.